"'W?^'"';1^Xv?r!^?^  vff- 


-4^?^^ 


y^?watea 


GRUNDY   COUNTl^ 


"^n^ 


M 


ft 


A 


r^ 


V 


V^ 


^y 


\ 


HISTOET 


GRUNDY  COUNTY 


IIaLaIKOIB. 


Containing  a  History  from  the  earliest  settlement  to  the  present  time,  embracing  its  topographical, 

geological,  physical  and  climatic  features  ;  its  agricultural,  railroad  interests,  etc.  ;  giving 

an  account  of  its  aboriginal  inhabitants,  early  settlement  by  the  whites,  pioneer 

incidents,   its  growth,  its  improvements,  organization  of  the    County, 

the  judicial  history,    the  business  and  industries,  churches, 

schools,   etc. ;  Biographical  Sketches ;  Portraits  of 

some  of  the  Early  Settlers,  Prominent  Men,  etc. 


ILaLaUSTRATRD. 


I 


CHICAGO: 

O.  L.  BASKIN  &  CO.,  HISTORICAL  PUBLISHERS, 

Lakeside  Building. 
1882. 


i 


^ 

^ 


PREFACE 


TN  this  volume  the  publishers  present  the  results  of  their  efforts  to  secure  a  creditable  com- 
-*-  pilation  of  the  Historj-  of  Grundy  County.  In  recounting  the  "  short  and  simple  annals  "  of 
a  community  founded  in  the  "  piping  times  of  peace,"  and  more  in  the  midst  than  on  the  front- 
ier of  new  settlements,  there  is  little  material  for  a  thrilling  narrative  or  a  record  of  interesting 
exploits,  but  the  authors  of  this  enterprise  believe  that  the  essential  facts  of  the  early  history 
are  here  set  forth  with  substantial  accurac}'.  No  effort  has  been  made  to  draw  upon  the  imagina- 
tion to  embellish  the  story,  but  as  it  has  been  found,  it  has  been  given,  in  a  plain,  unvarnished 
tale.  The  historical  matter  has  been  revised  by  L.  W.  Claypool,  Esq.,  whose  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  history  and  wide  acquaintance  with  the  people  of  the  county  assures  its  accuracy,  and 
has  largely  contributed  to  its  completeness,  and  the  publishers  take  this  occasion  to  acknowledge 
their  indebtedness  to  him  for  his  valuable  assistance  in  the  prosecution  of  this  enterprise.  The 
chapters  on  Morris  were  contributed  by  the  Hon.  P.  A.  Armstrong,  with  whom  the  undertaking 
was  largely  a  labor  of  love,  and  to  his  cordial  indorsement  of  the  work  and  interesting  contri- 
butions to  its  pages  is  due  much  of  its  success.  The  chapters  on  Gardner  were  contributed  by 
Dr.  C.  M.  Easton,  to  whom  the  publishers  and  patrons  are  greatly  indebted  for  the  intelligent 
and  persevering  zeal  with  which  he  has  discharged  the  duty  imposed  upon  him.  The  publishers 
also  desire  to  thank  the  people  ever3'where  in  the  county  for  the  uniform  courtesj'  and  assistance 
tendered  our  corps  of  writers,  and  trust  the  general  accuracy  of  the  work  will  in  some  part  re- 
pay the  favors  they  have  shown. 

0.  L.  BASKIN  &  CO. 

Pvhliskers. 


CHICAGO: 

CULVEE,  PAGE,  HOYXE  S  CO..  PRIXTER3, 

lis  AKD  I'iO  MoerB'JB  Strbbt. 


^; 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


INCLUDING  A  BKIEP 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS 


GEOGEAPHICAL    POSITION. 

"TTTTIEN  the  Northwestern  Territory 
VV  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  bj 
Viru-inia  in  ITS-i,  it  embraced  only  the  terri- 
tory lying  between  the  Oliio  and  tlie  Missis- 
sippi "Rivers,  and  north  to  the  nortlicrn  lim- 
its of  the  United  States.  It  coincided  witli 
the  area  now  embraced  in  the  States  ot'Oliio, 
Indiana,  Micliis^an,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and 
that  portion  of  Minnesota  lying  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Misdssippi  River.  The  United 
States  itself  at  that  period  extended  no 
fartlier  west  than  the  Mississippi  liiver; 
but  by  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  in  1803, 
the  western  boundary  of  the  United  States 
was  extended  to  the  Rock}'  Mountains  and 
the  Northern  Pacific  Ocean.  The  new 
territory  thus  added  to  the  National  do- 
main, and  subsequently  opened  to  settle- 
ment, has  been  called  the  "New  North- 
west," in  contradistinction  from  the  old 
"  Northwestern  Territory." 

In  comparison  with  the  old  Northwest 
this  is  a  territory  of  vast  mignitude.  It 
includes  an  area  of  1,887,850  square  miles; 
being  greater  in  extent  than  the  united 
areas  of  all  the  Middle  and  Southern  States, 
including  Texas.     Out  of  this  magnilicent 


territory  liavebeen  erected  eleven  sovereign 
States  and  eight  Territories,  with  an  aggre- 
gate population,  at  the  present  time,  of 
13,000,000  inhabitants,  or  ncarlj'  one-third 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  United 
States. 

Its  lakes  are  fresh-water  seas,  and  the 
larger  rivers  of  the  continent  flow  for  a 
thousand  miles  through  its  rich  alluvial  val- 
leys and  far-stretching  prairies,  more  acres 
of  which  are  arable  and  productive  of  the 
highest  percentage  of  the  cereals  than  of 
any  other  area  of  like  extent  on  the  globe. 

For  the  last  twenty  years  the  increase  of 
population  in  the  Northwest  has  been  about 
as  three  to  one  in  any  other  portion  of  the 
United  States. 

EAELT   EXPLORATIONS. 

In  the  year  loil,  De  Soto  first  saw  the 
Great  West  in  the  New  Woi-ld.  He,  how- 
ever, penetrated  no  fai-ther  n(jrth  than  the 
35th  parallel  of  latitude.  The  expedition 
resulted  in  his  death  and  that  of  more  than 
half  his  army,  tlie  remainder  of  whom 
found  their  wa}'  to  Cuba,  thence  to  Spain, 
in  a  famished  and  demoralized  condition. 
De  Soto  founded  no  settlements,  produced 
no  results,  and  left  no  traces,  unless  it  were 


i\ 


12 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


that  he  awakened  the  liostility-of  the  red 
man  against  tlie  wliite  man,  and  disheart- 
ened such  as  might  desire  to  follow  up  the 
career  of  discovery  for  better  purposes. 
The  French  nation  were  eager  and  ready  to 
seize  upon  any  news  from  this  extensive 
domain,  and  were  the  iirst  to  profit  by  De 
Soto's  defeat.  Yet  it  was  more  tlian  a 
century  before  any  adventurer  took  advan- 
tasre  of  tliese  discoveries. 

In  1616,  four  years  before  the  pilgrims 
"  moored  their  bark  on  the  wild  New  Eng- 
land shore,"  Le  Caron,  a  French  Franciscan, 
liad  penetrated  through  the  Iroquois  and 
and  AVyandots  (Ilurons)  to  the  streams 
which  run  into  Lake  Huron;  and  in  1634, 
two  Jesuit  missionaries  founded  the  first 
mission  among  the  lake  tribes.  It  was  just 
one  hundred  j'ears  from  the  discovery  of 
the  Mississippi  by  De  Soto  (15-tl)  until  the 
Canadian  envoys  met  the  savage  nations  of 
the  Northwest  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary,  be- 
low the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior.  This 
visit  led  to  no  permanent  result,  j'et  it  was 
not  until  1659  that  any  of  the  adventurous 
fur  traders  attempted  to  spend  a  winter  in 
the  frozen  wilds  about  tlie  great  lakes,  nor 
was  it  until  1660  that  a  station  was  estab- 
lished upon  their  borders  by  Mesnard,  who 
perished  in  the  woods  a  few  months  after. 
In  1665,  Claude  Allouez  built  the  earliest 
lasting  habitation  of  the  white  man  among 
the  Indiairs  of  the  Northwest.  In  1668, 
Claude  Dablon  and  James  Marquette 
founded  the  mission  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  at 
the  Falls  of  St.  Mary,  and  two  years  after- 
ward, Nicholas  Perrot,  as  agent  for  M. 
Talon,  Governor  General  of  Canada,  ex- 
plored Lake  Illinois  (Michigan)  as  far 
south  as  the  present  City  of  Chicago,  and 
invited  the  Indian  nations  to  meet  him  at 


a  grand  council  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  the 
following  spring,  where  they  were  taken 
under  the  protection  of  the  king,  and  formal 
possession  was  taken  of  the  Northwest. 
This  same  year  Marquette  established  a 
mission  at  Point  St.  Ignatius,  where  was 
founded  tlie  old  town  of  town  of  Michilli- 
mackinac. 

During  M.  Talon's  explorations  and  Mar- 
quette's residence  at  St.  Ignatius,  they 
learned  of  a  great  river  away  to  the  west, 
and  fancied — as  all  others  did  then — that 
upon  its  fertile  banks  whole  tribes  of  God's 
children  resided,  to  whom  the  sound  of  the 
Gospel  had  never  come.  Filled  with  a 
wish  to  go  and  preach  to  them,  and  in  com- 
pliance with  a  request  of  M.  Talon,  who 
earnestly  desired  to  extend  the  domain  of 
his  king,  and  to  ascertain  whetiier  the 
river  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  or  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Marquette  with  Joliet,  as 
commander  of  the  expedition,  prepared  for 
the  undertaking. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  1673,  the  exjilorers, 
accompanied  by  five  assistant  French  Can- 
adians, set  out  from  Mackinaw  on  their 
daring  voyage  of  discovery.  The  Indians, 
who  gathered  to  witness  their  departure, 
were  astonished  at  the  boldness  of  the 
undertaking,  and  endeavored  to  dissuade 
them  I'rom  their  purpose  by  representing 
the  tribes  on  the  Mississippi  as  exceedingly 
savage  and  cruel,  and  the  river  itself  as 
full  of  all  sorts  of  frightful  monsters  ready 
to  swallow  them  and  their  canoes  together. 
But,  nothing  daunted  by  these  terrific  de- 
scriptions, Marquette  told  them  he  was 
willing  not  only  to  encounter  all  the  per- 
ils of  tlie  unknown  region  they  were  about 
to  explore,  but  to  lay  down  his  life  in  a 
cause    in    wli'ch  the  -alvation  of  souls  was 


I 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


13 


iiivol\'ed;  and  liaviii;^  prayed  togetlier  they 
separated.  Coasting  along  the  northern 
shore  of  Like  Micliig;in,  tlie  adventurers 
entered  Green  Bay,  and  passed  thence  up 
the  Fox  River  and  Like  Winnebago  to  a 
village  of  the  Mianiis  and  Kickajioos. 
Here  Marquette  was  delighted  to  find  a 
beautiful  cross  planted  in  the  middle  of  the 
town,  ornamented  with  white  skins,  red  gir- 
dles and  bows  and  arrows,  which  these 
good  ))eople  had  offered  to  the  great  Man- 
itou,  or  God,  to  thank  him  for  the  pity  he 
had  bestowed  on  them  during  the  winter  in 
giving  them  an  abundant  "chase."  This 
was  tlie  fai  thest  outpost  to  which  D.iblon  and 
Allouez  had  extended  their  missionary  la- 
.  bors  the  year  previous.  Hero  Marquette 
drank  mineral  waters  and  was  instructed  in 
the  secret  of  a  root  which  cures  t'le  bite  of 
the  venomous  rattlesnake.  He  assembled 
the  chiefs  and  old  men  of  the  village,  and, 
pointing  to  Joliet,  said:  "  My  friend  is  an 
envoy  of  France,  to  discover  new  coun- 
tries, and  lam  an  ambassador  from  God  to 
enlighten  them  with  the  truths  of  the  Gos- 
pel." Two  Miami  guides  were  here  fur- 
nished to  conduct  them  to  the  Wisconsin 
River,  and  they  set  out  from  the  Indian 
village  on  the  10th  of  June,  amidst  a  great 
crowd  of  natives  who  had  assembled  to 
witness  their  departure  into  a  region  where 
no  white  man  had  ever  yet  ventured.  The 
guides,  having  condu'jted  them  across  the 
portage,  returned.  The  explorers  launched 
their  canoes  upon  the  Wisconsin  which 
they  descended  to  the  Mississippi  and  pro- 
ceeded down  its  unknown  waters.  What 
emotions  must  have  swelled  their  breasts 
as  they  struck  out  into  the  broadening  cur- 
rent and  became  conscious  that  they  were 
now  upon  the  bosom  of  the    Father  of  Wa- 


ters. The  mystery  was  about  to  be  lifted 
from  the  long-sought  river.  The  scenery 
in  that  locality  is  beautiful,  and  on  that 
delightful  seventeenth  of  June  must  have 
been  clad  in  all  its  primeval  loveliness  as  it 
hid  been  adorned  by  the  hand  of  Nature. 
Drifting  rapidly,  it  is  said  that  the  bold 
blutfs  on  either  hand  "  reminded  them  of 
the  castled  shores  of  their  own  beautiful 
rivers  of  France."  By-and-by,  as  they 
diifteil  along,  great  herds  of  buffalo  ap- 
peared on  the  banks.  On  going  to  the 
heads  of  the  valley  they  could  see  a  coun- 
try of  the  greatest  beauty  and  fertility,  ap- 
parently destitute  of  inhabitants  yet  pre- 
senting the  appearance  of  extensive  man- 
ors, under  the  fastidious  cultivation  of 
lordly  proprietors. 

On  June  25th,  they  went  ashore  and  found 
some  fresh  traces  of  men  upon  the  sand, 
and  a  path  which  led  to  the  prairie.  The 
men  remained  in  the  boat,  and  Marquette 
and  Joliet  followed  the  path  till  they  dis- 
covered a  village  on  the  banks  of  a  river, 
and  two  other  villages  on  a  hill,  within  a 
half  league  of  the  first,  inhabited  by  Indians. 
They  were  received  most  hospitably  by 
these  natives,  who  had  never  before  seen  a 
white  person.  After  remaining  a  few  days 
they  re-embarked  and  descended  the  river 
to  about  latitude  33°,  where  they  found  a 
village  of  the  Arkansas,, and  being  satisfied 
that  the  river  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  turned  their  course  up  the  river, 
and  ascending  the  stream  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Illinois,  rowed  up  that  stream  to  its 
source,  and  procured  guides  from  that 
point  to  the  lakes.  "  No  where  on  this 
journey,"  says  Marquette,  "  did  we  see  such 
grounds,  meadows,  woods,  stags,  buffaloes, 
deer,  wildcats,  bustards,  swans,  ducks,  par- 


14 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


roquets,  and  even  beavers,  as  on  the  Illinois 
Itiver."  The  party,  witliout  loss  or  injury, 
reached  Green  Bay  in  September,  and  re- 
ported their  discover}' — -one  of  the  most 
important  of  the  age,  but  of  which  no 
record  was  preserved  save  Marquette's, 
Joliet  losing  his  by  the  upsetting  of  his 
canoe  on  his  way  to  Quebec.  Afterward 
Marquette  returned  to  the  Illinois  Indians 
by  their  request,  and  ministered  to  them 
until  1675.  On  the  18th  of  May,  in  that 
year,  as  he  was  passing  the  mouth  of  a 
stream — going  with  his  boatmen  up  Lake 
Michigan — he  asked  to  land  at  its  mouth 
and  celebrate  mass.  Leaving  his  men  with 
the  canoe,  he  retired  a  shore  distance  and 
began  his  devotions.  As  much  time  passed 
and  he  did  not  return,  his  men  went  in 
search  of  him,  and  found  him  upon  his 
knees,  dead.  He  had  peacefully  passed 
away  while  at  prayer.  He  was  buried  at 
tiiis  spot.  Charlevoi.K,  who  visited  the 
place  fifty  j'ears  after,  found  the  waters  had 
retreated  from  the  grave,  leaving  the  be- 
loved missionary  to  repose  in  peace.  The 
river  has  since  been  called   i\[arqnette. 

While  Marquette  and  his  companions 
were  pursuing  their  labors  in  tiie  West, 
two  men,  diflering  widely  from  him  and 
each  other,  were  preparing  to  follow  in  his 
footsteps  and  perfect  the  discoveries  so  well 
begun  ijy  him.  Tliese  were  Robert  de  La 
Salle  and  Louis  Hennepin. 

After  La  Salle's  return  from  the  discovery 
of  the  Ohio  River  (see  the  narrative  else- 
where), he  established  himself  again  among 
the  French  trading  posts  in  Canada.  Here 
he  mused  long  upon  the  pet  project  of 
those  ages — a  short  way  to  China  and  the 
East,  and  was  busily  planning  an  expedi- 
tion   up    the    great    lakes,  and  so    across 


the  continent  to  the  Pacific,  when  Mar- 
(juette  returned  Irom  the  Mississippi.  At 
once  the  vigorous  mind  of  La  Salle  received 
from  his  and  his  companions'  stories  the 
idea  that  by  following  the  Great  River 
northward,  or  by  turning  up  some  of  the 
numerous  western  tributaries,  the  object 
could  easily  be  gained.  He  applied  to 
Fronten:ic,  Governor  General  of  Canada, 
and  laid  before  him  the  plan,  dim  but 
gigantic.  Fnuitenac  entered  warmly  into 
his  phxns,  and  saw  that  La  Salle"s  idea  to 
connect  the  great  lakes  by  a  chain  of  forts 
witli  the  (riilf  of  Mexico  would  bind  the 
country  so  wonderfully  together,  give  un- 
measui-ed  power  to  France,  and  glory  ti) 
himself,  under  whose  administration  he 
earnestly  hoped  all  would  be  realized. 

La  Salle  now  rejiaired  to  France,  laid  his 
plans  before  the  King,  who  warmly  ap- 
proved of  them,  and  made  him  a  Chevalier. 
He  also  received  from  all  the  noblemen  the 
warmest  wisiies  for  his  success.  The  Chev- 
alier returned  to  (^anada,  and  busily  en- 
tered ui)on  his  work.  He  at  once  rebuilt 
Fort  I-'ronteuHC  and  constructed  the  first 
ship  to  sail  on  tliese  fresh-water  seas.  On 
the  Ttli  of  August,  1679,  having  been  joined 
by  Hennepin,  he  began  his  voyage  in  the 
Gritlin  up  Lake  Erie.  He  passed  over 
this  lake,  through  the  straits  beyond,  up 
Lake  St.  Clair  and  into  Huron.  In  this 
lake  they  encountered  heavy  storms.  Tliej' 
were  some  tiineatMichillimackinae,  where 
La  Salle  founded  a  fort,  and  passed  on  to 
Green  Bay,  the  "  Baie  des  Ptians  "  of  the 
Frencli,  where  he  found  a  large  quantity  of 
furs  collected  for  him.  He  loaded  tiie 
Griffin  witli  these,  and  placing  her  under 
the  care  of  a  pilot  and  fourteen  sailors, 
started  her  on  her  return  vova2e.     The  ves- 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITOnY. 


15 


8cl  wiis  never  afterward  licard  of.  He  re- 
mained about  these  parts  until  early  in  the 
winter,  when,  hearing  nothing  from  the 
Griffin,  he  collected  all  his  men— thirty 
working  men  and  three  monk? — and 
started  again  upon  his  great  undertaking. 

By  a  short  portage  they  passed  to  the  Il- 
linois or  Kankakee,  called  by  the  Indiana, 
"  Theakeke,''  wolf,  because  of  the  tribes  of 
Indians  called  by  that  name,  commonly 
known  as  the  Mahingans,  dwelling  there. 
The  French  pronounced  it  Kiakil-i,  which 
became  corrupted  to  Kankakee.  "  Falling 
down  the  said  river  by  easy  journeys,  the 
better  to  observe  the  country,"  about  the 
last  of  December  they  reached  a  village  of 
the  Illinois  Indians,  containing  some  five 
hundred  cabins,  but  at  that  moment  no  in- 
hcibitants.  The  Seur  de  La  Salle  being  in 
want  of  some  breadstufFs,  took  advantage 
of  the  absence  of  the  Indians  to  help  him- 
self to  a  sufficiency  of  maize,  large  quanti- 
ties of  which  he  found  concealed  in  holes 
under  the  wigwams.  This  village  was  sit- 
uated near  the  present  village  of  Utica  in 
La  Salle  County,  Illinois.  The  corn  being 
securely  stored,  the  voyagers  again  betook 
themselves  to  the  stream,  and  toward  even- 
ing on  the  4th  day  of  January,  16S0,  they 
came  into  a  lake,  which  must  have  been 
the  lake  of  Peoria.  Tiiis  was  called  by  the 
Indians  Pim-i-fe-wi,  that  is  a  place  whei'e 
there  are  mamj  fat  beasts.  Here  the  na- 
tives were  met  with  in  large  numbers,  but 
they  were  gentle  and  kind,  and  having 
spent  some  time  with  them,  La  Salle  deter- 
mined to  erect  another  fort  in  that  phice, 
for  he  had  heard  rumors  that  some  of  the 
adjiiining  tribes  were  trying  to  disturb  the 
good  feeling  which  existed,  and  some  of 
his  men  were  disposed  to  complain,  owing 


to  the  hardships  and  perils  of  the  travel. 
He  called  this  fort  "  6'/'6'?;(7effM/'"  (broken- 
heart),  a  name  expressive  of  the  very  nat- 
ural sorrow  and  anxiety  which  the  pretty 
certain  loss  of  his  ship,  Griffin,  and  his  con- 
sequent impoverishment,  the  danger  of 
hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  and  of 
mutiny  among  his  own  men,  might  well 
cause  him.  His  fears  were  not  entirely 
groundless.  At  one  time  poison  was  placed 
in  his  food,  but  fortunately  was  discovered. 

While  building  this  fort,  the  winter 
wore  away,  the  prairies  began  to  look 
green,  and  La  Salle,  despairing  of  any  rein- 
forcements, concluded  to  return  to  Canada, 
raise  new  means  and  new  men,  and  embark 
anew  in  the  enterprise.  For  this  purpose 
he  made  Hennepin  the  leader  of  a  party  to 
explore  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  he  set  out  on  his  journey.  This  jour- 
ney was  accomplished  with  the  aid  of  a 
few  pei'sons,  and  was  successfully  made, 
though  over  an  almostunknown  route,  and 
in  a  bad  season  of  the  year.  He  safely 
reached  Canada,  and  set  out  again  for  the 
object  of  his  seai'ch. 

Hennepin  and  his  party  left  Fort  Creve- 
coeur  on  the  last  of  February,  16S0.  "When 
La  Salle  reached  this  place  on  his  return  ex- 
pedition, he  found  the  fort  entirely  desert- 
ed, and  he  was  obliged  to  return  again  to 
Canada.  He  embarked  the  third  time, 
and  succeeded.  Seven  days  after  leaving 
the  fort,  Hennepin  reached  the  ilississippi, 
and  ]iaddling  up  the  icy  stream  as  best  he 
could,  reached  no  higher  tiian  tlie  Wis- 
consin River  by  the  11th  of  April.  Here 
he  and  his  followers  were  taken  prisoners 
by  a  band  of  Northern  Indians,  who  treat- 
ed them  with  great  kindness.  Hennepin's 
comrades  were   Anthony  Auguel  and  Mi- 


^ 


16 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


cliael  Ako.  On  tliis  voyage  thcj  f'onml  sev- 
eral beaHtit'ul  lakes,  and  "  saw  some  cliarin- 
iiiii;  prairies."  Their  captors  were  the 
Isante  or  Sauteurs,  Chippewas,  a  tribe  of 
the  Sioux  nation,  who  took  them  up  the 
river  until  about  the  tirstof  May,  wiien 
they  reached  some  falls,  which  Hen- 
nepin christened  Falls  of  St.  Antliony 
in  honor  of  his  ])atron  saint.  Here  they 
took  the  land,  and  traveling  nearly  two 
hundred  miles  to  the  northwest,  brought 
them  to  their  villages.  Here  they  were 
kept  about  tliree  months,  were  treated  kind- 
ly' by  their  captors,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time,  were  met  by  a  baud  of  Frenchmen, 
headed  by  one  Seur  de  Luth,  who,  in  ]>iir- 
s\iit  of  trade  and  game,  had  penetrated  thus 
far  by  the  i-outeof  Lake  Superior;  and 
with  these  fellow-countrymen  Hennepin  and 
liis  companions  were  allowed  to  return  to 
the  borders  of  civilized  life  in  Xovomber, 
16S0,  just  after  La  Salle  liad  returned 
to  the  wilderness  on  his  second  trip.  Hen- 
nepin soon  after  went  to  France,  wliere 
lie  published  an  account  of  Lis  adven- 
tures. 

The  Mississippi  was  first  discovered  by 
De  Soto  in  April,  lo-il,  in  his  vain  endeav- 
or to  find  gold  and  precious  gems.  In  the 
following  spring,  De  Soto,  weary  with  hope 
long  deferred,  and  worn  out  with  his  wan- 
derings, fell  a  victim  to  disease,  and  on 
the  21st  of  May,  died.  His  followers,  re- 
duced by  fatigue  and  disease  to  less  than 
three  hundred  men,  wandered  about  the 
country  nearly  a  year,  in  the  vain  endeavor 
to  rescue  themselves  by  land,  and  finallv 
constructed  seven  small  vessels,  called  brio-- 
antines,  in  which  they  embarked,  and  de- 
scending the  river,  supposing  it  would 
lead  them  to  the  sea,  in  July  they  came  to 


tlie  sea  (Gulf  of  Mexico),  and  by  Septem- 
ber reached  the  Island  of  Cnba. 

They  were  the  first  to  see  the  great  out- 
letof  the  Mississippi;  but,  being  so  weary 
and  discouraged,  made  no  attempt  to  claim 
the  country,  and  hardly  had  an  intelligent 
idea  of  what  they  had  passed  through. 

To  LaS  die,  the  intrepid  explorer,  belongs 
the  honor  of  giving  the  first  account  of 
the  mouths  of  the  river.  His  great  desire 
was  to  possess  this  entire  country  for  his 
king,  and  in  January,  1GS2,  he  and  his 
band  of  explorers  left  the  shores  of  Lake 
Michigan  on  their  third  attempt,  crossed 
the  portage,  passed  down  tiie  Illinois  Riv- 
er, and  on  the  (Jth  of  February,  reached  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

On  the  13th  they  commenced  their  down- 
ward course,  which  they  pursued  with  but 
one  interruption,  until  upon  the  Cth  of 
March  they  discovered  the  three  great  pas- 
sages by  which  the  river  discharices  its 
waters  into  the  gulf.  LaSade  thus  narrates 
the  event: 

"  We  landed  on  the  bank  of  the  most 
western  channel,  about  three  leagues  (nine 
miles)  from  its  mouth.  On  the  seventh, 
M.  de  La  Salle  went  to  reconuoiter  the  shores 
of  the  nei:^hboring  sea,  and  M.  do  Tonti 
meanwhile  examined  the  great  middle  chan- 
nel. They  found  the  main  outlets  beau- 
tiful, large  and  deep.  On  the  Sth  we  reas- 
cended  the  rivei,  a  little  above  its  conflu- 
ence with  the  sea,  to  find  a  dry  place  be- 
yond the  reach  of  inundations.  The  el- 
evation of  the  North  Pole  was  here  about 
twenty- seven  degrees.  Here  we  prepared 
a  column  and  a  cross,  and  to  the  column 
were  affixed  the  arms  of  France  with  this 
inscription: 

Louis  LeGrand,  Roi  De  France  et  de  Navarre, 
regne;  Le  neuvieme  Avril  1682. 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


17 


The  whole  party,  uiuler  arms,  chanted 
the  Te  Deum,  and  then,  atte;-  a  salute  and 
cries  of-'  Vive  le  Boi,"  the  column  was 
ei'ected  by  .M.  de  La  Salle,  who,  standing 
near  it,  jiroclalmed  in  a  loud  voice  the  au- 
thority of  the  King  of  France.  La  Salle 
returned  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
Mississippi  settlements  in  Illinois,  thence 
he  proceeded  to  France,  where  another  ex- 
pedition was  fitted  out,  of  which  he  was 
commander,  and  in  two  succeeding  voy- 
ages failed  to  find  the  outlet  of  the  river 
by  sailing  along  the  shore  of  the  gulf.  On 
his  third  voyage  he  was  killed,  through 
the  treachery  of  his  followers,  and  the  ob- 
ject of  his  expeditions  was  not  accom- 
plished until  1609,  when  1)' Iberville,  un- 
der the  authority  of  the  crowji,  discovered, 
on  the  second  of  March,  by  way  of  the  sea, 
the  mouth  of  the  "  Hidden  River."  This 
majestic  stream  was  called  by  the  natives 
^^ Malltouc/ua,"  and  by  the  Spaniards,  "■!(( 
Palissade, "  from  the  great  number  of 
trees  about  its  mouth.  After  traversing  the 
several  outlets,  and  satisfying  himself  as  to 
its  certainty,  he  erected  a  fort  near  its 
western  outlet  and  returned  to  France. 

An  avenue  of  trade  was  now  opened  out, 
which  was  fully  improved.  In  1718,  New 
Orleans  was  laid  out  and  settled  by  some 
European  colonists.  In  176-,  the  colony 
was  made  orer  to  Spain,  to  be  regained  by 
France  under  the  consulate  of  Napoleon. 
In  1803,  it  was  purchased  by  the  United 
States  for  the  sum  of  fifteen  million  dollars, 
and  the  territory  of  Louisiana  and  com- 
merce of  the  Mississippi  lliver  came  under 
the  charge  of  the  United  States.  Although 
La  Salle's  labors  ended  in  defeat  and  death, 
he  had  not  worked  and  suffered  in  vain, 
lie   had   thrown  open  to  France  and  the 


world  an  immense  and  most  valuable  coun- 
try; had  established  several  ports,  and  laid 
the  foundations  of  more  than  one  settle- 
ment there.  "  Peoria,  Kaskaskia  and  Ca- 
hokia,  are  to  this  day  monuments  of  La 
Salle's  labors;  for,  though  he  had  founded 
neither  of  them  (unless  Peoria,  which  was 
built  nearly  upon  the  site  of  Fort  Creve- 
coeur,)  it  was  by  those  whom  he  led  into  the 
West  that  these  places  were  peopled  and 
civilized.  He  was,  if  not  the  discoverer, 
the  first  settler  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
and  as  such  deserves  to  be  known  and 
honored." 

The  French  early  improved  the  opening 
made  for  them.  Before  the  year  IGliS,  the 
Rev,  Father  Gravier  began  a  mission  among 
the  Illinois,  and  founded  Kaskaskia.  For 
some  time  this  was  merely  a  missionary 
station,  where  none  but  natives  resided,  it 
being  one  of  three  such  villages,  the  other 
two  being  Cahokia  and  Peoria.  What  is 
known  of  these  missions  is  learned  from  a 
letter  written  by  Father  Gabriel  Marest, 
dated  "Aux  Cascaskias,  autrement  dit  de 
I'Immaculate  Conception  de  la  Sainte 
Yierge,  le  9  Novembre,  1712."  Soon  after 
the  founding  of  Kaskaskia,  the  missionary, 
Pinet,  gathered  a  flock  at  Cahokia,  while 
Peoria  arose  near  the  ruins  of  Fort  Creve- 
coeur.  This  must  have  been  about  a  year 
1700.  The  post  at  Vincennes  on  the 
Oubache  river,  (jironounced  Wa-ba,  mean- 
ing summer  cloud  moving  swifthj)  was  es- 
tablished in  170U,  according  to  the  best 
authorities.*     It  is  altogether  probable  that 

*  There  is  considerable  dispute  about  this  date, 
some  asserting  it  was  found  'd  as  late  as  1742.  When 
thi'  new  court  house  at  Vincennes  was  erected,  all 
authorities  on  the  suVy'ect  were  carefully  examined, 
and  1702  fixed  upon  as  the  cotxeot  date.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly engraved  on  the  comer-etone  of  the  court 
house- 


IS 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


on  Lii  Salle'd  last  trip  he  established  the 
stations  at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia.  In 
July,  1701,  the  foundations  of  Fort  Pon- 
cluirtrain  were  laid  by  De  la  Motte  Cadillac 
on  the  Detroit  liiver.  These  stations,  with 
those  established  further  north,  were  the 
earliest  attempts  to  occupy  the  Nortliwest 
Territory.  At  the  same  time  eftbrts  were 
being  made  to  occupy  the  Southwest,  which 
finally  culminated  in  the  settlement  and 
fuundin<)^  of  tlie  City  of  New  Orleans  by  a 
colony  from  England  in  1718.  This  was 
mainly  accomplished  throngh  the  efforts  of 
the  famous  ]\Iississip]n  Companj-,  estab- 
lislied  by  the  notorious  John  Law,  who  so 
quickly  arose  into  pi-ominence  in  France, 
and  who  with  his  scheme  so  quickly  and  so 
ignominiously  passed  away. 

From  the  time  of  the  founding  of  these 
stations  for  lilty  years  the  French  nation 
were  engrossed  with  the  settlement  of  the 
lower  Mississi]>pi,  and  the  war  with  the 
Chicasaws,  who  had,  in  revenge  for  repeated 
injuries,  cut  off  the  entire  colony  at  Natchez. 
Although  the  company  did  little  for  Louis- 
iana, as  the  entire  West  was  then  called, 
yet  it  opened  the  trade  through  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  started  the  raising  of 
grains  indigenous  to  that  climate.  L"^ntil 
the  year  1750,  but  little  is  known  of  the 
settlements  in  the  Northwest,  as  it  was  not 
until  this  time  that  tlie  attention  of  the 
English  was  called  to  the  occupation  of 
this  portion  of  the  N  ew  World,  which  thej' 
then  supposed  they  owned.  Yivier,  a  mis- 
sionary among  the  Illinois,  writing  from 
"Aux  Illinois,"  six  leagues  from  Fort 
Chartres,  June  8,  1750,  says:  "We  have 
here  whites,  negroes  and  Indians,  to  say 
nothing  of  cross-breeds.  There  are  five 
French  villages,  and  three  villages  of  the 


natives,  within  a  space  of  twenty-one 
leagues  situated  between  the  Mississippi 
and  another  river  called  the  Karkadaid 
(Kaskaskias).  In  the  iive  French  villages 
are,  perhaps,  eleven  hundred  whites,  three 
hundred  blacks  and  some  sixty  red  slaves 
or  savages.  The  three  Illinois  towns  do 
not  contain  more  than  eight  hundred  souls 
all  told.  Most  of  the  French  till  the  soil  ; 
they  raise  wheat,  cattle,  pigs  and  horses, 
and  live  like  princes.  Three  times  as  much 
is  produced  as  can  be  consumed  ;  and  great 
quantities  of  grain  and  flour  are  sent  to 
New  Orleans."  This  city  was  now  the 
seaport  town  of  the  Northwest,  and  save 
in  the  extreme  northern  part,  where  only 
furs  and  copper  ore  were  found,  almost  all 
the  products  of  the  country  found  their 
way  to  France  by  the  mouth  of  the  Father 
of  Waters.  In  another  letter,  dated  No- 
vember 7,  1750,  tliis  same  priest  says: 
"For  fifteen  leagues  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  one  sees  no  dwellings,  the 
ground  being  too  low  to  be  habitable. 
Thence  to  New  Orleans,  the  lands  are  oidy 
partially  occupied.  New  Orleans  contains 
black,  white  and  red,  not  more,  I  think, 
than  twelve  hundred  persons.  To  this 
point  come  all  lumber,  bricks,  salt-beef, 
tallow,  tar,  skins  and  bear's  grease  ;  and 
above  all,  pork  and  flour  from  the  Illinois. 
These  things  create  some  commerce,  as 
forty  vessels  and  more  have  come  hither 
this  year.  Above  New  Orleans,  plantations 
are  again  met  with  ;  the  most  considerable 
is  a  colony  of  Germans,  some  ten  leagues 
up  the  river.  At  Point  Coupee,  thirty-five 
leagues  above  the  German  settlement,  is  a 
fort.  Along  here,  within  five  or  six  leagues 
are  not  less  than  sixty  habitations.  Fifty 
leagues   farther   up  is    the   Natchez  post, 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


10 


where  we  liiive  a  garrison,  wlio  are  kept 
prisoners  tlirougli  fear  oF  tlie  Ciiicasaws. 
Here  ami  at  point  Conpee,  they  raise  excel- 
lent tubaceo.  Another  hundred  leajrues 
brinies  u>  U>  tlie  Arkansas,  where  we  have 
also  a  fort  and  a  irarrison  for  tlie  benellt  of 
the  river  traders.  *  *  *  From  the  Ar- 
kansas to  the  Illinois,  nearl)^  five  hundred 
leagues,  there  is  not  a  settlement.  Tliere 
should  be.  however,  a  fort  at  the  Onbache 
(Ohio),  the  only  path  by  which  the  English 
can  reach  the  Mississippi.  In  the  Illinois 
country  are  numberless  mines,  but  no  one 
to  work  thorn  as  they  deserve."  Father 
Marest,  writing  from  the  post  at  Vincennes, 
in  1812,  makes  the  same  observation.  Vi- 
vien also  saj's:  "  Some  individuals  dig 
lead  near  the  surface  and  supply  tlie  Ind- 
ians and  Canada.  Two  Spaniards  now  here, 
who  claim  to  be  ade])ts,  say  that  our  mines 
are  like  those  of  Mexico,  and  that  if  wo 
would  dig  deeper,  we  should  find  silver  un- 
der the  lead  ;  and  at  any  rate  the  lead  is 
excellent.  There  is  also  in  this  country, 
beyond  doubt,  copper  ore,  as  irom  time  to 
time  iarije  jiieces  are  found  in  the  streams." 
At  the  close  of  the  year  1750,  the  French 
occupied,  in  adilition  to  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi posts  and  those  in  Illinois,  one  at 
Du  Quesne,  otie  at  the  Maumee  in  the 
country  of  the  Jliamis,  and  one  at  Sandus- 
kj",  in  what  mav  be  termed  the  Ohio  Val- 
ley. In  the  nijtliern  part  of  the  North- 
west tliey  had  stations  at  St.  Joseph's  on 
the  St.  Joseph's  of  Lake  Michigan,  at  Fort 
Ponchartrain  (Detroit),  at  Michillimack- 
anac  or  ila^sillimacanac.  Fox  Iliver  of 
Green  Bay,  and  at  Sanlt  Ste.  Marie.  The 
fondest  dreams  of  La  Salle  were  now  fully 
realized.  Tlie  French  alone  were  possess- 
ors of  this  vast  realm,   basing  their  claim 


on  discovery  and  settlement.  Another  na- 
tion, however,  was  now  turning  its  atten- 
tion to  this  extensive  country,  and  hearing 
of  its  wealth,  began  to  lay  plans  for  oc- 
cujiying  it  and  for  securing  the  great 
pi'otits  arising  therelrom. 

The  French,  Jiowever,  iiad  another  claim 
to  this  country,  namely,  the 

DISCOVERY    or    THE    OUIO. 

This  "Beautiful"  river  was  discovered 
by  Robert  Cavalier  de  La  Salle  in  1(369,  four 
years  before  the  discovery  of  the  Missis- 
sippi by  Joliet  and  Marquette. 

While  La  Salle  was  at  his  trading  post 
on  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  found  leisure  to 
study  nine  Indian  dialects,  the  chief  of 
which  was  the  Iroquois.  lie  not  only  de- 
sired to  facilitate  his  intercourse  in  trade, 
but  he  longed  to  travel  and  exi)lore  the  un- 
known regions  of  the  AVest.  An  incident 
soon  occurred  which  decided  him  to  fit  out 
an  exploring  expedition. 

"While  conversing  witii  some  Senecas,  he 
learned  of  a  river  called  tlie  Oiiio,  which 
rose  in  their  country  and  flowed  to  the  sea, 
but  at  such  a  distance  that  it  required 
eight  montiis  to  reach  its  month.  In  this 
statemetit  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributa- 
ries were  considered  as  one  stream.  La 
Salle,  believing,  as  most  of  the  French  at 
that  period  did,  that  the  great  rivers  flow- 
ing west  emptied  into  the  Sea  of  Califor- 
nia, was  anxious  to  embark  in  the  enter- 
prise of  discovering  a  route  across  the  con- 
tinent to  the  commerce  of  China  and 
Japan. 

He  repaired  at  once  to  Quebec  to  obtain 
the  approval  of  the  Governor.  His  elo- 
quent appeal  prevailed.  The  Governor 
and    the    Intendant,    Talon,  issued    letters 


20 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERKITORY. 


patent  authorizing  the  enterprise,  but  made 
uo  provision  to  defray  the  expenses.  At 
this  juncture  the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice 
decided  to  send  out  missionaries  in  connec- 
tion with  the  expedition,  and  La  Salle  offer- 
ing to  sell  his  improvements  at  LaCiiine  to 
raise  money,  the  offer  was  accepted  by  the 
Superior,  and  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
dollars  were  raised,  with  which  La  Salle 
purchased  four  canoes  and  the  necessary 
6up])Iies  for  the  outfit. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  1669,  the  party,  num- 
bering twenty-four  persons,  embarked  in 
seven  canoes  on  the  St.  Lawrence;  two  ad- 
ditional canoes  carried  the  Indian  guides. 
In  three  days  they  were  gliding  over  the 
bosom  of  Lake  Ontario.  Their  guides  con- 
ducted them  directly  to  the  Seneca  village 
on  the  bank  of  the  Genesee,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  present  City  of  Ilochester,  New 
York.  Here  they  expected  to  procure 
guides  to  conduct  them  to  the  Ohio,  but  in 
this  they  were  disappointed. 

The  Indians  seemed  unfriendly  to  the 
enterprise.  La  Salle  suspected  that  the 
Jesuits  had  prejudiced  tlieir  minds 
against  his  plans.  After  waiting  a  month 
in  the  hope  of  gaining  their  object,  thev 
met  an  Indian  from  the  Iroquois  colony  at 
the  head  of  Lake  Ontai'io,  who  assured 
them  that  they  could  there  find  guides,  and 
offei'ed  to  conduct  them  tlieiice. 

On  tlicir  way  the}'  passed  the  moutli  of 
the  Niagara  River,  wlienthey  heard  for  the 
first  time  the  distant  thunder  of  the  cata- 
ract. Arriving  among  the  Iroquois,  tiiey 
met  with  a  friendly  reception,  and  learned 
from  a  Shawauee  prisoner  that  they  conkl 
reaeii  tl;e  Ohio  in  six  weeks.  Delighted 
with  the  unexpected  good  fortune,  they 
made  ready  to  resume    their  journey;  but 


just  as  they  were  about  to  start  they  heard 
of  the  arrival  of  two  Frenchmen  in  a  neigh- 
boring village.  One  of  them  proved  to  be 
Louis  Joliet,  afterward  famous  as  an  ex- 
plorer in  the  West.  He  had  been  sent  by 
tiie  Canadian  Government  to  explore  the 
copper  mines  on  Lake  Superior,  but  had 
failed,  and  was  on  his  way  back  to  Quebec. 
lie  gave  the  missionaries  a  map  of  the 
country  he  had  explored  in  the  lake  region, 
togetlier  with  an  account  of  the  condition 
of  the  Indians  in  that  quarter.  This  in- 
duced the  priests  to  determine  on  leaving 
the  expedition  and  iroing  to  Lake  Superioi'. 
La  Salle  warned  them  that  the  Jesuits  were 
probably  occupyins  that  field,  and  that 
they  would  meet  with  a  cold  reception. 
Nevertheless  they  persisted  in  their  pur- 
pose, and  after  worship  on  the  lake  shore 
parted  from  La  Salle.  On  arriving  at  Lake 
Superior,  they  found,  as  La  Salle  had  pre- 
dicted, the  Jesuit  Fathers,  Marquette  and 
Dablon,  occupying  the  field. 

These  zealous  disciples  of  Loyola  in- 
formed them  that  they  wanted  no  assistance 
from  St.  Sulpice,  nor  from  those  who  made 
him  their  patron  saint;  and  thus  repulsed, 
they  returned  to  Montreal  the  following 
June  without  having  made  a  single  discov- 
ery or  converted  a  single  Indian. 

Alter  parting  with  the  priests,  La  Salle 
went  to  the  chief  Iroquois  village  at  Onon- 
daga, where  he  obtained  guides,  and  passing 
thence  to  a  tributary  of  the  Ohio  south  of 
Lake  Erie,  he  descended  the  latter  as  far  as 
the  falls  at  Louisville.  Thus  was  the  Ohio 
discovered  by  La  Salle,  the  persevering  and 
successful  French  explorer  of  the  West,  in 
1069. 

The  account  of  the  latter  part  of  his 
journey  is  found  in  an  anonymous   paper, 


THE  NOKTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


27 


wliii'li  ])iir]i(ii-ts  toliavc  been  taken  from  tlie 
lips  of  La  Salle  liimself  during  a  subsequent 
visit  to  Paris.  In  a  letter  written  to  Count 
Frontenac  in  lfi67,  shortly  after  the  discov- 
er}', he  himself  says  that  he  discovered  the 
Ohio  and  descended  it  to  the  falls.  This 
was  regarded  as  an  indisputable  fact  by  the 
French  authorities,  who  claimed  the  Ohio 
Valley  upon  another  ground.  When  "Wash- 
ington was  sent  by  the  colony  of  Virginia 
in  1753,  to  demand  of  Gordeur  de  St.  Pierre 
why  the  French  had  built  a  fort  on  the  Mo- 
nongahela,  the  haughty  commandant  at 
Quebec  replied:  "  We  claim  the  country  on 
the  Ohio  by  virtue  of  the  discoveries  of 
La  Salle,  and  will  not  give  it  up  to  the  Eng- 
lish. Our  orders  are  to  make  prisoners  of 
ever}'  Englishman  found  trading  in  the 
Ohio  Valley." 

ENGLISH     EXPLORATIONS     AND     SETTLEMENTS. 

When  the  new  year  of  1750  broke  in  up- 
on the  Father  of  AVaters  and  the  Great 
Northwest,  all  was  still  wild  save  at  the 
French  posts  already  described.  In  1749, 
when  the  English  first  began  to  think  seri- 
ously about  sending  men  into  the  West, 
the  greater  portion  of  tlje  States  of  Indi- 
ana, Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
and  Minnesota  were  yet  under  the  domin- 
ion of  the  red  men.  The  English  knew, 
however,  pretty  conclusively  of  the  nature 
of  the  wealth  of  these  wilds.  As  early  as 
]710,  Governor  Spotswood,  of  Virginia, 
had  commenced  movements  to  secure  the 
country  west  of  the  Alleghanies  to  the 
English  crown.  In  Pennsylvania,  Gover- 
nor Keith  and  James  Logan,  secretary  of 
the  province,  from  1719  to  1731,  represent- 
ed to  the  powers  of  England  the  necessity 
of  securing  the  Western  lauds.      Nothing 


was  done,  however,  by  that  power  save  to 
take  some  diplomatic  steps  to  secure  the 
claims  of  Britain  to  this  unexplored  wilder- 
ness. 

England  had  from  the  outset  claimed 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Paciiic,  on  the 
ground  that  the  discovery  of  the  seacoast 
and  its  possession  was  a  discovery  and  pos- 
session of  the  country,  and,  as  is  well  known, 
her  grants  to  the  colonies  extended  "from 
sea  to  sea."  This  was  not  all  her  claim. 
She  had  purchased  from  the  Indian  tribes 
large  tracts  of  land.  This  latter  was  also  a 
stiong  argument.  As  early  as  1GS4,  Lord 
Howard,  Governor  of  Virginia,  held  a  trea- 
ty with  the  six  nations.  These  were  the 
great  Northern  Confederacy,  and  comprised 
at  first  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagaa, 
Cayugas,  and  Senecas.  Afterward  the  Tus- 
caroras  were  taken  into  the  confederacy, 
and  it  became  known  as  the  Six  Nations. 
They  came  under  the  pirotection  of  the 
mother  country,  and  again  in  1701,  they 
repiented  the  agreement,  and  in  September, 
1726,  a  formal  deed  was  drawn  up  and 
signed  by  the  chiefs.  The  validity  of  this 
claim  has  often  been  disputed,  but  never 
successtnlly.  In  1744,  a  purchase  was  made 
at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  of  certain  lands 
within  the  "Colony  of  Virginia,"  for  which 
the  Indians  received  £200  in  gold  and  a 
like  sum  in  goods,  with  a  promise  that,  as 
settlements  increased,  more  shuuld  be  paid. 
The  Commissioners  from  Virginia  were 
Colonel  Thomas  Lee  and  Colonel  AVilliam 
Beverley.  As  settlements  extended,  the 
]iromise  of  more  pay  was  called  to  mind, 
and  Mr.  Conrad  Weiser  was  sent  across  the 
mountains  with  presents  to  appease  the 
savages.  Col.  Lee,  and  some  Viririnians 
accompanied   him  with    the    intention   of 


22 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


souridiiio;  the  Indians  upon  their  feelings 
regarding  the  English.  They  were  not 
satisfied  with  their  treatment,  and  plainly 
told  the  Comniissioners  why.  The  English 
did  not  desire  the  cultivation  of  the  country, 
but  the  monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade.  In 
1748,  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  and 
petitioned  the  king  for  a  grant  of  land 
beyond  the  Alleghenies.  This  was  granted, 
and  the  government  of  Virginia  was  or- 
dered to  grant  to  them  a  half  million  acres, 
twi.  hundred  thousand  of  which  were  to  be 
located  at  once.  Upon  the  12th  of  June, 
17-1!>,  S00,000  acres  from  the  line  of  Canada 
north  and  west  was  made  to  the  Loyal 
Comi)any,    and    on    the    29th    of  October, 

1751,  100.000  acres  were  given  to  the 
Greenhriar  Company.  All  this  time  the 
French  were  not  idle.  They  saw  that, 
should  the  British  gain  a  footiiold  in  the 
West,  especially  upon  the  Ohio,  they 
might  not  only  prevent  the  French  set- 
tling upon  it,  but  in  time  would  come  to 
the  lower  posts  and  so  gain  jiossession  of 
the  whole  country.  Upon  tlie  lOtii  of  May, 
1774-,  Vaudreuil,  Governor  of  Canada  and 
the  French  possessions,  well  knowing  the 
consequences  that  must  arise  from  allow- 
ing the  English  to  build  trading  posts  in 
tlie  Northwest,  seized  some  of  their  frontier 
posts,  and  to  further  secure  the  claim  of  the 
Fi-ench  to  the  West,  he,  in  1749,  sent  Louis 
Celeron  with  a  party  of  soldiers  to  plant 
ailing  the  Ohio  River,  jn  the  mounds  and 
at  the  mouths  of  its  ])rincipal  tributaries, 
plates  of  lead,  on  which-were  inscribed  the 
claims  of  France.     These  were  heard  of  in 

1752,  and  within  the  memory  of  residevits 
now  living  along  the  "Oyo,"  as  the  beauti- 
ful river  w;is  called  by  the  French.  One 
ot  tliese  plates  was  found  with  the  inscrip- 


tion partly  defaced.  It  bears  date  August 
16,  1749,  and  a  copyot  the  inscription  with 
particular  account  of  the  discovery  of  the 
plate,  was  sent  by  DeWitt  Clinton  to  the 
American  Antiquarian  Society,  among 
whose  journals  it  may  now  be  found.* 
These  measures  did  not,  however,  deter  the 
English  from  going  on  with  their  explora- 
tions, and  though  neither  part}'  resorted  to 
arms,  yet  the  conflict  was  gathering,  and  it 
was  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  storm 
would  burst  upon  the  frontier  settlements. 
Ill  1750,  Christopher  Gist  was  sent  by  the 
Ohio  Company  to  examine  its  lands.  He 
went  to  a  village  of  the  Twigtwees,  on  the 
Miami,  about  one  hundi'ed  and  fifty  miles 
above  its  mouth.  He  afterwani  spoke  of  it 
as  very  populous.  From  there  he  went 
down  the  Ohio  lliver  nearly  to  the  falls  at 
the  present  City  of  Louisville,  and  in 
November  he  commenced  a  survey  of  the 
Company's  lands.  During  the  winter. 
General  Andrew  Lewis  performed  a  similar 
work  for  the  Greenbriar  Company.  Mean- 
while the  French  were  busy  in  preparing 
their  firts  for  defense,  and  in  opening 
roads,  and  also  sent  a  small  party  of  soldiers 
to  keep  the  Ohio  clear.  This  party,  having 
heard   of  the  English  post  on  the  Miami 

*  The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  insciiption  on 
the  plat":  "In  the  year  1749,  reign  of  Ijoiiis  XV., 
King  of  France,  we,  Celeron,  commandant  of  a  de- 
tachment by  Mo  sieur  the  Marquis  of  GalIi.soniere, 
commander-in-chief  of  New  France,  to  establish  tran- 
quility in  certain  Indian  villages  o*.  these  cantons, 
have  buried  this  plate  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Toradakoin,  this  twenty-ninth  of  .July,  near  the  river 
Ohio,  otiierwise  Beautiful  River,  as  a  monument  of 
renewal  of  possession  which  we  have  taken  of  the 
said  river,  and  all  its  tributaries;  inasmuch  as  the 
preceding  Kings  of  France  have  enjoyed  it,  and 
maintained  it  by  their  arms  and  treaties;  esp  cially 
by  thoBe  of  Eyswick,  Utrecht,  and  Aix  La  Chapelle." 


THE  iNORTHWEST  TEREITORY. 


23 


Kivor,  early  in  1652,  assisted  by  the 
Ottawas  and  Cliippevvas,  attacked  it,  and, 
after  a  severe  battle,  in  which  fourteen  of 
the  natives  were  killed  and  others  wounded, 
captured  the  garrison.  (They  were  prob- 
ably garrisoned  in  a  block  house).  The 
traders  were  carried  away  to  Canada,  and 
one  account  says  sereral  were  burned.  This 
fort  or  post  M-as  called  by  the  English 
Pic-kawillany.  A  memorial  of  the  king's 
ministers  refers  to  it  as  "  Pickawillanes,  in 
the  center  of  the  territory  between  the  Ohio 
and  the  Wabash.  The  name  is  probably 
some  variation  of  Pickaway  or  Picqna,  in 
1773,  written  by  Ilev.  David  Jones,  Pick- 
aweke." 

This  was  the  first  blood  shed  between  the 
French  and  English,  and  occurred  near  the 
present  City  of  Piqna,  Ohio,  or  at  least  at 
a  point  about  forty-seven  miles  north  of 
Dayton.  Eaeli  nation  became  now  more 
interested  in  the  progress  of  events  in  the 
jS'ortiiwest.  The  English  determined  to 
purchase  from  the  Indians  a  title  to  the 
lands  they  wished  to  occupy,  and  Messrs. 
Fry  (afterward  C'ommander-in-chief  over 
Washington  at  the  coinmencemjnt  of  the 
French  War  of  1775-1763),  Loniax  and 
Patton  were  sent  in  the  spring  of  1752  to 
bold  a  conference  with  the  natives  at  Logs- 
town  to  learn  what  they  objected  to  in  the 
treaty  of  Lancaster  already  noticed  and  to 
settle  all  difficulties.  On  the  9th  of  June, 
these  Commissioners  mei  the  red  men  at 
Logstown,  a  little  village  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Ohio,  about  seventeen  miles 
below  the  site  of  Pittsburgh.  Here  had 
been  a  trading  point  for  many  years,  but  it 
was  abandoned  by  the  Indians  in  1750.  xVt 
first  the  Indians  declined  to  recognize  the 
treaty  of  Lancaster,  but,  the  Cuuimission- 


ers  taking  aside  Montour,  the  interpreter, 
who  was  a  son  of  the  famous  Catharine  Mon- 
tour, and  a  chief  among  the  Six  Nations, 
induced  him  to  use  his  infiuenco  in  their 
favor.  This  lie  did,  and  upon  the  i;>tli  of 
June  they  all  united  in  signing  a  deed,  con- 
firming the  Lancaster  treaty  in  its  full  ex- 
tent, consenting  to  asettlement  of  the  soul  h- 
east  of  the  Ohio,  and  guaranteeing  that  it 
should  not  be  disturbed  by  them.  These 
were  the  means  used  to  obtain  the  first 
treaty  with  the  Indians  in  the  Ohio  Valley. 

Meanwhile  the  powers  beyond  the  sea 
were  trying  to  ont-maneuver  each  other, 
and  were  professing  to  be  at  peace.  The 
English  generally  outwitted  the  Indians, 
and  failed  in  many  instances  to  fulfill  their 
contracts.  They  thereby  gained  the  ill- 
will  of  the  red  men,  and  further  increased 
the  feeling  by  failing  to  provide  them  with 
arms  and  ammunition.  Said  an  old  chief, 
at  Easton,  in  175S:  "The  Indians  on  the 
Ohio  left  you  because  of  your  own  fault. 
When  we  heard  the  French  were  comini;, 
we  asked  you  for  help  and  arms,  but  we  ilid 
not  get  them.  The  French  came,  they 
treated  us  kindly,  and  gained  our  affections. 
The  Governor  of  Virginia  settled  on  our 
lands  for  his  own  benefit,  and,  when  we 
wanted  help,  forsook  us." 

At  the  beginning  of  1653,  the  English 
thought  they  had  secured  by  title  the  lands 
in  the  West,  but  the  French  had  quietly 
gathered  cannon  and  military  stores  to  be 
in  readiness  for  the  expected  blow.  The 
English  made  other  attempts  to  ratify  these 
existing  treaties,  but  not  until  the  s  nnmer 
could  the  Indians  be  gathered  together  to 
discuss  the  plans  of  the  French.  They  had 
sent  messages  to  the  French,  warning  them 
away;    but  they  replied  that  they  intended 


24 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


to  complete  tlie  chain  of  forts  already  be- 
gun, and  would  not  abandon  the  field. 

Soon  after  this,  no  satisfaction  bein;^  ob- 
tained froin  the  Ohio  regardinif  the  posi- 
tions and  purposes  of  the  French,  Governor 
Dinwiddie  of  Virginia  determined  to  send 
to  tlieni  another  messenger  and  learn  from 
them,  if  possible,  their  intentions.  For 
this  purpose  he  selected  a  young  man,  a 
surveyor,  who,  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen, 
had  received  the  rank  of  major,  and  who 
was  thoroughly  posted  regarding  frontier 
life.  This  personage  was  no  other  than  the 
illustrious  George  Washington,  who  then 
held  considerable  interest  in  AVestern  lands. 
He  was  at  this  time  just  twenty-two  years 
of  age.  Taking  Gist  as  his  guide,  the  two, 
accompanied  by  four  servitors,  set  out  on 
their  perilous  march.  They  left  Will's 
Creek  on  the  10th  of  November,  1753,  and 
on  the  "2'2d  reached  the  Monongahela,  about 
ten  miles  above  the  fork.  From  there  they 
went  to  Logstown,  where  Washington  had 
a  long  conference  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Six 
Nations.  From  them  he  learned  the  con- 
dition of  the  French,  and  also  heard  of 
their  determination  not  to  come  down  the 
river  till  the  following  spring.  The  Indi- 
ans were  non-committal,  as  they  were  afraid 
to  turn  either  way,  and,  as  fur  as  they 
could,  desired  to  remain  neutral.  Wash- 
ington, finding  nothing  could  be  done 
with  them,  went  on  to  Venango,  an  old 
Indian  town  at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek. 
Here  the  French  had  a  fort,  called  Fort 
Machault.  Through  the  rum  and  flattery 
of  the  French,  he  nearly  lost  all  his  Indian 
followers.  Finding  nothing  of  importance 
here,  lie  pursued  his  way  amid  great  priva- 
tions, and  on  the  11th  of  December  reached 
the  fort  at  the  head  of  French  Creek.    Here 


he  delivered  Governor  Dinwiddie's  letter, 
received  his  answer,  took  his  observations, 
and  on  the  Ifith  set  out  upon  his  return 
journey  with  no  one  but  Gist,  his  guide, 
and  a  few  Indians  who  still  remained  true 
to  him,  notwithstanding  the  endeavors  of 
the  French  to  retain  them.  Their  home- 
ward journey  was  one  of  great  peril  and 
Ruft'ering  from  the  cold,  yet  they  reached 
home  in  safety  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1754. 

From  the  letter  of  St.  Pierre,  commander 
of  the  French  fort,  sent  by  Washington  to 
G.ivernor  Dinwiddie,  it  was  learned  that 
tlie  French  wonld  not  give  up  without  a 
struggle.  Active  preparations  "were  at 
once  made  in  all  the  English  colonies  for 
tlie  coming  conflict,  while  the  French  fin- 
ished the  fort  at  Venango  aud  strengthened 
their  lines  of  fortifications,  and  gathered 
their  forces  to  be  in  readiness. 

The  Old  Dominion  was  all  alive.  Vir- 
ginia was  the  center  of  great  activities;  vo,- 
unteers  were  called  for,  and  from  all  the 
neighboring  colonies  men  rallied  to  the 
conflict,  and  everywhere  along  the  Potomac 
men  were  enlisting  under  the  governor's 
proclamation — which  promised  two  hun- 
dred thousand  acres  on  the  Ohio.  Along 
this  river  they  were  gathering  as  far  as 
Will's  Creek,  and  far  beyond  this  point, 
whither  Trent  had  come  for  assistance  for 
his  little  band  of  forty-one  men,  who  were 
working  away  in  hunger  and  want,  to  for- 
tify that  point  at  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  to 
which  both  parties  were  looking  with  deep 
interest. 

"The  first  birds  of  spring  filled  the  air 
with  their  song;  the  swift  river  rolled  by 
the  Allegheny  hillsides,  swollen  by  the 
melting  snows   of   spring  and   the  April 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


25 


sliowers.  Tlie  leaves  were  appearing:  a 
tbw  Indian  scouts  were  seen,  but  no  eueinj 
seemed  near  at  hand;  and  all  was  so  (juiet, 
that  Frazier,  an  old  Indian  scout  and  trader, 
who  liad  been  left  by  Trent  in  coniniand, 
ventured  to  his  home  at  the  mouth  of 
Turtle  Creek,  ten  miles  up  the  Monongahela. 
But,  though  all  was  so  quiet  in  that  wilder- 
ness, keen  eyei  had  seen  the  low  intrench- 
n;e  it  rising  at  the  fork,  and  swift  feet  had 
borne  the  news  of  it  up  the  river;  and  upon 
the  morning  of  the  17th  of  April,  Ensign 
Ward,  wlio  then  had  charge  of  it,  saw  upon 
the  Allegheny  a  sight  that  niade  his  heart 
sink — sixty  batteaux  and  three  hundred 
canoes  filled  with  men,  and  laden  deep  with 
cannon  and  stores.  *  *  *  That  evening 
lie  su])ped  with  his  captor,  Oontrecoeur,  and 
the  next  day  he  was  bowed  oft"  by  the 
Frenchman,  and  with  his  men  and  tools, 
marched  up  the  Monongaliela." 

The  French  and  Indian  war  had  begun. 
The  treaty  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  in  I74S,  had 
left  the  boundaries  between  the  French  and 
English  possessions  unsettled,  and  the 
events  alread}^  narrated  show  the  French 
were  determined  to  hold  the  country  wa- 
tered by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries; 
while  the  English  laid  claims  to  the  country 
by  virtue  of  the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots, 
and  claimed  all  the  country  from  New- 
foundland to  Florida,  extending  ironi  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The  first  decisive 
blow  had  now  been  struck,  and  the  first 
attempt  of  the  English,  through  the  Ohio 
Com]iany,  to  occupy  these  lands,  had  re- 
sulted disastrously  to  them.  The  French 
and  Indians  immediately  completed  the 
fortifications  begun  at  the  Fork,  which  they 
bad  so  easily  captured,  and  when  completed 
gave  to  the  fort  the  name  of  Du  Quesne. 


Washington  was  at  Will's  Creek  when  the 
news  of  the  cajitureof  the  fort  arrived.  lie 
at  once  departed  to  recapture  it.  On  his 
way  he  entrenched  liimself  at  a  place  called 
the  "  Jleadows,"  where  he  erected  a  f  irt 
called  bv  him  Fort  Necessity.  From  thci-e 
he  surprised  and  captured  a  force  of  French 
and  Indians  marching  against  him,  but  was 
soon  after  attacked  in  his  fort  by  a  ranch 
superior  force,  and  was  obliged  to  yield  on 
the  morningof  July  4th.  He  was  allowed 
to  return  to  Virginia. 

The  English  Government  immediately 
jilanned  four  campaigns;  one  against  Fort 
L)u  Quesne;  one  against  Nova  Scotia;  one 
against  Fort  Niagara,  and  one  against 
Crown  Point.  These  occurred  during 
1755-6,  and  were  not  successful  in  driving 
the  French  from  their  possessions.  The 
expedition  against  Fort  Dii  Quesne  was  led 
by  the  famous  General  Braddock,  who,  re- 
fusing to  listen  to  the  advice  of  Washington 
and  those  acquainted  with  Indian  warfare, 
suffered  such  an  inglorious  defeat.  This 
occurred  on  the  morning  of  July  9th,  and 
is  generally  known  as  the  battle  of  Monon- 
gahela,  or  "  Braddock's  Defeat."  The  war 
continued  with  various  vicissitudes  through 
the  years  175G-7;  when,  at  the  conimence- 
of  1758  in  accordance  with  the  plans  of 
William  Pitt,  then  Secretary  of  State, 
afterward  Lord  Chatham,  active  prepara- 
tions were  made  to  carry  on  the  war. 
Three  expeditions  were  ]ilanncd  for  this 
year:  one,  under  General  Amherst,  against 
Louisburg;  another,  under  Abercrombie, 
against  Fort  Ticonderoga;  and  a  third,  un- 
der General  Forbes,  against  Fort  Du 
Quesne.  On  the  26th  of  July,  Louisburg 
surrendered  after  a  desperate  resistance  of 
more  than  forty  days,  and  the  eastern  part 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


of  the  Canadian  possessions  tell  into  the 
hands  of  the  British.  Abercrombie  cap- 
tured Fort  Froiitenac,  and  when  the  ex- 
pedition against  Fort  Du  Quesne,  of  which 
Washington  had  the  active  command,  ar- 
rived there,  it  was  found  in  flames  and  de- 
serted. The  English  at  once  took  posses- 
sion, rebuilt  the  fort,  and  in  honor  of  their 
illustrious  statesman,  changed  the  name  to 
Fort  Pitt. 

The  great  object  of  the  campaign  of 
1759,  was  the  reduction  of  Canada.  Gen- 
eral Wolfe  was  to  lay  siege  to  Quebec;  Ara- 
lierst  was  to  reduce  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  and  General  Prideaux  was  to  cap- 
ture Niagara.  This  latter  place  was  taken 
in  Jul}',  but  the  gallant  Prideaux  lost  his 
life  in  the  atteinjit.  Amherst  captured 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  without  a 
blow;  and  Wolfe,  after  making  the  men:or- 
able  ascent  to  the  plains  of  Abraham,  on 
September  13th,  defeated  Montcalm,  and 
on  the  ISth,  the  city  capitulated.  In  this 
engagement  Montcalm  and  "Wolfe  both 
lost  their  lives.  De  Levi,  Montcalm's  suc- 
cessor, marched  to  Sillery,  three  miles 
above  the  city,  with  tlie  purpose  of  defeat- 
ing the  English,  and  there,  on  the  2Sth  of 
the  following  April,  was  fought  one  of  the 
bloodiest  battles  of  the  French  and  Indian 
war.  It  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the 
French,  and  the  fall  of  the  city  of  Montreal. 
The  Governor  signed  a  capitulation,  by 
which  the  whole  of  Canada  was  surrendered 
to  the  English.  Tiiis  practically  conclu- 
ded the  war,  but  it  was  not  until  1763  that 
the  treaties  of  peace  between  France  and 
England  were  signed.  This  was  done  on 
the  10th  of  February  of  that  year,  and  un- 
der its  provisions  all  the  country  east  of 
the  Mississippi  and  north  of  the  Iberville 


river,  in  Louisiana,  were  ceded  to  England. 
At  the  same  time  Spain  ceded  Florida  to 
Great  Britain. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  17G0,  Major 
Robert  Rogers  was  scivti  fr6m  Montreal  to 
take  charge  of  l*)t!troit,  the  only  remaining 
French  post  in  the  territcvj-y.  He  arrived 
thereon  the  19th  of  November,  and  sum- 
moned the  place  to  surrender.  At  tirst  the 
commander  of  the  post,- Beletre,  refused, 
but  on  the  29th,  hearing  of  the  continued 
defeat  of  the  French  arms,  surrendered. 
Rogers  renminqd  -there  until  December  23d, 
under  the  personal  protection  of  the  cele- 
brated chief,  Pontiac,  to  whom,  no  doubt, 
he  owed  his  safety.  Pontiac  had  come  here 
to  inquire  the  purposes  of  the  English  in 
taking  possession  of  the  country.  lie  was 
assured  that  tiiey  came  simply  to  trade 
with  the  natives,  and  did'not  desire  their 
country.  This  answer  conciliated  the  sav- 
a<res,  and  did  much  to  insure  the  safety  of 
Rogers  and  his  party  during  their  stay, 
and  while  on  their  journey  home. 

Rogers  set  out  for  Fort  Pitt  on  Decem- 
ber 23d,  and  was  just  one  month  on  the 
wav.  His  route  was  from  Detroit  to  Mau- 
mee,  thence  across  the  present  State  of 
Ohio  directly  to  the  fort.  This  -was  the 
common  trail  of  the  Indians  in  their  jour- 
neys from  Sandusky  to  the  Fork  of  the 
Ohio.  It  went  from  Fort  Sandusky,  where 
Sandusky  city  now  is,  crossed  the  Huron 
river,  then  called  Bald  Eagle  Creek,  to  "Mo- 
hickon  John's  Town"  Creek,  on  Moliikon 
Creek,  the  northern  branch  of  "White 
AVoman's  river,  And  then  crossed  to  Bea- 
ver's town,  a  Delaware  town  on  what  is 
now  Sandy  Creek.  At  Beaver's  town  were 
probably  one  hundred  and  tifty  warriors, 
and  not  less  than  three  thousand  acres  of 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


29 


cleared  land.  From  there  the  track  went 
up  Sandy  Creek  to  and  across  Bi;^  Beaver, 
and  up  the  Ohio  toLogstown,  thence  on  to 
the  fork. 

The  Northwest  Territory  was  now  en- 
tirely under  the  Enj^lish  rule.  New  settle- 
ments began  to  be  rapidly  made,  and  the 
promise  of  a  large  trade  was  speedily  mani- 
fested. Ilad  the  British  carried  out  their 
2)romises  with  the  natives,  none  of  those 
savage  butcheries  would  have  been  perpe- 
trated, and  the  country  would  have  been 
spared  their  recital. 

The  renowned  chief,  Pontiac,  was  one  of 
the  leading  spirits  in  these  atrocities.  We 
will  now  ]iause  in  our  narrative,  and  notice 
the  leading  events  in  his  life..  The  earliest 
authentic  information  regarding  this  noted 
IndiaTi  chief,  is  learned  from  an  account  of 
an  Indian  trader  named  Alexander  Henry, 
who,  in  the  spring  of  1761,  penetrated  his 
domains  as  far  as  Missiilimacnac.  Ponti- 
ac was  then  a  great  triend  of  the  French, 
but  a  bitter  foe  of  the  Euglish,  whom  he 
considered  as  encroaching  on  his  hunting 
grounds.  Henry  was  obliged  to  disguise 
himself  as  a  Canadian  to  insure  safety,  but 
was  discovered  by  Pontiac,  who  bitterly 
reproached  him,  and  the  English  for  their 
attempted  subjugation  of  the  West.  He 
declared  that  no  ti-eat}'  had  been  made 
with  them;  no  presents  sent  them,  and 
that  he  would  resent  any  possession  of  the 
West  by  that  nation.  He  was  at  the  time 
about  tifty  years  of  age,  tall  and  dignified, 
and  was  civil  and  military  ruler  of  the  Ot- 
tawas,  Ojibwas  and  Pottawa|§mies. 

Tiie  Indians,  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the 
borders  of  North  Carolina,  were  united  in 
this  feeling,  and  at  the  time  of  tlie  treaty 
of  Paris,  ratified  February  10,  1763,  a  gen- 


eral cons])ii-acy  was  formed  to  fall  suddenly' 
upon  the  I'rontier  British  posts,  and  witli 
one  blow  strike  every  man  dead.  Pontiac 
was  the  marked  leader  in  all  this,  and  was 
the  commander  of  the  Chipjiewas,  Otta 
was,  Wyandots,  Miamis,  Sliavvanese,  Dela- 
wares  and  Mingoes,  who  had,  for  the  time, 
laid  aside  their  local  quarrels  to  unite  in 
this  enterprise. 

The  blow  came,  as  near  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, on  May  7,  1703.  Nine  British 
posts  fell,  and  the  Indians  drank,  "scooped 
up  in  the  hollow  of  joined  hands,"  the 
blood  of  many  a  Briton. 

Pontiac's  immediate  tield  of  action,  was 
the  garrison  at  Detroit.  Here,  however, 
the  plans  were  frustrated  by  an  Indian 
woman  disclosinic  the  plot  the  evening  pre- 
vious to  his  arrival.  Everything  was  car- 
ried out,  however,  according  to  Pontiac's 
plans  until  the  moment  of  action,  when 
Major  Gladwyn,  the  commander  of  tiie 
post,  stepping  to  one  of  the  Indian  chiefs, 
suddenly  drew  aside  his  blanket  and  dis- 
closed the  concealed  musket.  Pontiac 
though  a  brave  man,  turned  pale  and 
trembled.  He  saw  his  plan  was  known 
and  that  the  garrison  were  prepared.  He 
endeavored  to  exculpate  himself  from  any 
such  intentions;  but  the  guilt  was  evident, 
and  he  and  his  followers  were  dismissed 
with  a  severe  reprimand,  and  warned  never 
to  again  enter  the  walls  of  the  post. 

Pontiac  at  once  laid  siege  to  the  fort, 
and  until  the  treaty  of  peace  between  the 
British  and  the  Western  Indians,  conclud- 
ed in  August,  1764,  continued  to  harass 
and  besiege  the  fortress.  He  organized  a 
regular  commissariat  department,  issued 
bills  of  credit  written  out  on  bark,  which  to 
his  credit,  it  may  be   stated,  were  punctu- 


26 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


of  the  Canadian  possessions  tell  into  the 
hands  of  the  British.  Abercrombie  cap- 
tured Fort  Frmitenac,  and  wiien  the  ex- 
pedition against  Fort  Du  Quesne,  of  which 
AVashington  had  the  active  command,  ar- 
rived tliere,  it  was  iound  in  flames  and  de- 
serted. The  English  at  once  took  posses- 
sion, rebuilt  the  fort,  and  in  lionor  of  tiieir 
illustrious  statesman,  changed  the  name  to 
Fort  Pitt. 

Tlie  great  object  of  the  campaign  of 
1759,  was  the  reduction  of  Canada.  Gen- 
eral Wolfe  was  to  lay  siege  to  Quebec;  Am- 
lierst  was  to  reduce  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  and  General  Prideaux  was  to  cap- 
ture Niagara.  This  latter  place  was  taken 
in  July,  but  the  gallant  Prideaux  lost  his 
life  in  t'le  attempt.  Amherst  captured 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  without  a 
blow;  and  Wolfe,  after  making  the  memor- 
able ascent  to  the  plains  of  Abraham,  on 
September  13th,  defeated  Montcalm,  and 
on  the  18th,  the  city  capitulated.  In  this 
engauement  Montcalm  and  Wolfe  both 
lost  their  live.-^.  De  Levi,  Montcalm's  suc- 
cessor, marched  to  Siller^',  three  miles 
above  the  city,  with  the  purpose  of  defeat- 
ing the  English,  and  there,  on  the  2Sth  of 
the  following  April,  was  fought  one  of  the 
bloodiest  battles  of  the  French  and  Indian 
war.  It  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the 
■Frencli,  and  the  fall  of  the  city  of  Montreal. 
The  Governor  signed  a  capitulation,  by 
which  the  whole  of  Canada  was  surrendered 
to  the  English.  This  practically  conclu- 
ded the  war,  but  it  was  not  until  1763  that 
the  treaties  of  peace  between  France  and 
England  were  signed.  This  was  done  on 
the  10th  of  February  of  that  year,  and  un- 
der its  provisions  all  the  country  east  of 
the  Mississippi  and  north  of  the  Iberville 


river,  in  Louisiana,  were  ceded  to  England. 
At  the  sftme  time  Spain  ceded  Florida  to 
Great  Britain. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  17G0,  Major 
Robert  Rogers  was  seivt  fr6m  Montreal  to 
take  charge  of  t)6troit,  the  only  remaining 
French  post  in  the  territoj'y.  He  arrived 
thereon  the  19th  of  November,  and  sum- ' 
moned  the  place  to  surrender.  At  first  the 
commander  of  the  post,- Beletre,  refused, - 
but  on  the  29th,  hearing  of  the  continued 
defeat  of  the  French  arms,  surrendered. 
Rogers  remained -there  until  December  23d, 
under  the  personal  protection  of  the  cele- 
brated chief,  Pontiae,  to  whom,  no  doubt, 
he  owed  his  safety.  Pontiae  had  come  here 
to  incpiire  the  purposes  of  the  English  in 
taking  possession  of  the  countrji  He  was 
assured  that  they  came  simply  to  trade 
with  the  natives,  and  did'not  desire  their 
country.  This  answer  conciliated  the  sav- 
ages, and  did  much  to  insure  the  safety  of 
Rogers  and  his  party  during  their  stay, 
and  while  on  their  journey  home. 

Rogers  set  out  for  Fort  Pitt  on  Decem- 
ber 23d,  and  was  just  one  mouth  on  the 
wav.  His  route  was  from  Detroit  to  Mau- 
inee,  thence  across  the  present  State  of 
Ohio  directly  to  the  fort.  This  was  the 
common  trail  of  the  Indians  in  their  jour- 
neys from  Sandusky  to  the  Fork  of  the 
Ohio.  It  went  from  Fort  Sandusky,  where 
Sandusky  city  now  is,  crossed  the  Huron 
river,  tlien  called  Bald  Eagle  Creek,  to  "Mo- 
hickon  John's  Town"  Creek,  on  Mohikon 
Creek,  tlie  northern  branch  of  White 
Woman's  river,  juid  then  crossed  to  Bea- 
ver's town,  a  Delaware  town  on  what  is 
now  Sandy  Creek.  At  Beaver's  town  were 
probably  one  hundred  and  iifty  warriors, 
and  not  less  than  three  thousand  acres  of 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


29 


cleared  land.  From  there  the  track  weut 
up  Sandy  Creek  to  and  across  Big  Beaver, 
and  up  the  Ohio  toLogstown,  thence  on  to 
the  fork. 

The  Northwest  Territory  was  now  en- 
tirely under  the  English  rule.  New  settle- 
ments began  to  be  rapidly  made,  and  the 
promise  of  a  large  trade  was  speedily  mani- 
fested. Had  the  British  cai-ried  out  their 
promises  with  the  natives,  none  of  those 
savage  bntclieries  would  havi'  been  perpe- 
trated, and  the  country  would  have  been 
spared  their  recital. 

The  renowned  chief,  Pontiac,  was  one  of 
the  leading  spirits  in  these  atrocities.  We 
will  now  pause  in  our  narrative,  and  notice 
the  leading  events  in  his  life..  The  earliest 
authentic  information  regarding  this  noted 
Indian  chief,  is  learned  from  an  account  of 
an  Indian  trader  named  Alexander  Henry, 
who,  in  the  spring  of  1761,  penetrated  his 
domains  as  far  as  Missillimacnac.  Ponti- 
ac was  then  a  great  friend  of  the  French, 
but  a  bitter  foe  of  the  English,  whom  he 
considered  as  encroaching  on  his  hunting 
grounds.  Henry  was  obliged  to  disguise 
himself  as  a  Canadian  to  insure  safety,  but 
was  discovered  by  Pontiac,  who  bitterly 
reproached  him,  and  the  English  for  their 
attempted  subjugation  of  the  West.  He 
declared  that  no  treaty  had  been  made 
with  them;  no  presents  sent  them,  and 
that  he  would  resent  any  possession  of  the 
West  by  that  nation.  He  was  at  the  time 
about  fifty  years  of  age,  tall  and  dignified, 
and  was  civil  and  military  ruler  of  the  Ot- 
tawas,  Ojibwas  and  Pottawa^gmies. 

The  Indians,  from  Lake  ilicliigan  to  the 
borders  of  North  Carolina,  were  united  in 
this  feeling,  and  at  the  time  of  the  treaty 
of  Paris,  ratified  February  10,  1763,  a  gen- 


eral conspiracy  was  formed  to  fall  suddenly 
U|ion  the  frontier  British  posts,  and  witii 
one  blow  strike  every  man  dead.  Pontiac 
was  the  marked  leaJiir  in  all  this,  and  was 
the  commander  of  the  Chippewas,  Otta 
was,  Wyandots,  Miamis,  Shawanese,  Dela- 
wares  and  Mingoes,  who  had,  for  the  time, 
laid  aside  their  local  quarrels  to  unite  in 
this  enterjirise. 

The  blow  came,  as  near  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, on  May  7,  1763.  Nine  British 
posts  fell,  and  the  Indians  drank,  "scooped 
up  in  the  hollow  of  joined  hands,"  the 
blood  of  many  a  Briton. 

Pontiac's  immediate  field  of  action,  was 
the  garrison  at  Detroit.  Here,  however, 
the  plans  were  frustrated  by  an  Indian 
woman  disclosins:  the  plot  the  evening  pre- 
vious to  his  arrival.  Everything  was  car- 
ried out,  however,  according  to  Pontiac's 
plans  until  the  moment  of  action,  when 
Major  Gladwj'n,  the  commander  of  the 
post,  stepping  to  one  of  the  Indian  chiefs, 
suddenly  drew  aside  his  blanket  and  dis- 
closed the  concealed  musket.  Pontiac 
though  a  brave  man,  turned  pale  and 
trembled.  He  saw  his  }ilan  was  known 
and  that  the  garrison  were  prepared.  He 
endeavored  to  exculpate  himself  from  any 
sucli  intentions;  but  the  guilt  was  evident, 
and  he  and  his  followers  were  dismissed 
with  a  severe  reprimand,  and  warned  never 
to  again  enter  the  walls  of  the  post. 

Pontiac  at  once  laid  siege  to  the  fort, 
and  until  the  treaty  of  peace  between  the 
British  and  the  Western  Indians,  conclud- 
ed in  August,  1764:,  continued  to  harass 
au'l  besieo-e  the  fortress.  He  or<ranized  a 
regular  commissariat  department,  issued 
bills  of  credit  written  outon  bark,  which  to 
his  credit,  it  may  be   stated,  were  pnnctu- 


30 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


ally  redeemed.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty,  in  which  it  seems  he  took  no  part, 
ho  went  farther  south,  living  many  years 
among  the  Illinois. 

He  iiad  given  up  all  hope  of  saving  his 
country  and  race.  After  a  time  he  endeav- 
ored to  unite  the  Illinois  tribe  and  those 
about  St.  Louis  in  a  war  with  the  whites. 
Ilis  efforts  were  fruitless,  and  only  ended 
in  a  quarrel  between  himself  and  some 
Ivaskaskia  Indians,  one  of  whom  soon  after- 
ward killed  him.  Ilis  death  was,  however, 
avenged  by  the  northern  Indians,  who 
nearly  extermiiiated  the  Illinois  in  the 
wars  which  followed. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  treachery  of  a 
few  of  his  followers,  his  plan  for  the  ex- 
termination of  the  whites,  a  masterly 
one,  would  undoubtedly  have  been  carried 

out. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  the  year  follow- 

ino-  Rogers'  visit  that  Alexander  Henry 
went  to  Missillimacnac,  and  everywhere 
found  the  strongest  feelings  against  the 
English  who  had  not  carried  out  their 
promises,  and  were  doing  nothing  to  con- 
ciliate the  natives.  Here  he  met  the  chief, 
Pontiac,  who  after  conveying  to  him  in  a 
sijeech  the  idea  that  their  French  father 
would  awake  soon  and  utterly  destroy  his 
enemies,  said:  "Englishman,  although 
you  havk:;  conquered  the  French,  you  have 
not  yet  concpicred  us  !  We  are  not  your 
slaves!  These  lakes,  these  woods,  these 
mountains,  were  left  us  by  our  ancestors. 
They  are  our  inheritance,  and  we  will  part 
with  them  to  none.  Your  nation  supposes 
that  we,  like  the  white  people,  can  not  live 
without  bread  and  pork  and  beef  But  you 
ought  to  know  that  He,  the  Great  Spirit  and 
Master  of  Life,  has  provided  food  for  us 


upon  these  broad  lakes  and  in  these  moun- 
tains." 

He  then  s])oke  of  the  fact  that  no 
treaty  had  been  made  with  them,  no 
presents  sent  them,  and  that  he  and  his 
people  were  yet  for  war.  Such  were 
the  feelings  of  the  Northwestern  Indians 
immediately  after  the  English  took  posses- 
sion of  their  country.  These  feelings  were 
no  doubt  encouraged  by  the  Canadians  and 
French,  who  hoped  that  yet  the  French 
arms  might  prevail.  The  treaty  of  Paris, 
however,  gave  to  the  English  the  right  to 
this  vast  domain,  and  active  preparations 
were  going  on  to  occupy  it  and  enjoy  its 
trade  and  emoluments. 

In  17C>-2,  France,  by  a  secret  treaty,  ceded 
Louisiana  to  Spain,  to  prevent  it  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  who  were 
becoming  masters  of  the  entire  West.  The 
next  year  the  treaty  of  Paris,  signed  at 
Fontainbleau,  gave  to  the  English  the  do- 
main of  the  country  in  question.  Twenty 
years  after,  by  the  treaty  of  peace  between 
the  United  States  and  England,  that  part 
of  Canada  lying  south  and  west  of  the 
Great  Lakes,  comin-ehending  a  large  terri- 
tory which  is  the  subject  of  these  sketches, 
was  acknowledged  to  be  a  portion  of  the 
United  States;  and  twenty  years  still  later, 
in  1S03,  Louisiana  was  ceded  by  Spain 
back  to  France,  and  by  France  sold  to  the 
United  States. 

In  the  half  century,  from  the  building 
of  the  Fort  of  Crevecoeur  by  Lx  Salle,  in 
1680,  up  to  the  erection  of  Fort  Chatres, 
many  Fi-ench  settlements  had  been  made  in 
that  quarter.  These  have  already  been 
noticed,  being  those  at  St.  Vincent  (Yin- 
cennes).  Koliokia  or  Gahokia,  Kaskaskia 
and  Prairie  du    Rojher,  on    the  American 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


31 


Bottom,  a  large  tract  of  ricli  alluvial  soil 
in  Illinois,  on  the  Mississippi,  opposite  the 
site  of  St.  Louis. 

By  tlic  treaty  of  Paris,  the  regions  cast 
of  tiie  Mississippi,  including  all  these  and 
other  towns  of  the  Northwest,  were  given 
over  to  England,  but  they  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  taken  possession  of  until  17(3.5, 
when  Captain  Stirling,  in  the  name  of  tlie 
]\[ajest3'  of  England,  establislied  himself  at 
Fort  Chartres  bearing  with  him  the  procla- 
mation of  General  Gaire,  datecl  December 
oO,  17G4,  which  promised  religious  freedom 
to  all  Catholics  who  worshipped  here,  and 
a  right  to  leave  the  country  with  their 
eifects  if  they  wished,  or  to  remain  with 
the  privileges  of  Englishmen.  It  was 
shortly  after  the  occupancy  of  the  West  by 
the  British  that  the  war  with  Pontiac 
opened.  It  is  already  noticed  in  the  sketch 
of  tiiat  chieftain.  By  it  many  a  Briton  lost 
his  life,  and  many  a  frontier  settlement  in 
its  infancy'  ceased  to  exist.  This  was  not 
ended  until  the  year  1704,  when,  failing  to 
capture  Detroit,  Niagara  and  Fort  Pitt, 
his  confederacy  became  disheartened,  and, 
receiving  no  aid  from  the  French,  Pontiac 
abandoned  the  enterprise  and  departed  to 
the  Illinois,  among  whom  he  afterward 
lost  his  life. 

As  soon  as  these  difficulties  were  defi- 
nitely settled,  settlers  began  rapidly  to  sur- 
vey the  country,  and  prejiare  for  occupa- 
tion. During  the  year  1770,  a  number  of 
persons  from  Virginia  and  other  British 
provinces  explored  and  marked  out  nearly 
all  tlie  valuable  lands  on  the  Monongihela 
and  ahing  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  as  far  as 
the  Little  Kanawha.  This  was  followed  by 
another  exploring  expedition,  in  which 
George    Washington    was   a    party.      The 


latter,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Craik,  Capt. 
Crawford  and  others,  on  the  20th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1770,  descended  the  Ohio  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawlui ;  as- 
cended that  stream  about  fourteen  miles, 
marked  out  several  large  tracts  of  land, 
shot  several  bufl'alo,  which  were  then  abun- 
dant in  the  Ohio  valley,  and  returned  to 
the  fort. 

Pittsbnrgli  was  at  tliis  time  a  trading 
post,  abiut  which  was  clustered  a  village 
of  some  twenty  houses,  inhabited  by  In- 
dian traders.  This  same  year,  Capt.  Pitt- 
man  visited  Kaskaskia  and  its  neighbor- 
ing villages.  He  found  there  about  sixt}-- 
five  resident  families,  and  at  Cahokia  only 
fortv-five  dwellings.  At  Fort  Chartres  was 
another  small  settlement,  and  at  Detroit 
the  garrison  were  quite  prosperous  and 
strong.  For  a  year  or  two  settlers  con- 
tinued to  locate  near  some  of  these  posts, 
generally  Fort  Pitt  or  Detroit,  owing  to 
the  fears  of  the  Indians,  who  still  main- 
tained some  feelings  of  hatred  to  the  Eng- 
lish. The  trade  from  the  posts  was  quite 
good,  and  from  those  in  Illinois  large  quan- 
tities of  pork  and  flour  found  their  way  to 
the  New  Orleans  market.  At  this  time 
the  policy  of  the  Britisli  Government  was 
strongly  opposed  to  the  extension  of  the 
colonies  west.  In  1763,  the  King  of  Eng- 
land forbade,  by  royal  proclamation,  his 
colonial  subjects  fi\)in  making  a  settle- 
ment beyond  the  sources  of  the  rivers 
which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  At  the 
instance  of  the  Board  of  Trailo,  measures 
were  taken  to  prevent  the^settlement  with- 
out the  limits  prescribeil,  and  to  retain  the 
commerce  within  easy  reach  of  Great 
Britain. 

The   commander-in-chief  of   the  king's 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


forces  wrote  in  17(31}  :  "  In  the  course  of  a 
few  3'ears  necessity  will  compel  the  colo- 
nists, should  they  extend  their  settlements 
west,  to  provide  mannfacturesof  some  kind 
for  themselves,  and  when  all  connection 
upheld  by  commerce  with  the  mother  coun- 
try ceases,  an  independency  in  their  ^gov- 
ernment will  soon  tollow." 

In  accordance  with  this  policy.  Gov. 
Ga;i;e  issued  a  jiroclamatiou  in  1772,  com- 
manding the  inhuliitants  of  A^incennes  to 
abandon  their  settlements  and  join  some 
of  the  Eastern  English  colonies.  To  this 
they  strenuously  objected,  giving  good 
reasons  therefor,  and  were  allovved  to  re- 
main. The  strong  opposition  to  this  pol- 
icy of  Great  Britain  led  to  its  change,  and 
to  such  a  course  as  to  gain  the  attachment 
of  the  French  population.  In  December, 
1773,  influential  citizens  of  Quebec  peti- 
tioned the  king  for  an  extension  of  the 
boundary  lines  of  that  province,  which  was 
granted,  and  Parliament  passed  an  act  on 
June  2,  1774-,  extending  the  boundary  so 
as  to  include  the  territory  lying  within  the 
present  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  Michigan. 

In  consequence  of  the  liberal  policy  pur- 
sued by  the  British  Government  toward 
the  French  settlers  in  the  "West,  they  were 
disposed  to  favor  that  nation  in  the  war 
which  soon  followed  with  the  colonies;  but 
the  early  alliance  between  France  and 
America  soon  brought  them  to  the  side  of 
the  war  for  independence. 

In  1774,  Gov.  Dunmore,  of  Virginia, 
began  to  encourage  emigration  to  the 
Western  lands.  He  appointed  magistrates 
at  Fort  Pitt,  under  the  pretense  that  the 
fort  was  under  the  government  of  that 
commonwealth.      One   of    these  justices, 


John  Connelly,  who  possessed  a  tract  of 
land  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  gathered  a  force 
of  men  and  garrisoned  the  fort,  callin"  it 
Fort  Dunmore.  This  antl  other  parties 
were  formed  to  select  sites  for  settlements, 
and  often  came  in  conflict  with  the  Indians, 
who  yet  claimed  portions  of  the  valley,  and 
several  battles  followed.  These  ended  in 
the  famous  battle  of  Kanawha,  in  July, 
where  the  Indians  were  defeated  anil  driv- 
en across  the  Ohio. 

During  the  years  1775  and  177G,  by  the 
operations  of  land  companies  and  the  par- 
severance  of  individuals,  several  settle- 
ments were  rirmly  established  between  the 
AUeghenies  and  the  Ohio  Kiver,  and  west- 
ern land  speculators  were  busy  in  Illinois 
and  on  the  Wabasli.  At  a  council  held  in 
Kaskaskia,  on  July  5,  1773,  an  association 
of  English  traders,  calling  themselves  the 
"Illinois  Land  Companj',"  obtained  from 
ten  chiefs  of  the  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia  and 
Peoria  tribes  two  large  tracts  of  land  lying 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  River 
south  of  the  Illinois.  In  1775,  a  merchant 
from  the  Illinois  country,  named  Viviat, 
came  to  Post  Vincenues  as  the  agent  of  the 
association  called  the  "Wabash  Laud  Com- 
pany." On  the  8th  of  October  he  ol)tained 
froni  eleven  Piankeshaw  chiefs,  a  deed  tor 
37,407,000  acres  of  land.  This  deed  was 
signed  Ity  the  grantora^fctested  by  a  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  oT  Vincenues,  and 
afterward  rccoi-ded  in  the  oftice  of  a  notary 
public  at  Kaskaskia.  This  and  other  land 
ccim]ianies  had  extensive  schemes  for  the 
colonization  of  the  West;  but  all  were  frus- 
trated by  the  breaking  out  ot  the  Kevolu- 
tion.  On  the  20th  of  April,  17S0,  the  two 
companies  named  consolidated  under  the 
name  of  the  "  L'nited  Illinois  and  Wabash 


TlIK  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


33 


Land  ("oinpany."  Tlie^-  afterward  made 
stremioiis  eiforts  to  have  tliese  grants  sanc- 
tioned b}'  Congress,  but  all  signally  failed. 

When  the  War  of  the  llevolution  corn- 
ipenced,  Kentucky  was  an  unorganized 
country',  though  there  were  several  settle- 
ments within  her  borders. 

In  Ilutchins'  To])ography  of  Virginia, 
it  is  stated  that  at  that  time  "Kaskaskia 
contained  80  houses,  and  nearly  1,000 
white  and  black  inhabitants — the  whites 
being  a  little  the  more  numerons.  Caho- 
kia  contains  50  houses  and  300  white  in- 
habitants and  SO  negroes.  There  were 
east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  about  the 
year  1771  " — when  these  observations  were 
made — "300  white  men  capable  of  bearing 
arras,  and  230  negroes." 

From  1775  until  the  expedition  of  Clark, 
nothing  is  recorded  and  nothing  known  of 
these  settlements,  save  what  is  contained 
in  a  report  made  by  a  committee  to  Con- 
gress in  June,  1778.  From  it  the  follow- 
ing extract  is  made: 

"Kear  the  mouth  of  the  River  Kaskas- 
kia, there  is  a  village  which  appears  to 
have  contained  nearly  eight}'  families  from 
the  beginning  of  the  late  revolution. 
There  are  twelve  families  in  a  small  villaije 
at  la  Prairie  du  Rocliers,  and  near  fifty 
families  at  the  Kahokia  Village.  There 
are  also  four  or  five  families  at  Fort  Char- 
tres  and  St.  Phillips,  which  is  five  miles 
farther  up  the  river." 

St.  Louis  had  been  settled  in  Febi'uary, 
1764.,  and  at  this  time  contained,  including 
its  .neighboring  towns,  over  six  hundred 
whites  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  negroes. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  all  the  coun- 
trj'  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  now  under 
French  rule,  and  remained   so  until  ceded 


again  to  Spain,  its  original  owner,  who 
afterwards  sold  it  and  the  country  includ- 
ing New  Orleans  to  the  United  States. 
At  Detroit  there  were,  according  to  Capt. 
Carver,  who  was  in  the  northwest  from 
17CG  to  1768,  more  than  one  hundred  houses 
and  the  river  was  settled  for  more  than 
twenty  miles,  although  poorly  cultivated — 
the  people  being  engaged  in  the  Indian 
trade.  This  old  town  has  a  history,  which 
we  will  here  relate. 

It  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  Northwest, 
having  been  founded  by  Antoine  Lade- 
motte  Cadillac,  in  1701.  It  was  laid  out 
in  the  form  of  an  oblong  square,  of  two 
acres  in  length  and  an  acre  and  a  half  in 
width.  As  described  by  A.  D.  Frazer,  who 
first  visited  it  and  became  a  permanent 
resident  of  the  place,  in  1778,  it  comprised 
within  its  limits  that  space  between  Mr. 
Palmer's  store  (Conant  Block)  and  Capt. 
Perkins'  house  (near  the  Arsenal  building), 
and  extended  back  as  far  as  the  public 
barn,  and  was  bordered  in  front  by  the 
Detroit  River.  It  was  surrounded  by  oak 
and  cedar  pickets,  about  fifteen  feet  long,  set 
in  the  ground,  and  liad  four  gates-east, west, 
north  and  south.  Over  the  first  three  of 
these  gates  were  block  houses  provided  with 
four  guns  apiece,  each  a  six  pounder.  Two 
six-gun  batteries  were  planted  fronting  the 
river,  and  in  a  parallel  direction  with  the 
block  houses.  There  were  four  streets 
running  east  and  west,  the  main  street  be- 
ing twenty  feet  wide  and  the  rest  fifteen 
feet,  while  the  four  streets  crossing  these  at 
right  angles  were  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet 
in  width. 

At  the  date  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Frazer, 
there  was  no  fort  within  the  enclosure,  but 
a  citadel  on  the  ground  corresponding  to 


34 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


the  present  northwest  corner  of  Jefferson 
Avenue  and  Wayne  Street.  Tlie  citadel 
was  inclosed  by  pickets,  and  within  it  were 
erected  barracks  of  wood,  two  stories  high, 
siitiicient  to  contain  ten  officers,  and  also 
barracks  sufficient  to  contain  four  liundred 
men,  and  a  provision  store  built  of  brick. 
Tlie  citadel  also  contained  a  liospital  and 
a  gnard-honse.  The  old  town  of  Detroit, 
in  1778,  contained  about  sixty  houses, 
most  of  them  one  story,  with  a  few  a  story 
and  a  half  in  lieiijht.  They  were  all  of 
logs.  Some  hewn  and  some  round.  There 
was  one  building  of  splendid  appearance, 
c.iiled  the  '*  King's  Palace,"  two  stories 
high,  which  stood  near  the  east  gate.  It 
was  built  for  Governor  Hamilton,  the  first 
governor  commissioned  by  the  British. 
There  were  two  guard-houses,  one  near  tlie 
west  gate  and  the  other  near  the  Govern- 
ment House.  Each  of  the  guards  con- 
sisted of  twenty-four  men  and  a  subaltern, 
wlio  mounted  regularly  every  morning  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  o'clock.  Each  fur- 
nished four  sentinels,  who  were  relieved 
every  two  hours.  There  was  also  an  offi- 
cer of  the  day,  who  performed  strict  duty. 
Each  of  the  gates  was  shut  regularly  at 
sunset ;  even  wicket  gates  were  shut  at 
nine  o'clock,  and  all  the  keys  were  deliv- 
ered into  the  hands  of  the  commanding 
officer.  Tliey  were  opened  in  the  morning 
at  sunrise.  No  Indian  or  squaw  was  per- 
mitted to  enter  town  with  any  weapon, 
such  as  a  tomahawk  or  a  knife.  It  was  a 
standing  order  that  the  Indians  should  de- 
liver their  arms  and  instruments  of  everv 
kind  before  they  were  permitted  to  pass 
the  sentinel,  and  they  were  restored  to 
them  on  their  return.  No  more  than 
twenty-five  Indians  were  allowed  to  enter 


the  town  at  any  one  time,  and  they  were 
admitted  only  at  the  east  and  west  gates. 
At  sundown  the  drums  beat,  and  all  the 
Indians  were  required  to  leave  town  in- 
stantly. There  was  a  council  bouse  near 
the  water  side  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
council  with  the  Indiai\s.  The  population 
of  the  town  was  about  sixty  families,  in  all 
about  two  hundred  males  and  one  hundred 
females.  This  town  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
all  except  one  dwelling,  in  1805.  After 
which  the  preseut  "  new "  town  was  laid 
out. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution, 
the  British  held  every  post  of  importance 
in  the  West.  Kentucky  was  formed  as  a 
component  part  of  Virginia,  and  the  sturdy 
pioneers  of  the  West,  alive  to  their  inter- 
ests, and  recognizing  the  great  benefits  of 
obtaining  the  control  of  the  trade  in  this 
part  of  the  New  World,  held  steadily  to 
their  pnri)oses,  and  those  within  the  com- 
monwealth of  Kentucky  proceeded  to  ex- 
ercise their  civil  privileges,  by  electing 
John  Todd  and  Richard  Calloway,  burgess- 
es to  represent  them  in  the  Assembly  of 
the  parent  state.  Early  in  September  of 
that  year  (1777)  the  first  court  was  held  in 
Harrodsburg,  and  Col.  Bowman,  afterward 
major,  who  had  arrived  in  August,  was 
made  the  commander  of  a  militia  organiza- 
tion which  had  been  coiumenecd  the  March 
previous.  Thus  the  tree  of  loyalty  was 
growing.  The  chief  spirit  in  this  far-ont 
colony,  who  had  represented  her  the  year 
previous  east  of  the  mountains,  was  now 
meditating  a  move  unequaled  in  its  bold- 
ness. He  had  been  watcliing  the  move- 
ments of  the  British  throughout  the  North- 
west, and  understood  their  whole  plan. 
He  saw  it  was  through  their  posoesoioa  of 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


35 


the  posts  at  Detroit,  Vincennes,  Kaskaskia, 
and  other  places,  which  would  give  them 
constant  and  easy  access  to  the  various  In- 
dian tribes  in  the  Xorthwest,  that  the  Brit- 
ish intended  to  penetrate  the  country  from 
the  north  and  south,  and  annihilate  the 
frontier  fortresses.  This  moving,  energetic 
man  was  Colonel,  afterward  General, 
George  Tlogers  Clark.  lie  knew  the  In- 
dians were  iiot  unanimously  in  accord  with 
the  English,  and  he  was  convinced  that, 
could  the  British  be  defeate  I  and  expelled 
from  the  Xorthwest,  the  natives  might  be 
easily  awed  into  neutrality  ;  and  by  spies 
sent  for  the  purpose,  he  satisfied  himself 
that  the  enterprise  against  the  Illinois  set- 
tlements might  easily  succeed.  Having 
convinced  himself  of  the  certainty  of  the 
project,  he  repaired  to  tlie  Capital  of  Vir- 
ginia, which  place  he  reached  on  Xovember 
5th.  While  he  was  on  his  way,  fortunately, 
on  October  17th,  Burgoyne  had  been  de- 
feated, and  the  spirits  of  the  colonists 
greatly  encouraged  thereby.  Patrick  Henry 
was  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  at  once 
entered  heartily  into  Clark's  plans.  The 
same  plan  had  before  been  agitated  in  the 
Colonial  Assemblies,  but  there  was  no  one 
until  Clark  came  who  was  sufficiently 
acquiiinted  with  the  condition  of  affairs  at 
the  scene  of  action  to  be  able  to  guide  them. 
Clark,  having  satisfied  the  Virginia  lead- 
ers of  the  feasibility  of  his  plan,  received, 
on  the  2d  of  January,  two  sets  of  instruc- 
tions— one  secret,  tlie  other  open — the  lat- 
ter authorized  him  to  proceed  to  enlist 
seven  com]ianies  to  go  to  Kentucky,  sub- 
ject to  his  orders,  and  to  serve  three  months 
from  their  arrival  in  the  West.  The  secret 
order  authorized  him  to  arm  these  troops, 
to  procure  his  powder  and  lead  of  General 


Hand    at    Pittsburgh,  and    to    proceed    at 
once  to  subjugate  the  country. 

Witli  these  instructions  Clark  repaired 
to  Pittsburgh,  choosing  rather  to  raise  his 
men  west  of  the  mountains,  as  he  well 
knew  all  were  needed  in  the  colonies  in 
the  conflict  there.  He  sent  Col.  W.  B. 
Smith  to  Holston  for  the  same  purpose, 
but  neither  succeeded  in  raising  the  re- 
quired number  of  men.  The  settlers  in 
these  parts  were  afraid  to  leave  their  own 
firesides  exposed  to  a  vigilant  foe,  and  but 
few  could  be  induced  to  join  the  proposed 
expedition.  With  three  companies  and 
several  private  volunteers,  Clark  at  length 
commenced  his  descent  of  the  Ohio,  which 
he  navigated  as  far  as  the  Falls,  where  he 
took  possession  of  and  fortified  Corn  Isl- 
and, a  small  island  between  the  present 
cities  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  Xew 
Albany,  Indiana.  Remains  of  this  forti- 
fication may  yet  be  found.  At  this  place 
he  appointed  Col.  Bowman  to  meet  him 
with  such  recruits  as  had  reached  Ken- 
tuck}^  by  the  southern  route,  and  as  many 
as  could  be  spared  from  the  station.  Here 
he  announced  to  the  men  their  real  desti- 
nation. Having  completed  his  arrange- 
ments, and  chosen  his  party,  he  left  a  small 
garrison  upou  the  island,  and  on  the  24rtli 
of  June,  during  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
which  to  them  augured  no  good,  and  which 
fixes  beyond  dispute  the  date  of  starting, 
he  with  his  chosen  band,  fell  down  the 
river.  His  plan  was  to  go  bj'  water  as  far 
as  Fort  Massac  or  Massacre,  and  thence 
march  direct  to  Kaskaskia.  Here  he  in- 
tended to  surprise  the  garrison,  and  after 
its  capture  go  to  Cahokia,  then  to  Vincen- 
nes, and  histly  to  Detroit.  Should  he  fail, 
he  intended  to  march  directly  to  the  Miss- 


36 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


issip]ji  Eiver  and  cross  it  into  the  Spanish 
country.  Before  his  start  he  received  two 
ijood  items  of  infoririation  ;  one  that  the 
alliance  had  been  formed  between  Fi-ance 
and  the  United  States  ;  and  the  other  that 
the  Indians  tlirou;^hont  the  Illinois  country 
and  the  inhabitants,  at  the  various  frontier 
posts,  liad  been  led  to  believe  by  tlie  Brit- 
ish that  the  "Long  Knives"  or  Virginians, 
were  the  most  fierce,  bloodthirsty  and  cruel 
savages  that  eversca]])ed  a  foe.  With  this 
imprecsion  on  their  minds,  Clark  saw  that 
proper  management  would  cause  them  to 
submit  at  once  fri.im  fear,  if  surprised,  and 
then  from  gratitude  would  become  friendly 
if  treated  with  unexpected  leniency. 

The  march  to  Kaskaskia  was  accon)plish- 
ed  through  a  hot  July  sun,  and  the  town 
reached  on  the  evening  of  July  4.  He  cap- 
tured the  fort  near  the  village,  and  soon 
after  the  village  itself  by  surprise,  and  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  single  man  or  by  killing 
any  of  the  enemy.  After  sufficiently  work- 
ing upon  the  fears  of  the  natives,  Clark 
toid  them  they  were  at  perfect  liberty  to 
worship  as  they  pleased,  and  to  take  which- 
ever side  of  the  great  conflict  they  would, 
also,  he  would  protect  them  from  any  bar- 
barity from  British  or  Indian  foe.  This 
had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  inhal)itants, 
so  unexpectedly  and  so  gratefully  surprised 
by  the  unlooked-for  turn  of  affairs,  at  once 
swore  allegiance  to  the  American  arms,  and 
when  Clark  desired  to  go  to  Cahokia  on 
the  6th  of  July,  they  accompanied  him, 
and  through  their  influence  the  inhabitants 
of  the  place  surrendered,  and  gladly  placed 
themselves  under  his  protection.  Thus 
the  two  important  posts  in  Illinois  passed 
from  the  hands  of  the  English  into  the  pos- 
session of  Yiririnia. 


In  the  person  of  the  priest  at  Kaskaskia, 
II.  Gibanlt,  Clark  found  a  powerful  ally 
and  generous  friend.  Clark  saw  that,  to 
retain  possession  of  the  Northwest  and 
treat  successfully  with  the  Indians  within 
its  boundaries,  he  must  establish  a  govern- 
ment for  the  colonies  he  had  taken.  St. 
Yincent,  the  next  important  post  to  De- 
troit, remained  yet  to  be  taken  before  the 
Mississippi  Valley  was  conquered.  M.  Gib- 
anlt told  him  that  he  would  alone,  by  per- 
suasion, lead  Vinccnnes  to  throw  oft'  its 
connection  with  England.  Clark  gladly 
accepted  his  ofler,  and  on  the  14th  of  July, 
in  company  with  a  fellow-towiismm,  M. 
Gibault  started  on  his  mission  of  peace 
and  on  the  1st  of  August  returned  wita  the 
cheerful  intelligence  that  the  post  on  the 
"Oubache"  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance to  the  Old  Dominion.  During  this 
interval,  Clark  established  his  courts,  placed 
garrisons  at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  suc- 
cessfully re-enlisted  his  men,  sent  word  to 
have  a  fort,  which  proved  tiiegerra  of  Louis- 
ville, erected  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  and 
dispatched  M.  Rocheblave,  who  had  been 
commander  at  Kaskaskia,  as  a  prisoner  of 
war  to  Richmond.  In  October  the  County 
of  Illinois  was  established  by  the  Leiris- 
lature  of  Virginia,  John  Todd  appointed 
Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Civil  Governor, 
and  in  November  General  Clark  aul  his 
men  received  the  thanks  of  the  O.d  Dj- 
minion  through  their  Legislature. 

In  a  speech  a  few  days  afterward,  Clark 
made  known  fully  to  the  natives  his  platis, 
and  at  its  close  all  came  forward  and  swore 
allegiance  to  the  Long  Knives.  While  he 
was  doing  this  Governor  Hamilton,  having 
made  liis  various  arrangements,  had  left 
Detroit  and  moved  down  the  Wabash  to 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


37 


Yincennes  iuteiuliii;^  to  0])er<ite  from  that 
])i)iiitiii  rediiciiii^  the  Illinois  posts,  and 
then  proceed  on  down  to  Kentucky  and 
drive  the  rebels  from  the  West.  Gen. 
Clark  had,  on  the  return  of  M.  Gibault, 
dispatched  Captain  Helm,  of  Faurpiier 
County,  Viri^inia,  with  an  attendant  named 
Henry,  across  the  Illinois  prairies  to  com- 
mand the  fort.  Hamilton  knew  nothing 
of  the  cajiitulation  of  the  post,  and  was 
greatly  surprisdl  on  his  arrival  to  be  con- 
fronted by  Capt.  Helm,  who,  standing  at 
the  entrance  of  the  fort  by  a  loaded  cannon 
ready  to  lire  upon  his  assailants,  demanded 
upon  what  terms  Hamilton  demanded  pos- 
session of  the  fort.  Being  granted  the 
rights  of  a  prisoner  of  war,  he  surrendered 
to  the  British  General,  who  could  scarcely 
believe  his  eyes  when  he  saw  the  force  in 
the  garrison. 

Hamilton,  not  realizing  the  character  of 
the  nan  with  whom  he  was  contending, 
gave  up  his  intended  campaign  for  the 
winter,  sent  his  four  hundred  Indian  war- 
riors to  prevent  troops  from  coming  down 
the  Ohio,  and  to  annoy  the  Americans  in 
all  ways,  and  sat  quietly  down  to  pass  the 
winter.  Information  of  all  these  proceed- 
ings having  reached  Clark,  he  saw  that 
immediate  and  decisive  action  was  neces- 
sary, and  that  unless  he  captured  Hamil- 
ton, Hamilton  would  capture  him.  Clark 
received  the  news  on  the  29th  of  January, 
1779,  and  on  February  4th,  having  suffi- 
ciently garrisoned  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia, 
he  sent  down  the  Mississippi  a  "  battoe," 
as  Major  Bowman  writes  it,  in  order  to  as- 
cend the  Ohio  and  Wabash,  and  operate 
with  the  land  forces  gathering  for  the 
fray. 

On  the  next  day,  Clark,  with  his  little 


force  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  set 
out  for  the  post,  and  after  incredible  hard 
marching  through  much  mud,  the  irround 
being  thawed  by  the  incessant  spring  rains, 
on  the  22nd  reached  the  fort,  and  being 
joined  by  his  "battoe,"  at  once  commenced 
the  attack  on  the  post.  The  aim  of  the 
American  backwoodsmen  was  unerring, 
and  on  tlie  2-lth  the  garrison  surrendered 
to  tlie  intrepid  boldness  of  Clark.  The 
French  were  treated  with  great  kindness, 
and  gladly  renewed  their  allegiance  to  Vir- 
ginia. Hamilton  was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to 
Virginia,  where  he  was  kept  in  close  con- 
finement. During  his  command  of  the 
British  frontier  posts,  he  had  offered  prizes 
to  the  Indians  for  all  the  scalps  of  Ameri- 
cans they  would  bring  to  him,  and  had 
earned  in  consequence  thereof,  the  title 
"Hair-buyer  General,"  by  which  he  was 
ever  afterward  known. 

Detroit  was  now  without  doubt  within 
easy  reach  of  tlie  enterprising  Virginian, 
could  he  but  raise  the  necessary  force. 
Governor  Henry  being  apprised  of  this, 
promised  him  the  needed  reinforcement, 
and  Clark  concluded  to  wait  until  he  could 
capture  and  sufficiently  garrison  the  posts. 
Had  Clark  failed  in  this  bold  undertaking, 
and  Hamilton  succeeded  in  uniting  the 
western  Indians  for  the  next  spring's  cam- 
paign, the  West  would  indeed  have  been 
swept  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  and  the  great  blow  struck, 
which  had  been  contemplated  from  the 
commencement,  by  the  British. 

"  But  for  this  small  army  of  dripping, 
but  fearless  Virginians,  the  union  of  all 
tlie  tribes  from  Georgia  to  Maine  against 
the  colonies  might  have  been  effected,  and 
the  whole  current  of  our  history  changed." 


38 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


At  tliis  time  some  fears  were  entertained 
by  the  Colonial  Governments  that  the  In- 
dians in  the  Xorth  and  Northwest  were  in- 
clining to  the  British,  and  under  the  in- 
strnctions  of  Washini,'ton,  now  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  tlie  Colonial  army,  and  so 
bravely  fighting  for  American  independ- 
ence, armed  forces  were  sent  against  the 
Six  Nations,  and  upon  the  Ohio  frontier, 
Col.  Bowman,  acting  under  the  same  gen- 
eral's orders,  marched  against  Indians 
within  the  present  limits  of  that  State. 
These  expeditions  were  in  the  main  suc- 
cessful, and  the  Indians  were  compelled  to 
sue  for  peace. 

During  the  same  year  (1779)  the  famous 
'Land  Laws  "of  Virginia  were  passed. 
The  passage  of  these  laws  was  of  more  con- 
sequence to  the  pioneers  of  Kentucky  and 
the  Northwest  than  the  gaining  of  a  few 
Indian  conflicts.  These  laws  confirmed  in 
main  all  grants  made,  and  guaranteed  to  all 
actual  settlers  their  rights  and  privileges. 
After  providing  for  the  settlers,  the  laws 
provided  for  selling  the  balance  of  the  pub- 
lic lands  at  forty  cents  per  acre.  To  carry 
the  Land  Laws  into  effect,  the  Legislature 
sent  four  Virginians  westward  to  attend  to 
the  various  claims,  over  many  of  wliich 
great  confusion  prevailed  concerning  their 
validity.  These  gentlemen  opened  their 
court  on  October  13,  1779,  at  St.  Asaphs, 
and  continued  until  April  26,  17S0,  when 
they  adjourned,  haviriL'  decided  three  thou- 
sand claims.  They  were  succeeded  by  the 
surveyor,  who  came  in  the  person  of  Mr. 
George  May,  and  assumed  his  duties  on 
the  loth  day  of  the  month  whose  nattie  he 
bore.  With  the  openinj;  of  the  next  year 
(1780)  the  troubles  concerning  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi  commenced.     The 


Spanish  Government  exacted  such  measures 
in  relation  to  its  trade  as  to  cause  the  over- 
tures made  to  the  United  States  to  be  re- 
jected. The  American  Government  con- 
sidered they  had  a  right  to  navigate  its 
channel.  To  enforce  their  claims,  a  fort 
was  erected  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river.  The 
settlements  in  Kentucky  were  being  rapidly 
filled  by  emigrants.  It  was  during  this 
year  that  the  first  seminary  of  learning  was 
established  in  tiie  West  in  this  young  and 
enterprising  Commonwealth. 

The  settlers  here  did  not  look  upon  the 
building  of  this  fort  in  a  friendly  manner, 
as  it  aroused  the  hostility  of  the  Indians. 
Spain  had  been  friendly  to  the  Colonies 
during  their  strugijle  for  independence, 
and  though  for  a  while  this  friendship  ap- 
peared in  danger  from  the  refusal  of  the 
free  navigation  of  the  river,  j-et  it  was 
finally  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  both 
nations. 

The  winter  of  1779-80  was  one  of  the 
m  ist  unusuall}-  severe  ones  ever  experienced 
in  the  West.  The  Indians  always  referred 
to  it  as  the  '■  Great  Cold."  Numbers  of  wild 
animals  perished,  and  not  a  few  pioneers 
lost  their  lives.  The  following  summer  a 
party  of  Canadians  and  Indians  attacked 
St.  Louis,  and  attempted  to  take  possession 
of  it  in  consequence  of  the  friendly  dispo- 
sition of  Spain  to  the  revolting  Colonies. 
They  met  with  such  a  determined  resist- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants,  even 
the  women  taking  part  in  the  battle,  that 
they  were  compelled  to  abandon  the  con- 
test. They  also  made  an  attack  on  the 
settlements  in  Kentucky,  but,  becoming 
alarmed  in  some  unaccountable  manner, 
they  fled  the  country  in  great  haste. 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


39 


About  tins  time  arose  tlie  question  iu 
tlie  Colonial  Congress  concerning  the  west- 
ern lands  claimed  by  Virginia,  New  York, 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  The  agi- 
tation concerning  this  subject  finally  led 
New  York,  on  the  I9th  of  February,  1780, 
to  pass  a  law  giving  to  the  delegates  of 
that  State  in  Congress  the  power  to  cede 
her  western  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the 
United  States.  This  law  was  laid  before 
Congress  during  the  next  month,  but  no 
stejis  were  taken  concerning  it  until  Sep- 
tember 6th,  when  a  resolution  passed  that 
body  calling  upon  the  States  claiming  west- 
ern lands  to  release  their  claims  in  favor  of 
the  whole  body.  This  basis  formed  the 
union,  and  was  the  first  after  all  of  those 
legislative  measures  which  resulted  in  the 
creation  of  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minne- 
sota. In  December  of  the  same  year,  the 
plan  of  conquering  Detroit  again  arose. 
The  conquest  might  have  easily  been 
eifected  by  Clark  had  the  necessary  aid 
been  furnished  him.  Nothing  decisive  was 
done,  yet  the  heads  of  the  Govei-nment 
knew  that  the  safety  of  the  Northwest  from 
British  invasion  lay  in  the  capture  and 
retention  of  that  important  post,  the  only 
unconquered  one  in  the  territory. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year,  Kentucky 
was  divided  into  the  Counties  of  Lincoln, 
Fayette  and  Jefferson,  and  the  act  estab- 
lishing the  Town  of  Louisville  was  passed. 
This  same  year  is  also  noted  in  the  annals 
of  American  history  as  the  year  in  which 
occurred  Arnold's  treason  to  the  United 
States. 

Virginia,  in  accordance  with  the  resolu- 
tion of  Congress,  on  the  2d  day  of  January, 
ITol,  agreed  to  yield  her  western  lauds  to 


the  United  States  upon  certain  conditions, 
which  Congress  would  not  accede  to,  and 
the  act  of  Cession,  on  the  part  of  the  Old 
Dominion,  failed,  nor  was  anj'thing  fur- 
ther done  until  1783.  During  all  that 
time  the  Colonies  were  busily  engaged  in 
the  struggle  with  the  mother  country,  and 
in  consequence  thereof  but  little  heed  was 
given  to  the  western  settlements.  Upon 
the  16th  of  April,  1781,  the  first  birth 
north  of  the  Ohio  River  of  American  par- 
entage occurred,  being  that  of  ]\[ary  Heck- 
ewelder,  daughter  of  the  widely  known 
Moravian  missionary,  whose  band  of  Chris- 
tian Indians  suffered  in  after  years  a  hor- 
rible massacre  by  the  hands  of  the  frontier 
settlers,  who  had  been  exasperated  by  the 
murder  of  several  of  their  neighbors,  and 
in  their  rage  committed,  without  regard  to 
humanity,  a  deed  which  forever  afterward 
cast  a  shade  of  shame  upon  their  lives. 
For  this  and  kindred  outrages  on  the  part 
of  the  whites,  the  Indians  committed  many 
deeds  of  cruelty  wliich  darken  the  years  of 
1771  and  1772  in  the  history  of  the  North- 
west. 

During  the  year  1782  a  number  of  bat- 
tles among  the  Indians  and  frontiersmen 
occurred,  and  between  the  Moravian  Indi- 
ans and  the  Wyandots.  In  these,  horrible 
acts  of  cruelty  were  practiced  on  the  cap- 
tives, many  of  such  dark  deeds  transpiring 
under  the  leadership  of  the  notorious  front- 
ier outlaw,  Simon  Girty,  whose  name,  as 
well  as  those  of  his  brothers,  was  a  terror 
to  women  and  children.  These  occurred 
chiefly  in  the  Ohio  valleys.  Contompo- 
rarv  with  them  were  several  engagements 
in  Kentucky,  in  which  the  famous  Daniel 
Boone  engaged,  and  who  often,  bf  his 
skill    and    knowledge   of    Indian    warfare, 


40 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


saved  the  outposts  from  cruel  destruction. 
By  tlie  close  of  the  year  victory  h;id 
perched  upon  the  American  banner,  and 
on  the  30th  of  November,  provisional  arti- 
cles of  peace  had  been  arranged  between 
the  Commissioners  of  Enojland,  and  her 
unconquerable  Colonies.  Cornwallis  had 
been  defeated  on  tlie  19th  of  October  pre- 
cedino^,  and  the  liberty  of  America  was  as- 
sured. On  the  19th  of  April  following, 
the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexington, 
peace  was  proclaimed  to  the  army  of  the 
United  States,  and  on  the  3d  of  the  next 
September,  the  definite  treaty  which  ended 
our  revolutionary  struggle,  was  concluded. 
By  the  terms  of  that  treaty,  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  West  were  as  follows:  On  the 
north  the  line  was  to  extend  along  the  cen- 
ter of  the  Great  Lakes;  from  the  western 
])()int  of  Lake  Superior  to  Long  Lake; 
thence  to  tiie  Lake  of  the  Woods;  thence 
to  the  head  of  the  Mississippi  River,  down 
its  center  to  the  31st  parallel  of  latitude, 
then  on  that  line  east  to  the  head  of  the 
Appalachicola  River;  down  its  center  to 
its  junction  with  the  Flint;  thence  straight 
to  the  hcMd  of  St.  Mary's  River,  and  thence 
down  along  its  center  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean. 

Following  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
with  Englanil,  several  posts  were  still  occu- 
pied by  the  British  in  the  North  and  West. 
Among  these  was  Detroit,  still  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy.  Nnmerons  engagements 
with  the  Indians  tlirougliout  Ohio  and  In- 
diana occurred,  upon  whose  lands  adventur- 
ous whites  would  settle  ere  the  title  had 
been  aci^uired  by  the  ]iroper  treaty. 

To  remedy  this  latter  evil,  Congress  ap- 
pointed commissioners  to  treat  with  the 
uatives  and  purchase  their  lands,  and  pro- 


hibited the  settlement  of  the  territory  until 
this  could  be  done.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  another  attempt  was  made  to  capture 
Detroit,  which  was,  however,  not  pushed, 
and  Virginia,  no  longer  feeling  the  interest 
in  the  Northwest  she  had  formerly  done, 
withdrew  her  troops,  having  on  the  20th  of 
December  preceding  authorized  the  whole 
of  her  possessions  to  be  deeded  to  the 
United  States.  This  was  done  on  the  1st 
of  ifareh  following,  and  the  Northwest 
Territory  passed  from  the  control  of  the 
Old  Dominion.  To  Gen.  Clark  and  his 
soldiers,  however,  she  gave  a  tract  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land, 
to  be  situated  anywhere  north  of  the  Ohio 
wherever  they  chose  to  locate  them.  They 
selected  the  region  opposite  the  falls  of 
the  Ohio,  where  is  now  the  dilapidated 
village  of  Clarksville,  about  midway  be- 
tween the  Cities  of  New  Albany  and  Jeffer- 
sonville,  Indiana. 

While  the  frontier  remained  thus,  and 
Gen.  Haldimand  at  Detroit  refused  to 
evacuate,  alleging  that  he  had  no  orders 
from  his  King  to  do  so,  settlers  were  rap- 
idly crathering  about  the  inland  forts.  In 
the  spring  of  1784,  Pittsburgh  was  regu- 
larlv  laid  out,  and  from  the  journal  of  Ar- 
thur Lee,  who  passed  through  the  town 
soon  after  on  his  way  to  the  Indian  council 
at  Fort  Mcintosh,  we  suppose  it  was  not 
very  prepossessing  in  appearance.  He 
says: 

"  Pittsburgh  is  inhabited  almost  entirely 
by  Scots  and  Irish,  who  live  in  paltry  log 
houses,  and  are  as  dirty  as  if  in  the  north 
of  Ireland  or  even  Scotland.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  trade  carried  on,  the  goods 
being  brought  at  the  vast  expense  of  forty- 
five  shillings  per  pound  from  Philadelphia 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


41 


and  Baltimore.  They  take  in  the  shops 
Hour,  wlieat,  skins  and  money.  Tliere  are 
in  tlie  town  fonr  attorneys,  two  doctors, 
and  not  a  priest  of  any  pcrsuusion,  nor 
church  nor  chapel." 

Kentucky  at  tliis  time  contained  tliirty 
tlionsand  inliahitants,  and  was  heii'lnninf;  to 
discuss  measures  for  a  separation  from 
Virginia.  A  hand  office  was  opened  at 
Louisville,  and  measures  were  adoi)ted  to 
take  defensive  precaution  against  the  In- 
dians who  were  yet,  in  some  instances,  in- 
cited to  deeds  of  violence  by  the  British. 
Buforo  the  close  of  this  year,  178i,  the 
military  claimants  of  land  began  to 
occupy  them,  although  no  entries  were 
recorded  until  17S7. 

The  Indian  title  to  the  Northwest  was 
not  yet  extinguished.  They  held  large 
tracts  of  lands,  and  in  order  to  prevent 
bloodshed  Congress  ado])ted  means  for 
treaties  with  the  original  owners  and  ])ro- 
vided  for  the  surveys  of  the  lands  gained 
thereby,  as  well  as  for  those  north  of  the 
Ohio,  now  in  its  possession.  On  January 
31,  1TS6,  a  treaty  was  made  with  the  Wa- 
bash Indians.  The  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix 
had  been  made  in  1784.  That  at  Fi)rt  Mc- 
intosh in  1785,  and  through  these  mucli 
land  was  gained.  The  Wabash  Indians, 
however,  afterward  refused  to  comply  with 
the  provisions  of  the  treat}'  made  with 
tliem,  and  in  order  to  compel  their  adhe- 
rence to  its  provisions,  force  was  used. 
During  the  yeav  17S6,  the  free  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi  came  up  in  Congress, 
and  caused  various  discussions,  wliich  re- 
suited  in  no  definite  action,  only  serving  to 
excite  speculation  in  regard  to  the  western 
lands.  Congress  had  promised  bounties 
of  land  to   the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution, 


but  owing  to  the  unsettled  condition  of 
affairs  along  the  Mississippi  resi)ecting  its 
navigation,  and  the  trade  of  the  Northwest, 
that  body  had,  in  1783,  declared  its  inabil- 
ity to  fulfill  these  promises  until  a  treaty 
could  be  concluded  between  the  two  Gov- 
ernments. J'efore  the  close  of  the  yenr 
17Sn,  however,  it  was  able,  through  tlu 
ti'eaties  with  the  Indians,  to  allow  some 
grants  and  the  settlement  thereon,  and  on 
the  llth  of  September,  Connecticut  ceded 
to  the  General  Government  the  tract  of 
land  known  as  the  "Connecticut  Heserve," 
and  before  the  close  of  the  following  year 
a  large  tract  of  land  north  of  the  Ohio  was 
sold  to  a  con.pany,  who  at  once  took  meas- 
ures to  settle  it.  By  the  provisions  of  this 
grant,  the  company  were  to  pay  the  United 
States  one  dollar  per  acre,  subject  to  a  de- 
duction of  one- third  for  bad  lands  and  other 
contingencies.  They  received  750,000  acres, 
bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Ohio,  on  the 
east  by  the  seventh  range  of  townships,  on 
the  west  by  the  sixteenth  range,  and  on  the 
north  by  a  line  so  drawn  as  to  make  the 
grant  complete  without  the  reservations. 
In  addition  to  this.  Congress  afterward 
granted  100,000  acres  to  actual  settlers,  and 
214-,2S5  acres  as  army  bounties  under  the 
resolutions  of  1789  and  1790. 

While  Dr.  Cutler,  one  of  the  agents  of 
the  company,  was  pressing  its  claims  before 
Congress,  that  body  was  bringing  into  form 
an  ordinance  for  the  political  and  social  or- 
<ranization  of  this  Territory.  When  the 
cession  was  made  by  Virginia,  in  17S4.  a 
plan  was  offered,  but  rejected.  A  motion 
had  been  made  to  strike  from  the  proposed 
plan  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  which  pre- 
vailed. The  plan  was  then  discussed  and 
altered,   and  finally   passed    unanimously, 


42 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


with  the  excepdoii  of  South  Carolina.  By 
this  jiroposition,  tlie  Territory  was  to  liave 
been  divided  into  states  by  parallels  and 
meridian  lines.  This,  it  was  thought,  would 
make  ten  states,  which  were  to  have  been 
named  as  follows — bei^inning  at  the  north- 
west corner  and  going  southwardly:  Savly- 
nia,  Michigan ia,  Chersonesus,  Assenisijiia, 
Metropotamia,  Illenoia,  Saratoga,  Wash- 
inston,  Polj'potamia  and  Pelisipia. 

There  was  a  more  serious  objection  to 
this  plan  than  its  category  of  names, — the 
boundaries.  Tlie  root  of  the  difHculty  was 
in  the  resolution  of  (Congress  })assed  in 
October,  1780,  whicli  fixed  the  boundaries 
of  tiie  ceded  lands  to  be  from  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  square. 
These  resolutions  being  presented  to  the 
Legislatures  of  Virginia  and  Massachusetts, 
they  desired  a  change,  and  in  Jul}',  1786, 
the  subject  was  taken  up  in  Congress,  and 
changed  to  favor  a  division  into  not  more 
than  five  states,  and  not  less  than  three. 
This  was  a])j)riived  by  the  State  Legislature 
of  Virginia.  The  subject  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  again  taken  up  by  Congress  in 
1786,  and  discussed  throughout  that  year 
and  until  July,  1787,  when  the  famous 
"Compact  of  1787"  was  ])assed,  and  the 
foundation  of  the  government  of  the  North- 
west laid.  This  compact  is  fully  discussed 
and  explained  in  the  history  of  Illinois  in 
this  book,  and  to  it  the  reader  is  referred. 

The  passage  of  this  act  and  the  grant  to 
the  New  England  Coinpany  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  an  application  to  the  Government 
by  John  Cleves  Symmes,  of  New  Jersey, 
for  a  grant  of  the  land  between  the  Miamis. 
This  gentleman  had  visited  these  lands 
soon  after  the  treaty  of  1786,  and,  being 
greatly  pleased  with  them  offered    similar 


terms  to  those  given  to  the  New  EnL,Hand 
Company.  The  petition  was  referred  to  the 
Ti'oasury  Board  with  power  to  act,  and  a 
contract  was  concluded  the  following  yeai'. 
During  the  autumn  the  directors  of  tlie 
New  England  Company  were  preparing  to 
occupy  their  grant  the  following  spring, 
and  upon  the  23d  of  November  made  ar- 
rangements for  a  party  of  forty-seven  men, 
under  the  superintendency  of  Gen.  Rnfns 
Putnam,  to  set  forward.  Six  boat-builders 
were  to  leave  at  once,  and  on  the  first  of 
January  the  surveyors  and  their  assistants, 
twenty-six  in  number,  were  to  meet  at  Hart- 
ford and  proceed  on  their  journey  westward; 
the  i-emainder  to  follow  as  soon  as  possible. 
Congress,  in  the  mean  time,  upon  the  3J  of 
October,  had  ordered  seven  lumdred  troops 
for  defense  of  the  western  settlers,  and  to 
prevent  unauthorized  intrusions;  and  two 
days  later  appointed  Arthur  St.  Clair  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Territory  of  the  Northwest. 

AMERICAN   SETTLEMENTS. 

The  civil  organization  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  was  now  complete,  and  notwith- 
standing the  uncertainty  of  Lidian  affairs, 
settlers  from  the  East  began  to  come  into 
the  country  rapid Ij'.  The  New  England 
Coin]ian3'  sent  their  men  during  the  winter 
of  1787-8  pressing  on  over  the  AUeghenies 
by  the  old  Indian  path  which  had  been 
opened  into  Braddock's  road  and  which  has 
since  been  made  a  national  turnpike  from 
Cumberland  westward.  Through  the  weary 
winter  days  they  toiled  on,  and  by  April 
were  all  gathered  on  the  Yohiogany,  where 
boats  had  been  built,  and  at  once  started 
for  the  Muskingum.  Here  they  arrived  on 
the  7th  of  that  month,  and  unless  the  Mo- 
ravian missionaries  be  regarded  as  the  pio- 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


43 


iieers  of  Oliio,  this  little  band  can  justly 
fhiiin  that  lionor. 

General  St.  Clair,  the  appointed  Gover- 
nor of  the  Xorthwest,  not  having  yet  ar- 
rived, a  set  of  laws  were  passed,  written  out, 
and  ]3ublislied  by  beinij  nailed  to  a  tree  in 
the  embryo  town,  and  Jonathan  Meigs 
appointed  to  administer  them. 

AVashington  in  writing  of  this,  the  first 
American  settlement  in  the  Northwest, 
said:  "No  colony  in  America  was  ever 
settled  under  such  tavorable  ausjuces  as 
that  which  has  just  commenced  at  iluskin- 
gu:n.  Information,  property  and  strength 
will  be  its  characteristics.  I  know  many 
of  its  settlers  personally,  and  there  never 
were  men  better  calculated  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  such  a  community." 

On  the  2d  of  July  a  meeting  of  tlie  di- 
rectors and  agents  was  held  on  the  banks 
of  the  Muskingum,  "for  the  purpose  of 
naming  the  new-born  city  and  its  squares." 
As  yet  the  settlement  was  known  as  the 
"Muskingum,"  but  that  was  now  changed 
to  the  name  Marietta,  in  honor  of  Marie 
Antoinette.  Tlie  square  upon  which  the 
block-houses  stood  was  called  '■'■Campus 
Martinsf  square  number  19,  '■'■Caplto- 
lium;"  square  number  61,  ^'•Cecilia f  and 
the  great  rousrh  road  through  the  covert 
way,  '■'■Sacra  Via.''''  Two  days  after,  an 
oration  was  delivered  by  James  M.  Var- 
num,  who  with  S.  li.  Parsons  and  John 
Armstrong  had  been  appointed  to  the 
judicial  bench  of  the  Territory  on  the  IGth 
of  October,  1787.  On  July  9,  Gov.  St. 
Clair  arrived,  and  the  Colony  began  to  as- 
sume form.  The  act  of  1787  provided  two 
distinct  grades  of  government  for  tlie 
Northwest,  under  the  first  of  which  the 
whole  power  was   invested   in  the  hands  of 


a  governor  and  three  district  judges.  This 
was  immediately  formed  upon  tlie  gover- 
nor's arrival,  and  the  first  laws  of  the  Colony 
passed  on  the  25th  of  July.  These  provid- 
ed for  the  organization  of  the  militia,  and 
on  the  next  da)'  a])])eared  the  Governor's 
proclamation,  erecting  all  that  country  tliat 
had  been  ceded  by  the  Indians  east  of  the 
Scioto  River  into  the  County  of  Washing- 
ton. From  that  time  forward,  notwith- 
standing the  doubts  yet  existing  as  to  the 
Indians,  all  Marietta  prospered,  and  on 
the  2d  of  September  the  first  court  of  the 
Territory  was  held  with  imposing  cere- 
monies. 

The  emigration  westward  at  this  tiirie 
was  very  great.  The  commander  at  Fort 
llarinar,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum, 
reported  four  thousand  five  hundred  per- 
sons as  having  passed  that  post  between 
February  and  June,  1788 — many  of  whom 
would  have  purchased  of  the  "Associates," 
as  the  New  England  Company  was  called, 
had  they  been  ready  to  receive  thera. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  1787,  Symmes 
issued  a  pamphlet  stating  the  terms  of  his 
contract  and  the  plan  of  sale  he  intended  to 
adopt.  In  January,  1788,  Matthias  Den- 
man,  of  New  Jersey,  took  an  active  inter- 
est in  Syinmes'  purchase,  and  located 
among  other  tracts  the  sections  upon  which 
Cincinnati  has  been  built.  Retaining  one- 
third  of  this  locality,  he  sold  the  other 
two-thirds  to  Robert  Patterson  and  John 
Filson,  and  the  three,  about  August,  com- 
menced to  lay  out  a  town  on  the  spot, 
which  was  designated  as  being  opposite 
Licking  River,  to  the  mouth  of  which  they 
proposed  to  have  a  road  cut  from  Lexing- 
ton. The  naming  of  the  town  is  thus  nar- 
rated  in    the   "Western  Annals":     "Mr. 


4i 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


Filson,  who  had  been  a  schoohn aster,  was 
appointed  to  name  the  town,  and  in  respect 
to  its  situation,  and  as  if  with  a  prophetic 
perce])tion  of  tlie  mixed  races  that  were  to 
inhabit  it  in  after  daj's,  he  named  it  Lo- 
eantiville,  wliich  being  interpreted,  means: 
ville,  the  town;  anti,  aj^ainst  or  opposite 
to;  OS,  the  mouth;  Z.  of  Liclcing." 

Meanwliiie,  in  July,  Symmes  got  thirty 
persons  and  eight  four-horse  teams  under 
way  for  the  "West.  These  reached  Lime- 
stone (now  Maysville)  in  Septembei-,  wliere 
were  several  persons  froiu  Redstone.  Here 
Mr.  Symmes  tried  to  found  a  settlement, 
but  the  great  freshet  of  1789  caused  the 
"Point,"  as  it  was  and  is  yet  called,  to  be 
fifteen  feet  under  water,  and  the  settlement 
to  be  abandoned.  The  little  band  of  settlers 
removed  to  the  month  of  the  Miami. 
Before  Svmmes  and  his  colony  left  the 
"Point,"  two  settlements  had  been  made 
on  his  purchase.  The  first  was  by  Mr. 
Stiltes,  the  original  projector  of  the  whole 
plan,  who,  with  a  colony  of  Redstone  peo- 
ple, had  located  at  the  mouth  of  tlie 
Miami,  whither  S^'mmes  went  with  liis 
Maysville  colony.  Here  a  clearing  iiad 
been  made  by  the  Indians  owing  to  the 
great  fertility  of  the  soil.  Mr.  Stiltes  with 
his  colon}'  came  to  this  place  on  the  IStli 
of  Ifovember,  17SS,  with  twenty-sis  per- 
sons, and,  building  a  blockhouse,  prepared 
to  remain  through  the  winter.  They 
named  the  settlement  Columbia.  Here 
they  were  kindly  treated  by  tlie  Indians, 
but  suffered  greatly  from  the  flood  of  1789. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  went  into  op- 
eration, and  on  April  30th,  George  Wash- 
ington was  inaugurated  President  of  the 
American    people,   and    during    the  next 


summer,  an  Indian  war  was  commenced 
by  tlie  tribes  north  of  the  Ohio.  The 
President  at  first  used  pacific  means;  but 
these  failing,  he  sent  General  Ilarmar 
against  the  hostile  tribes.  He  destroyed 
several  villages,  but  was  defeated  in  two 
battles,  near  the  present  City  of  Fort 
Wayne,  Indiana.  From  this  time  til\  the 
close  of  1795,  the  principal  events  were 
the  wars  with  the  various  Indian  tribes. 
In  1790,  General  St.  Clair  was  appointed 
in  cominanil,  and  marched  against  the  In- 
dians; but  while  he  was  encamped  on  a 
stream,  tlie  St.  Mary,  a  branch  of  the 
Maumee,  he  was  attacked  and  defeated 
with  the  loss  of  six  hundred  men. 

General  Wayne  was  now  sent  against  the 
savages.  In  August,  1794,  he  met  them 
near  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee,  and  gained 
a  complete  victory.  This  success,  followed 
by  vigorous  measures,  compelled  the  Indi- 
ans to  sue  for  peace,  and  on  the  30th  of 
July,  the  following  year,  the  treaty  of 
Greenville  was  signed  by  the  principal 
chiefs,  by  which  a  large  tract  of  country 
was  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

Before  proceeding  in  our  narrative,  we 
will  pause  to  notice  Fort  Washington, 
erected  in  ths  early  part  of  this  war  on 
the  site  of  Cincinnati.  Nearly  all  of  the 
great  cities  of  the  Northwest,  and  indeed 
of  the  whole  country,  have  had  their  nuclei 
in  those  rude  pioneer  structures,  known  as 
forts  or  stockades.  Thus  Forts  Dearborn, 
Washington,  Ponchartrain,  mark  the  orig- 
inal sites  of  the  now  proud  cities  of  Chi- 
cago, Cincinnati  and  Detroit.  So  of  most 
of  the  flourishing  cities  east  and  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  Fort  Washington  erected 
by  Doughty  in  1790,  was  a  rude  but  highly 
interesting  structure.     It  was  composed  of 


;:i 


%--r-. 


-•■<??• 


"^^^/^S^ 


£'-»x^ 


r^ 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


47 


a  lui'.nlier  of  stronijly-built  liewed  log  cab- 
ins. Those  designed  for  soUlier.-;'  barracks 
were  a  story  and  a  half  liigli,  while  those 
composing  the  o'iicers'  quarters  were  more 
imposing  and  mnre  conveniently  arranged 
and  furiiislie  i.  The  whole  were  so  placed 
as  to  form  a  hollow  t-qnare,  enclosing  about 
an  acre  of  ground,  with  a  block  house  at 
each  of  the  tour  angles. 

The  logs  for  the  construdion  of  this 
fort  were  cut  from  the  ground  upon  which 
it  was  erected.  It  stood  between  Tliird 
and  Fourtli  Streets  of  the  present  city 
(Cincinnati)  extending  east  of  Eastern 
Row,  now  Broadway,  widch  was  then  a 
narrow  alley,  and  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  town  as  it  was  originally  laid  out.  On 
the  bank  of  the  river,  immediately  in  front 
of  the  fort,  was  an  appendage  of  the  fort, 
called  the  Artiticer's  Yard.  It  contained 
about  two  acres  of  ground,  enclosed  by 
small  contiguous  buildings,  occupied  by 
workshojis  and  quarters  of  laborers. 
Within  this  enclosure  there  was  a  large 
two-story  frame  house,  familiarly  called 
the  "Yellow  House,"  built  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  Quartermaster  General. 
For  many  3'ears  this  was  the  best  finished 
and  most  commodious  edifice  in  the  Q:ieen 
City.  Fort  Washington  was  for  some  time 
the  head(|u:irtors  of  both  the  civil  and  mil- 
itary governments  of  the  Northwestern 
Territory. 

Following  the  consummation  of  the 
treaty,  various  gigantic  land  speculations 
were  entered  into  by  different  persons,  who 
ho])ed  to  obtain  from  the  Indians  in  Mich- 
igan and  northern  Indiana,  large  tracts  of 
lands.  These  were  generally  discovered 
in  time  to  prevent  the  outrageous  schemes 
Irom  b.'ing  carried  out,  and  from  involving 


the  settlers  in  war.  On  October  27,  1795, 
the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain  was  signed,  whereby  the  free  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi  was  secnreil. 

No  sooner  had  the  treaty  of  1795  been 
ratified,  than  settlements  began  to  pour 
rapidly  into  the  West.  The  great  event 
of  the  year  179(3  was  tlie  occupation  of 
that  part  of  the  Northwest  including 
Michigan,  which  was  this  year,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  treaty,  evacuated  by  the 
British  forces.  The  United  States,  owing 
to  certain  conditions,  did  not  feel  justified 
in  addressing  the  authorities  in  Canada 
in  relation  to  Detroit  and  other  Irontier 
posts.  When  at  last  the  British  author- 
ities were  called  to  give  them  up,  they 
at  once  complied,  and  General  Wayne, 
who  had  done  so  much  to  preserve  the 
frontier  settlements,  and  who,  before 
the  year's  close,  sickened  and  died  near 
Erie,  transferred  his  headcjuarters  to  the 
neighborhood  of  the  lakes,  where  a  coun- 
ty nam3d  after  him  was  formed,  which 
included  the  northwest  of  Ohio,  all  of 
Michigan,  and  the  northeast  of  Indiana. 
During  this  same  year  settlements  were 
formed  at  the  present  City  of  Chillicothe, 
along  the  Miami  from  Midiiletown  to  Piqua, 
while  in  the  more  distant  West,  settlers 
and  speculators  began  to  appear  in  great 
numbers.  In  September,  the  City  of 
Cleveland  was  laid  out,  and  during  the 
summer  and  autumn,  Samuel  Jackson 
and  Jonathan  Sharpless  erected  the  first 
manufactory  of  paper — the  "  Redstone 
Paper  Mill  " — in  the  West.  St.  Louis  con- 
tained some  seventy  houses,  and  Detroit 
over  three  hundred,  and  along  the  river, 
contiguous  to  it,  were  more  than  three 
thousand   inhabitants,  mostly  French  Ca:i- 


48 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


adiaus,  Indians  and  lialf-breeds,  scarcely 
any  Americans  venturing  yet  into  that 
part  of  the  Northwest. 

The  election  of  representatives  for  the 
Territory  had  taken  place,  and  on  the  4th 
of  February,  1799,  they  convened  at  Lo- 
santiville — now  known  as  Cincinnati,  hav- 
ing been  named  so  by  Gov.  St.  Clair,  and 
considered  the  capital  of  the  Territory — to 
nominate  persons  from  whom  the  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  were  to  be  chosen 
in  accordance  with  a  previous  ordinance. 
These  nominations  being  made,  the  Assem- 
bly adjourned  until  the  16th  of  the  follow- 
ing September.  From  those  named,  the 
President  selected  as  members  of  the 
council,  Henry  Vandenburg,  of  Viucennes, 
Kobert  Oliver,  of  Marietta,  James  Findlay 
and  Jacob  Burnett,  of  Cincinnati,  and 
David  Vance,  of  Vanceville.  On  the  16th 
of  September  the  Territorial  Legislature 
met,  and  on  the  24th  the  two  houses  were 
duly  organized,  Henry  Vandenburg  being 
elected  President  of  tlie  Council. 

The  message  of  Gov.  St.  Clair  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Legislature  Ssptember  20h, 
and  on  October  loth  that  body  elected  as 
a  delegate  to  Congress,  Gen.  "Wra.  Henry 
Harrison,  who  received  eleven  of  the  votes 
cast,  being  a  majority  of  one  over  his  op- 
ponent, Arthur  St.  Clair,  son  of  Gen.  St. 
Clair. 

The  whole  number  of  acts  passed  at  this 
session,  and  approved  by  the  Governor, 
were  thirty-seven — eleven  others  were 
passed,  but  received  his  veto.  The  most 
important  of  those  passed,  related  to  the 
militia,  to  the  administration,  and  to  taxa- 
tion. On  the  19th  of  December,  this  pro- 
tracted session  of  the  first  Legislature  in 
the   West   was  closed,    and    on    the    30th 


of  December,  the  President  nominated 
Charles  Willing  Bryd  to  the  office  of  Sec- 
retary of  the  Territory  vice  Wm.  Henry 
Harrison,  elected  to  Congress.  The  Sen- 
ate confirmed  his  nomination  the  next  day, 

DIVISION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  TEEEITOET. 

The  increased  emigration  to  the  North- 
west, the  extent  of  the  domain,  and  the  in- 
convenient modes  of  travel,  made  it  very 
difficult  to  conduct  the  ordinary  operations 
of  government,  and  rendered  the  efficient 
action  of  courts  almost  impossible.  To 
remedy  this,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to 
divide  the  territory  for  civil  purposes. 
Congress,  in  1800,  appointed  a  committee 
to  examine  the  question  and  report  some 
means  for  its  solution.  This  committee, 
on  the  3 J  of  March,  reported  that: 

"  In  the  three  western  countries,  there 
has  been  but  one  court  having  cognizance 
of  crimes,  in  five  years,  and  the  immunity 
which  offenders  experience  attracts,  as  to 
an  asylum,  tlie  most  vile  and  abandoned 
criminals,  and  at  the  same  tiins  defers 
useful  citizens  from  making  settlements  in 
such  society.  The  extreme  necessity  of 
judiciary  attention  and  assistance  is  ex- 
perienced in  civil  as  well  as  in  criminal 
cases.  *  *  *  *  To  minister  a  remedy 
to  these  and  other  evils,  it  occurs  to  this 
committee  that  it  is  expedient  that  a  divis- 
ion of  said  territory  into  two  distinct  and 
separate  governments  should  be  made:  and 
that  such  division  be  made  by  a  line  be- 
ginning at  tlis  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami 
River,  running  directly  north  until  it  in- 
tersects tlie  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada." 

The  report  was  accepted  by  Congress, 
and,  in  accordance  with  its  suggestions, 
that  body  pas  fa  J  an  act   extinguishing   the 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


49 


Nortliwest  Territoiy,  wliicli  act  was  ap- 
proved May  7th.  Among  its  provisions 
were  these: 

"ThattVoin  and  after  July -itli  next,  all 
that  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  which 
lies  to  the  westward  of  a  line  benjinnino:  at 
a  ]  oint  on  the  Ohio,  opposite  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Kentucky  River,  and  running  thetice 
to  Fort  Recovery,  and  tiience  north  until 
it  shall  intersect  the  territorial  line  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Canada,  shall, 
for  the  purpose  of  temporary  government, 
constitute  a  separate  territory,  and  be  called 
the  Indiana  Territory." 

After  providing  for  the' exercise' of  the 
civil  and  criminal  powers  of  the  Territories, 
and  other  provisions,  the  act  farther  pro- 
vides: 

"  That  until  it  shall  otherwise  be  ordered 
by  the  Legislatures  of  the  said  Territories, 
respectively,  Chillicothe  on  the  Scioto 
River  shall  be  the  seat  of  government  of 
the  Territory  of  the  United  States  north- 
west of  the  Ohio  River;  and  that  St.  Vin- 
cennes  on  the  Wabash  River  shall  be  the 
seat  of  government  for  the  Indiana  Terri- 
tory." 

Gen.  Wm.  Henry  Harrison  was  appoint- 
ed Governor  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  about  a  year  later. 
Connecticut  also  about  this  time  released 
her  claims  to  the  reserve,  and  in  March  a 
law  was  passed  accepting  this  cession. 
Settlements  had  been  made  upon  thirty- 
five  of  the  townships  in  the  reserve,  mills 
had  been  built,  and  seven  hundred  miles  of 
road  cut  in  various  directions.  On  the  3d 
of  November,  the  General  Assembly  met 
at  Chillicothe.  Near  the  close  of  the  year, 
the  first    missionary    of    the    Connecticut 


Reserve  came,  who  found  no  township  con- 
taining more  than  eleven  families.  It  was 
u]ion  the  first  of  October  that  the  secret 
treaty  had  been  made  between  Napoleon 
and  the  King  of  Spain,  whereby  the  latter 
agreed  to  cede  to  France  the  province  of 
Louisiana. 

In  January,  1S02,  the  assembh-  of  the 
Northwestern  Territory  ciiartered  the 
college  at  Athens.  From  the  earliest 
dawn  of  the  western  colonies,  education 
was  promptly  provided  for,  and  as  early  as 
1787,  newspa])ers  were  issued  from  Pitts- 
burgh and  Kentucky,  and  largely  read 
throughout  the  frontier  settlements.  Be- 
fore the  close  of  this  year,  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  granted  to  the  citizens 
of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  the  forma- 
tion of  a  State  government.  One  of  the' 
provisions  of  the  "  compact  of  1787"  pro- 
vided that  whenever  the  number  of  inhab- 
itants within  prescribed  limits  exceeded 
45,000,  they  should  be  entitled  to  a  sepa- 
rate government.  The  prescribed  limits 
of  Ohio  contained,  from  a  census  taken  to 
ascertain  the  legality  of  the  act,  more  than 
that  number,  and  on  the  30tii  of  April, 
1802,  Congress  passed  the  act  defining  its 
limits,  and  on  the  20th  of  November  the 
Constitution  of  the  new  State  of  Ohio,  so 
named  from  the  beautiful  river  forming 
its  southern  boundary,  came  into  existence. 
The  exact  limits  of  Lake  Michigan  were 
not  then  known,  but  the  territory  now 
included  within  the  State  of  Michigan  was 
wholly  within  the  territory  of  Indiana. 

General  Harrison,  while  residing  at 
Vincennes,  made  several  treaties  with  the 
Indians,  thereby  gaining  large  tracts  of 
lands.  The  next  year  is  memorable  in  the 
histoi-y  of  the  West    for    the    purchase    of 


60 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


Louisiana  from  France  by  tlie  United 
States  for  $15,000,000.  Tims  by  a  peace- 
ful mode,  tlie  domain  of  the  United  States 
was  extended  over  a  Jar^e  tract  of  country 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  for  a  time 
under  tlie  jurisdiction  of  the  Northwest 
government,  and  as  has  been  mentioned 
in  the  early  part  of  this  narrative,  was 
called  the  "New  Northwest."  The  limits 
of  this  history  will  not  allow  a  description 
of  its  territory.  The  same  year  large 
grants  of  land  were  obtained  from  the 
Indians,  and  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  new  State  of  Ohio  signed  a  bill 
respecting  the  college  township  in  the 
district  of  Cincinnati. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year.  General 
Harrison  obtained  additional  grants  of 
lands  from  the  various  Indian  nations  in 
Indiana  and  the  present  limits  of  Illinois, 
and  on  the  ISth  of  August,  ISO-t,  a  treaty 
at  St.  Louis,  whereby  over  51,000,000  acres 
of  lands  were  obtained  from  the  aboriirines. 
Measures  were  also  taken  to  learn  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  and  about  Detroit. 

C.  Jouette,  the  Indian  agent  in  iliclii- 
gan,  still  a  part  of  Indiana  Territory,  re- 
ported as  follows  upon  the  condition  of 
matters  at  that  post: 

"The  Town  of  Detroit.— The  charter, 
which  is  for  fifteen  miles  square,  was 
granted  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIY  of 
France,  and  is  now,  from  the  best  infor- 
mation I  have  been  able  to  get,  at  Quebec. 
Of  those  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
acres,  only  four  are  occupied  by  the  town 
and  Fort  Lenault.  The  remainder  is  a 
common,  except  twenty-four  acres,  which 
were  added  twenty  3'ears  ago  to  a  farm 
belon^ino'  to  Wm.  Macomb.  *  *  *  » 
A  stockade  encloses  the  town,  fort  and  cit- 


adel. The  pickets,  as  well  as  the  public 
houses,  are  in  a  state  of  gradual  decay. 
The  streets  arc  narrow,  straight  and  regu- 
lar, and  intersect  each  other  at  right  angles. 
The  houses  are  for  the  most  part  low  and 
inelegant." 

During  this  year  Congress  granted  a 
township  of  land  for  the  support  of  a  col- 
lege, and  began  to  offer  inducements  for 
settlers  in  these  wilds,  and  the  country 
now  comprising  the  State  of  Michigan 
began  to  fill  rapidly  with  settlers  along  its 
southern  borders.  This  same  year,  also,  a 
law  was  passed  organizing  the  Southwest 
Territory,  dividing  it  into  two  portions, 
the  Territory  of  New  Orleans,  which  city 
was  made  the  seat  of  government,  and  the 
District  of  Louisiana,  whifth  was  annexed 
to  the  domain  of  Gen.  Harrison. 

On  the  11  th  of  January,  1805.  the  Terri- 
tory of  Michigan  was  formed.  Wm.  Hull 
was  appointed  governor  with  ]iead<|uarters 
at  Detroit,  tlie  change  to  take  ettect  on 
June -SOth.  On  tlie  11th  of  tliat  month,  a 
fire  occurred  at  Detroit,  which  destroyed 
almost  ever}'  luiilding  in  the  place.  When 
the  officers  of  the  new  Territory  i-eached  the 
post,  they  found  it  in  ruins,  aiul  the  iidiab- 
itants  scattered  throughout  the  country. 
Tlebuilding,  however,  soon  commenced,  and 
ere  long  the  town  contained  more  houses 
tlian  before  the  fire,  and  many  of  tliem 
much  better  luiilt. 

While  this  was  being  done,  Indiana  had 
passed  to  the  second  grade  of  government, 
and  through  her  General  Assembly  had 
obtained  large  tracts  of  land  from  the 
Indian  tribes.  To  all  this  the  celebrated 
Indian.  Tecumthe  or  Tecumseli,  vigorously 
protested,  and  it  was-  the  main  cause  of  his 
attempts  to  unite  the  various  Indian  tribes 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


51 


in  a  conflict  with  the  settlers.  To  obtain  a 
full  account  of  these  attempts,  the  workings 
of  the  Britisli,  and  tlie  signal  fiihire,  culmi- 
nating in  the  death  of  Tecumsch  at  the 
battle  of  the  Thames,  and  tlie  close  of  the 
warof  1S12  in  the  Northwest,  we  will  step 
aside  in  our  story,  and  relate  tlie  princi])al 
events  of  )i is  life,  and  his  connection  with 
this  conflict. 

TECUMSEU,  AND  THE  WAR  (>F  1S12. 

This  famous  Indian  chief  was  horn  about 
tlie  year  ITtiS,  not  far  from  the  site  of  the 
present  City  of  Piqua,  Ohio.  ILis  father, 
Piickeshinwa.  was  a  member  of  the  Kisopok 
tribe  of  the  Shawanoese  nation,  and  his  moth- 
er, Methontaske,  was  a  member  of  the  Tur- 
tle tribe  of  the  same  people.  They  removed 
from  Florida  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  to  the  birthplace  of  Tecumseh.  In 
1774,  his  father,  who  had  risen  to  be  chief, 
Avas  slain  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant, 
and  not  long  after,  Tecumseh,  by  his  brav- 
ery, became  tlie  leadei-  of  his  tribe.  In 
170.5  he  was  declared  chief,  and  then  lived 
at  Deer  Creek,  near  the  site  of  the  present 
City  of  Urhana.  He  remained  here  about 
one  year,  when  he  returned  to  Piqua,  and 
in  1798,  he  went  to  White  Rivei-,  Indiana. 
In  1805,  he  and  his  brother,  Laulewasikan 
-(Open  Door),  who  had  announced  himself 
as  a  propliet,  went  to  a  tract  of  land  on  the 
Wabash  River,  given  them  by  the  Potta- 
watomies  and  Kickapoos.  From  this  date 
the  chief  comes  into  prominence.  He  was 
now  about  thirty-seven  years  of  age,  was 
five  feet  and  ten  inches  in  height,  was  stout- 
ly built,  and  possessed  of  enormous  powers 
of  endurance.  His  countenance  was  natu- 
rally pleasing,  and  he  was,  in  general,  de- 
void of  those   savage   attributes  possessed 


by  most  Indians.  It  is  stated  he  could 
read  and  write,  and  had  a  confidential  sec- 
retary and  adviser,  named  Pilly  Caldwell, 
a  half-breed,  who  afterward  became  chief 
of  the  Pottawatomies.  He  occupied  the 
first  house  built  on  the  site  of  Chicago.  At 
this  time,  Tecumseh  entered  upon  the  great 
work  of  his  life.  He  had  long  objected  to 
the  grants  of  land  made  by  the  Indians  to 
the  whites,  and  deternained  to  nnite  all  the 
Indiati  tribes  into  a  league,  in  order  that  no 
treaties  or  grants  of  land  could  be  made 
save  by  the  consent   of  this  confederation. 

He  traveled  constantly,  going  from  north 
to  south;  from  the  south  to  the  north, 
everywhere  urging  the  Indians  to  this  step. 
He  was  a  matchless  orator,  and  his  burning 
words  had  their  effect. 

Gen.  Harrison,  then  Governor  of  Indiana, 
by  watching  the  movement  of  the  Indians, 
became  convinced  that  a  grand  conspiracy 
was  forming,  and  made  preparation's  to  de- 
fend the  settlements.  Tecumseh's  plan  was 
similar  to  Pontiac's,  elsewhere  described, 
and  to  the  cunning  artifice  of  that  chieftain 
was  added  his  own  sagacit3^ 

During  the  year  1809,  Tecumseh  and  the 
prophet  were  actively  prejjaring  for  the 
work.  In  that  year.  Gen.  Harrison  entered 
into  a  treaty  with  the  Delawares,  Kickapoos, 
Pottawatomies,  Miamis,  Eel  Piver  Indians 
and  Weas,  in  which  these  tribes  eeifed  to 
the  whites  certain  lands  upon  the  Wabash, 
to  all  of  which  Tecumseh  entered  a  bitter 
protest,  averring  as  one  principal  reason  that 
he  did  not  want  the  Indians  to  give  up  any 
lands  north  and  west  of  tlie  Ohio  River. 

Tecumseh,  in  August,  1810.  visited  the 
General  at  Vincennes  and  held  a  council 
relating  to  the  grievances  of  the  Indians. 
Becoming  unduly  angry  at  this  conference 


IIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  IHINOtl. 


52 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


he  was  dismissed  from  the  villaijce,  und 
soon  after  depirteil  to  incite  tlie  Soatlieru 
Iinlian  tribes  to  the  conflict. 

Gen.  Harrison  determine  1  to  move  upon 
tlie  chief's  headquarters  at  Tippecanoe,  and 
for  this  purpose  went  about  sixty-five  miles 
np  the  Wabash,  where  he  built  Fort  Harri- 
son. From  this  place  he  went  to  the 
]>r()phet''s  town,  where  he  informed  the 
Indiun  he  had  no  hostile  intentions, 
provided  they  were  true  to  the  existing 
treaties.  He  encamped  near  the  village 
early  in  October,  and  on  the  morning  of 
November  7tii,  lie  was  attacked  b}'  a  large 
force  of  the  Indians,  and  the  famous  battle 
of  Tippecanoe  occurred.  The  Indians  were 
routed  and  their  town  broken  np.  Tecuin- 
seli  returning  not  long  after,  was  greatly 
exasi)erated  at  his  brother,  the  prophet, 
even  threatening  to  kill  liim  for  rashly 
precipitating  the  war,  and  foiling  his 
(Tecnmseh's)  plans. 

Tecumseh  sent  word  to  General  Harri- 
son that  he  was  now  returned  from  the 
South,  and  was  ready  to  visit  the  President, 
as  had  at  one  time  previously  been  proposed. 
Gen.  Harrison  informed  him  lie  could  not 
go  as  a  chief,  which  method  Tecumseh 
desired,  and  the  visit  was  never  made. 

In  June  of  the  following  year,  he  visited 
the  Indian  agent  at  Fort  Wayne.  Here  he 
disavowed  any  intention  to  make  a  war 
against  the  United  States,  and  reproached 
Gen.  Harrison  for  marchino'  against  his 
people.  The  agent  replied  to  this  ;  Tecum- 
seh listened  with  a  cold  indifference,  and 
after  making  a  few  general  remarks,  with 
a  haughty  air  drew  his  blanket  about  liim, 
left  the  council  house,  and  departed  for 
Fort  Maiden,  in  upper  Canada,  where  he 
I'oined  the  British  standard. 


He  remained  under  this  Government, 
doing  effective  work  for  the  Crown  while 
engaged  in  the  war  of  1S12  which  now 
o])ened.  He  was,  howevei',  always  humane 
in  his  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  never 
allowing  his  warriors  to  ruthlessly  mutilate 
the  bodies  of  those  slain,  or  wantonly 
murder  the  ca]itive. 

In  the  summer  of  1S13,  Perry's  victory 
on  Lake  Erie  occurred,  and  shortly  after 
active  preparations  were  made  to  capture 
Maiden.  On  the  27th  of  September,  the 
American  army,  under  Gen.  Harrison,  set 
sail  for  the  shores  of  Canada,  and  in  a  few 
houi-s  stood  around  the  ruins  of  Ma'den, 
from  which  the  British  army,  under  Proc- 
tor, had  retreated  to  Sandwich,  intending 
to  make  its  way  to  the  heart  of  Canada  by 
the  Valley  of  the  Thames.  On  the  29th 
Gen.  Harrison  was  at  Sandwich,  and  Gen. 
McArthur  took  possession  of  Detroit  and 
the  Territory  of  Michigan. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  the  ximericans 
began  their  pursuit  of  Proctor,  whom  they 
overtook  on  the  5th,  and  the  battle  of  the 
Thames  followed.  Early  in  the  engage- 
ment, Tecumseh  who  wa-i  at  the  head  of  the 
column  of  Indians  was  slain,  and  they,  no 
longer  hearing  the  voice  of  their  chieftain, 
fled.  The  victory  was  decisive,  and  jirac- 
ticallv  closed  the  war  in  the  Northwest. 

Just  who  kdled  the  great  chief  has  been 
a  matter  of  much  dispute  ;  but  the  weiglit 
of  opinion  awards  the  act  to  Col.  Richard 
M.  Johnson,  who  fired  at  him  with  a  pistol, 
the  shot  proving  fatal. 

In  1S05  occurred  Burr's  Insurrection. 
He  took  possession  of  a  beautiful  island  in 
the  Ohio,  after  the  killing  of  Hamilton, 
and  is  charged  by  many  with  attemjitiiig 
to  set  up  an  independent  government.    His 


THE   NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


63 


plans  were  frustrated  by  the  general  gov- 
ernment, his  property  confiscated  and  he 
was  compelled  to  flee  the  country  for  safety. 

In  January,  ISO",  Governor  Hull,  of 
Michigan  Teri-itory,  made  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians,  whereby  all  that  peninsula 
was  ceded  to  the  United  States.  Before 
the  close  of  the  year,  a  stockade  was  built 
about  Detroit.  It  was  also  during  this  year 
that  Indiana  and  Illinois  eadeavcjred  to 
obtain  the  repeal  of  that  section  of  the 
compact  of  ITS 7,  whereby  slaverj^  was  ex- 
cluded from  the  Northwest  Territory. 
These  attempts,  however,  all  signally  failed. 

lu  1809  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  di- 
vide the  Indiana  Territory.  This  was  done, 
and  the  Territory  of  Illinois  was  formed 
from  the  western  pai-t,  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment being  fixed  at  Kiskasia.  The  next 
year,  the  intentions  of  Tecumseh  mani- 
fested themselves  in  open  hostilities,  and 
then  began  the  events  already  narrated. 

AVhile  this  war  was  in  progress,  emigra- 
tion  to  the  West  went  on  with  surprising 
rapidity.  In  1811,  under  Mr.  Roosevelt  of 
New  York,  the  first  steamboat  trip  was 
made  on  the  Ohio,  much  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  natives,  many  of  whom  fled  in 
terror  at  the  appearance  of  the  "  monster." 
It  arrived  at  Louisville  on  the  tenth  day  of 
October.  At  the  close  of  the  first  week  of 
J:i!iuary,  1812,  it  arrived  at  Natchez,  after 
being  nearly  overwhelmed  in  the  great 
earthquake  which  occurred,  while  on  its 
downward  trip. 

The  battle  uf  the  Thames  was  fought  on 
October  Cth,  181.3.  It  eg"ectually  closed  hos- 
tilities in  the  Northwest,  althou^di  peace 
was  not  fully  restored  untilJuly  22d,  1814, 
when  a  treaty  was  formed  at  Greenville, 
under   the  direction   of  General  Harrison, 


between  the  United  States  and  the  Indian 
tribes,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  the 
Indians  should  cease  liostilities  against  the 
Americans  if  the  war  were  continued. 
Such,  hai)pily,  was  not  the  case,  and  on  the 
24th  of  December,  the  treaty  of  Ghent  was 
signed  by  the  representatives  of  England, 
and  the  United  States.  This  treaty  was 
followed  the  next  year  by  treaties  with  va- 
rious Indian  tribes  throughout  the  West 
and  Northwest,  and  quiet  was  again  re- 
stored in  this  part  of  the  new  world. 

On  the  ISth  of  March,  ISlfi,  Pittsburgh 
was  incoi'porated  as  a  city.  It  then  had  a 
]jopulation  of  8,000  people,  and  was  already' 
noted  for  its  manufacturing  interests.  On 
April  19th,  Indiana  Territory  was  allowed  to 
form  a  State  government.  At  that  time 
there  were  thirteen  counties  organized,  con- 
taining about  sixty-three  thousand  inhabi- 
tants. The  first  election  of  State  offlcers 
was  held  in  August,  when  Jonathan  Jenn- 
ings was  chosen  Governor.  The  officers  were 
sworn  in  on  November  7th,  and  on  Decem- 
ber 11th,  the  State  was  formally  admitted 
into  the  Union.  For  some  time  the  seat  of 
government  was  at  Corydon,  l)ut  a  more 
central  location  being  desirable,  the  present 
capital,  Indianapolis  (City  of  Indiana),  was 
laid  out  January  1,  1825. 

On  the  2Sth  of  December,  the  Bank  of 
Illinois,  at  Shawneetown,  was  chartered, 
with  a  capital  of  $.300,000.  At  this  period 
all  banks  were  xiuder  the  control  of  the 
States,  and  were  allowed  to  establish 
branches  at  different  convenient  points. 

Until  this  time  Chillicothe  and  Cincin- 
nati had  in  turn  enjoyed  the  privileges  of 
being  the  capital  of  Ohio.  But  the  rapid 
settlement  of  the  northern  and  eastern  por- 
tions of  the  State  demanded,  as  in  Indiana, 


54 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


a  more  central  location,  and  before  the  close 
oftlieyear,  the  site  of  Columbus  was  se- 
lected and  surveyed  as  tlie  future  capital  of 
the  State.  Bankini;  had  bej^un  in  Oliio  as 
early  as  1808,  when  the  lirst  bank  was 
ciiartered  at  Marietta,  but  liereas  elsewiiere 
it  did'uot  bring  to  tiie  State  the  hoped-for 
assistance.  It  and  otiier  banks  were  subse- 
qently  unable  to  redeem  their  currency, 
and  were  obliged  to  suspend. 

In  181S,  Illinois  was  made  a  State,  and  all 
tlie  territory  north  of  her  northern  limits 
was  erected  into  a  separate  territory  and 
joined  to  Micliigan  for  judicial  pui-poses. 
By  the  following  year,  navigation  of  the 
lakes  was  increasing  with  great  rapidity 
and  affording  an  immense  source  of  revenue 
to  tlie  dwellers  in  the  Northwest,  but  it  was 
not  nntil  182G,  that  the  trade  was  extended 
to  Lake  Michigan,  or  that  steamships  began 
to  navigate  the  bosom  of  that  inland  sea. 

Until  tlie  year  1S32,  the  commencement 
of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  but  few  hostilities 
were  experienced  with  the  Indians.  Koads 
were  opened,  canals  were  dug,  cities  were 
built,  common  schools  were  established, 
universities  were  founded,  many  of  wiiich, 
especially  the  Michigan  University,  liave 
achieved  a  world-wide  reputation.  The 
people  were  becoming  wealthy.  Tlie  do- 
mains of  the  United  States  had  been  ex- 
tended, and  had  the  sons  of  the  forest  been 
treated  with  honesty  and  justice,  the  record 
of  many  years  would  have  been  that  of 
peace  and  continuous  prosperity. 

BLACK    HAWK   AND    THE    BLACK     HAWK    WAR. 

Tliis  conflict,  though  confined  to  Illinois, 
is  an  important  epoch  in  the  Northwestern 
history,  being  the  last  war  witii  the 
Indians  in  tliis  part  of  the  United  States. 


Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah,  or  Black 
Hawk,  was  born  in  the  principal  Sac  vil- 
lage, about  tliree  miles  from  tiie  junction 
of  Rock  River  with  the  Mississippi,  in  the 
year  1767.  His  fatiier's  name  was  Pj'-c-sa 
or  Paliaes;  iiis  grandfather's,  Na-na-ma- 
kee,  or  the  Thunderer.  Blac'<  Hawk  early 
distinguished  himself  as  a  warrior,  ;ind  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  was  permitted  to  paint, 
and  was  ranked  among  the  braves.  About 
tiie  year  178-3,  he  went  on  an  expedition 
against  the  enemies  of  his  nation,  the 
Osages,  one  of  whom  ho  killed  and  scalped, 
and  for  this  deed  of  Indian  bi-avery  he  was 
permitted  to  join  in  tiie  scalp  dance. 
Three  or  four  years  after,  he,  at  the  head  of 
two  hundred  braves,  went  on  ar.otlier  expe- 
dition against  the  Osages,  to  avenge  the 
murder  of  some  women  and  children 
belonging  to  his  own  tribe.  Meeting  an 
equal  number  of  Osage  warriors,  a  fierce 
battle  ensued,  in  which  the  latter  tribe  lost 
one-half  tlieir  number.  The  Sacs  lost  only 
about  nineteen  warriors.  He  next  attacked 
the  Cherokees  for  a  similar  cause.  In  a 
severe  battle  with  them,  near  the  present 
City  of  St.  Louis,  his  father  was  slain,  and 
Black  Hawk,  taking  posses-ion  of  the 
"  Medicine  Bag,"  at  t)nce  announced  him- 
self chief  of  the  Sac  nation.  He  had  now 
conquered  the  Cherokees,  and  about  the 
year  1800,  at  the  liead  of  five  hundred  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  and  a  hundred  lowas,  lie  waged 
war  against  the  Osage  nation  and  subdued 
it.  For  two  years  he  battled  successtully 
with  other  Indian  tribes,  all  of  whom  he 
conquered. 

Black  Hawk  does  not  at  any  time  seem 
to  have  been  friendly  to  the  Americans. 
When  on  a  visit  to  St.  Louis  to  see  his 
"  Spanish  Father,"  he  declined  to  see  auj 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


55 


of  the  Americans,  alleging  as  a  reason,  he 
did  not  want  two  fathers. 

Tlie  treaty  at  St.  Lonis  was  consnniTnatcd 
in  18i)4.  Tlie  next  year  tiie  United  States 
Government  erected  a  fort  near  the  head  of 
tlie  Des  Moines  Ilapid>,  called  Fort  Ed- 
wards. This  seemed  to  enrage  Ijlaclc  Hawk, 
who  at  once  determined  to  capture  Fort 
Madison,  standing  on  the  west  side  of  the 
]\Iississi])iii  above  the  nioutli  of  the  Des 
Moines  liiver.  The  fort  was  garrisoned  by 
abont  fifty  men.  Here  he  was  defeated. 
The  difficulties  with  the  British  Goverii- 
inent  arose  about  this  time,  and  the  War 
of  1S12  followed.  That  government,  ex- 
tending aid  to  the  AYestern  Indians,  by 
giving  them  arms  and  ammunition,  in- 
duced them  to  remain  hostile  to  the  Amer- 
icans. In  August,  1S12,  Black  Hawk,  at 
the  head  of  about  five  liundred  braves, 
started  to  join  the  British  forces  at  Detroit, 
passing  on  his  way  the  site  of  Chicago, 
where  the  famous  Fort  Dearborn  Massacre 
had  a  few  days  before  occurred.  Of  his  con- 
nection with  the  Britisli  Government  but 
little  is  known.  In  1813,  he  with  bis  little 
band  descended  the  Mississijipi,  and  attack- 
ing some  United  States  troops  at  Fort 
Howard,  was  defeated. 

In  the  early  part  of  1815.  tlie  Indian 
tribes  west  of  the  Mississipjii  wei'e  notified 
that  peace  bad  been  declared  between  the 
United  States  and  England,  and  nearly  all 
hostilities  had  ceased.  Black  ILiwk  did 
not  sign  any  treaty,  however,  until  May  of 
the  following  year.  He  then  recognized 
the  validity  of  the  treaty  at  St.  Louis  in 
1804.  From  the  time  of  siicning  this  treaty 
in  181t>,  until  the  tireaking  out  of  the  war 
in  1S32,  he  and  his  band  passed  their  time 
in  the  common  pursuits  of  Indian  life. 


Ten  years  before  the  commencement  of 
this  war,  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  were 
urged  to  ji)in  the  lowas  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Father  of  Waters.  All  were  agreed, 
save  the  band  known  as  the  British  Band, 
of  which  Black  Iluvvk  was  leader.  He 
strenuously  objected  to  the  removal,  and 
was  induced  to  comply  only  after  being 
threatened  with  the  power  of  the  Govern- 
ment. This  and  various  actions  on  the 
part  of  the  white  settlers  provolied  Black 
Hawk  and  his  band  to  attempt  the  cap- 
ture of  his  native  village  now  occupied  by 
the  whites.  Tiie  war  followed.  He  and 
his  actions  were  undoubtedly  misunder- 
stood, and  had  his  wishes  been  acquiesced 
in  at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle,  much 
bloodshed  would  have  been  prevented. 

Black  Hawk  was  chief  now  of  the  Sac 
and  Fox  nations,  and  a  noted  warrior.  He 
and  bis  tribe  inhabited  a  village  on  Rock 
River,  nearly  three  miles  above  its  conflu- 
ence with  the  Mississippi,  where  the  tribe 
had  lived  many  generations.  AVhen  that 
portion  of  Illinois  was  reserved  to  them, 
the}'  remained  in  peaceable  possession  of 
their  reservation,  spending  their  time  in  the 
enioyment  of  Indian  life.  The  fine  situa- 
tion of  their  village  and  the  quality  of  their 
lands  incited  the  more  lawless  white  set- 
tlers, who  from  time  to  time  began  to 
encroach  ujion  tlie  red  men's  domain. 
From  one  pretext  to  another,  and  from  one 
step  to  another,  the  crafty  white  men 
gained  a  foothold,  until  through  whisky 
and  ar.ifice  they  obtained  deeds  from  many 
of  the  Indians  for  their  possessions.  The 
Indians  were  finally  induced  to  cross  over 
the  Father  of  Waters  and  locate  among 
the  lowas.  Black  Hawk  was  strenuously 
opposed  to  all  this,  but  as  the  authorities 


58 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


of  Illinois  and  the  United  States  tlioUirlit 
this  the  best  move,  he  was  forced  to  C(>in]>ly. 
Jloreuver  other  tribes  joined  the  whites 
and  nriicd  the  removal.  Black  Hawk 
would  not  agree  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
made  with  his  nation  for  their  lands,  and 
as  soon  as  the  military,  called  to  enforce 
his  removal,  had  retired,  he  returned  to 
the  Illinois  side  of  the  river.  A  large  force 
was  at  once  raised  and  marched  against 
him.  On  the  evening  of  May  14,  1832, 
the  lirst  engagement  occurred  between  a 
baud  from  this  army  and  Black  Hawk's 
band,  in  which  the  former  were  defeated. 

This  attack  and  its  result  aroused  the 
whites.  A  large  force  of  men  was  raised, 
and  Gen.  Scott  hastened  from  the  seaboard, 
by  way  of  the  lakes,  witli  United  States 
troops  and  artillery  to  aid  in  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  Indians.  On  the  2ith  of  June, 
Black  Hawk,  with  200  warriors,  was  re- 
pulsed by  Major  Dement  between  Eock 
ITiver  and  Galena.  The  American  army 
continued  to  move  up  Rock  Iliver  toward 
the  main  body  of  the  Indians,  and  on  the 
21st  of  July  came  upon  Black  Hawk  and 
his  band,  and  defeated  them  near  the  Blue 
Mounds. 

Before  this  action,  Gen.  Henry,  in  com- 
mand, sent  word  to  the  main  army  by 
whom  he  was  immediately  rejoined,  and 
the  whole  crossed  the  Wisconsin  in  pursuit 
of  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  who  were 
fleeing  to  the  Mississippi.  They  were 
overtaken  on  the  2d  of  August,  and  in  the 
battle  which  followed  the  power  of  the 
Indian  chief  was  completely  broken.  He 
fled,  but  was  seized  by  the  Winuebagoes 
and  delivered  to  the  whites. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  1S32,  Gen. 
Scott  and  Gov.  Reynolds  coacluded  a  treaty 


with  the  Winnebagoes,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  by 
which  they  ceded  to  the  United  States  a 
vast  tract  of  country',  and  agreed  to  remain 
peaceable  with  the  whites.  For  the  faith- 
ful performance  of  the  provisions  of  this 
treaty  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  it  was 
stipulated  tliat  Black  Hawk,  his  two  sons, 
the  prophet  Wabokieshiek,  and  six  other 
chiefs  of  the  hostile  bands  should  be  re- 
tained as  hostages  during  the  pleasure  of 
the  President.  They  were  confined  at  Fort 
Barracks  and  put  in  irons. 

The  next  spring,  by  order  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  they  were  t^ken  to  Washing- 
ton. From  there  they  were  removed  to 
Fortress  Monroe,  "  there  to  remain  until 
the  conduct  of  their  nation  was  siicli  as  to 
justify  their  being  set  at  liberty."  They 
were  retained  here  until  the  -Ith  of  Juno, 
when  the  authorities  directed  them  to  be 
taken  to  the  principal  cities  ao  that  tliey 
might  see  the  folly  of  contending  against 
the  white  people.  Everywhere  they  were 
observed  by  thousands,  the  name  of  the 
old  chief  being  extensively  known.  By  the 
middle  of  August  they  reached  Fort  Arm- 
strong on  Rock  Island,  where  Black  Hawk 
was  sjon  after  released  to  go  to  his  country- 
men. As  he  passed  the  site  of  his  birth- 
])l.iC3,  now  the  home  of  the  white  man,  he 
was  deeply  nuveJ.  His  village  where  he 
was  born,  wiiere  he  luiJ  so  happily  lived, 
and  where  he  had  hoped  to  die,  was  now 
another's  dwelling  place,  and  he  was  a 
wanderer. 

On  the  next  day  after  his  release,  he 
went  at  once  to  his  tribe  and  his  lodge. 
His  wife  was  yet  living,  and  with  her  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  days.  To  his 
credit  it  ma}'  be  said  that  Black  Plawk 
always   remained    true    to   his    wife,    and 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


57 


served  her  witli  a  devotion  uncommoti 
aiiu)ii<^  the  Iiuliaiis,  living  witli  lier  upward 
of  forty  years. 

Blac!<  Hawk  now  pissed  liis  time  bnnt- 
ing  and  fisiiing.  A  deep  melanclioly  had 
settled  over  him  from  which  he  could  not 
be  freed.  At  all  times  when  he  visited  the 
wliites  he  was  received  with  marked  atten- 
tion. He  was  an  honored  guest  at  the  old 
settlers'  reunion  in  Lee  Cuunty,  Illinois,  at 
some  of  their  meetings,  and  received  many 
tokens  of  esteem.  Li  September,  183S, 
while  on  his  way  to  Ivi:;k  Island  to  recaive 
liis  annuity  from  the  Government,  ha  con- 
tracted a  severe  cold  which  resulted  in  a 
fatal  attack  of  bilious  fever  whicli  termina- 
ted his  life  on  October  3d.  His  faithful 
wife,  who  was  devotedly  attached  to  him, 
mourned  deeply  during  his  sickness. 
After  his  death  he  was  dressed  in  the  uni- 
form presented  to  him  by  the  President 
wiule  in  Washington.  He  was  buried  in 
a  grave  six  feet  in  depth,  situated  upon  a 
beautiful  eminence.  "The  body  was  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  grave,  in  a  sitting 
posture,  upon  a  seat  constructed  for  the 
purpose.  On  liis  left  side,  the  cane,  given 
him  by  Henry  Clay,  was  placed  npright, 
with  his  right  hand  resting  u]>on  it.  Many 
of  the  old  warrior's  trophies  were  placed  in 
the  grave,  and  some  Indian  garments,  to 
gether  with  his  favorite  weapons. 

No  soorer  was  the  Black  Hawk  war  con- 
cluded than  settlers  bej;an  rapidly  to 
pour  into  the  northern  parts  of  Illinois,  and 
into  Wisconsin,  now  free  from  Indian 
depredations.  Chicago,  from  a  trading 
post,  had  grown  to  a  commercial  center, 
and  was  rapidly  coming  into  prominence. 
In  1835,  the  formation  of  a  State  Govorn- 
iiieut  in   Micnii^au  was  discussed,  but  did 


not  take  active  form  until  two  years  later, 
when  the  State  became  a  part  of  the  Federal 
Union. 

The  main  attraction  to  that  portion  of 
the  Northwest  lying  west  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, now  included  in  the  State  of  Wiscon- 
sin, was  its  alluvial  wealth.  Copper  ore 
was  found  about  Lake  Superior.  For  some 
time  this  region  was  attached  to  Michigan 
for  judiciary  ]nirposes,  but  in  1836  was 
made  a  Territory,  then  including  Minnesota 
and  Iowa.  The  latter  State  was  detashed 
two  years  later.  In  18-18,  Wisconsin  was 
admitted  as  a  State,  Madison  being  made 
the  capital.  We  have  now  traced  tlie  vari- 
ous divisions  of  the  Northwest  Territorv 
(save  a  little  i.i  Minnesota)  from  the  time 
it  was  a  unit  comprising  this  vast  territory, 
until  circumstances  compelled  its  j)resent 
division. 

OTHER    IXDIAN    TROfliLES. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  narrative, 
we  will  narrate  briefly  the  Indian  troubles 
in  Minnesota  and  elsewhere  by  the  Sioux 
Indians. 

Li  August,  1862,  the  Sioux  Indians  liv- 
ing on  the  western  borders  of  Minnesota 
fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  settlers,  and  in 
a  few  hours  massacred  ten  or  twelve  hun- 
dred persons.  A  distressful  panic  was 
the  immediate  result,  fully  thirty  thou- 
sand persons  fleeing  from  their  h :>mes  to 
districts  sujijiosed  to  be  better  jn-utected. 
The  military  authorities  at  once  took  active 
measures  to  punish  the  savages,  and  a  large 
number  were  killed  and  captnred.  About 
a  year  after.  Little  Crow,  the  chief,  was 
killed  by  a  Mr.  Lampson  near  Scattered 
Lake.  Ot  those  cajitured  thirty  were  hung 
at  Mankato,  and  the   remainder,  through 


58 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


fears  of  mob  violence,  were  removed  to 
Camp  McClellaii,  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
City  of  Davenport.  It  was  here  that  Big 
Eai^le  came  into  ]iroininence  and  secured 
liis  release  by  the  following  order: 

"  Special  Order,  No.  430.      "  War  Department, 
"Adjutant  General's  Office, 

"  WAsniNOTON,  Dec.  3,  1864. 
"Big  Eagle,   an  Indian  now  in   confinement   at 
Davenport,  Iowa,  will,  upon  the  receipt  of  this  order, 
be  immediately  released  from  confinement  and  set  at 
liberty. 

"  By  order  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
"  Official:  "  E.  D.  TowNsEND, 

Ass't  Sdj't  Gen. 
"Capt.  James  Vandervexter, 

Com')/  Sub.  Vols. 
"  Through  Com'g  Gen'l,  Washington,  D.  C." 

Anotlier  Indian  who  figures  morepromi- 
nentl}'  than  Big  Eagle,  and  who  was  more 
cowardly  in  his  nature,  with  his  band  of 
Modoe  Indians,  is  noted  in  the  annals  of 
the  New  Northwest:  we  refer  to  Captain 
Jack.  This  distinguished  Indian,  noted  for 
his  cowardly  murder  of  Gen.  Canby,  was  a 
chief  of  a  Modoc  tribe  of  Indians  inhabiting 
the  border  lands  between  California  and 
Oregon.  This  region  of  country  comprises 
what  is  known  as  the  "  Lava  Beds,"  a  tract 
of  land  described  as  utterly  impenetrable, 
save  by  those  savages  who  had  made  it 
their  home. 

The  Modocs  are  known  as  an  exceedingly 
fierce  and  treacherous  race.  They  had,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  traditions,  resided 
here  for  many  generations,  and  at  one  time 
were  exceedingly  numerous  and  powerful. 
A  famine  carried  off  nearly  half  their  num- 
bers, and  disease,  indolence  and  the  vices 
of  the  white  man  have  reduced  them  to  a 
poor,  weak  and  insignificant  tribe. 

Sonn  after  the  settlement  of  California 
and  Oregon,  complaints  began  to  be  heard 


of  massacres  of  emigrant  trains  passing 
through  the  Modoc  countr3\  In  1817,  an 
emigrant  train,  comprising  eighteen  souls, 
was  entirely  destroyed  at  a  place  since 
known  as  "  Bloody  Point."  These  occur- 
rences caused  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  a]ipoint  a  peace  commission,  who, 
after  repeated  attempts,  in  ISOi,  made  a 
treaty  with  the  Modocs,  Snakes  and  Kla- 
maths,  in  which  it  was  agreed  on  their  part 
to  remove  to  a  reservation  set  apart  for 
them  in  the  southern  part  of  Oregon. 

With  the  exception  of  Captain  Jack  and 
a  band  of  his  followers,  who. remained  at 
Clear  Lake,  about  six  miles  from  Klamath, 
all  the  Indians  complied.  The  Modocs 
who  wont  to  the  reservation  were  under 
chief  Sehonchin.  Captain  Jack  remained 
at  the  lake  w-ithout  distui-bance  until  1S69, 
wlicn  he  was  also  induced  to  remove  to  the 
reservation.  The  Modocs  and  the  Klamaths 
soon  became  involved  in  a  quarrel,  and 
Ca]jtain  Jack  and  his  band  returned  to  the 
Lava  Beds. 

Several  attempts  were  made  by  the  In- 
dian Commissioners  to  induce  them  to  re- 
turn to  the  reservation,  and  finally  becom- 
ing involved  in  a  difficulty  with  the  com- 
missioner and  his  military  escort,  a  fight 
ensued,  in  which  the  chief  and  his  band 
were  routed.  They  were  greatly  enraged 
and  on  their  retreat,  before  the  day  closed, 
killed  eleven  inoffensive  whites. 

The  nation  was  aroused  and  immediate 
action  demanded.  A  commission  was  at 
once  ap]iointed  by  the  Government  to  see 
what  could  be  done.  It  comprised  the  fol- 
lowing persons:  Gen.  E.  R.  S.  Canby, 
Rev.  Dr.  E.  Thomas,  a  leading  Methodist 
divine  of  California;  Mr.  A.  B.  Meacham, 
J  udge  Rosborough,  of  California,  and  a  Mr. 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


59 


Dyer,  of  OreifOti.  After  several  interviews, 
ill  wliicii  tiie  Siivao;e3  were  always  a_'gres- 
sive,  often  apjiearinu;  with  scalps  in  their 
belts,  Bojjns  Charley  came  to  the  commis- 
sion on  the  evening  of  April  10,  1873,  and 
informed  them  that  Capt.  Jack  and  his 
band  won  id  have  a  *'  talk  "  to-morrow  at  a 
place  near  Clear  Lake,  abont  three  miles 
distant.  Here  the  Commissioners,  accom- 
jiaiiied  b}-  Charley,  Riddle,  the  iiitei']jreter, 
and  Boston  Charley,  repaired.  After  the 
usual  n^reetinij  the  ci.nneil  proceedings  com- 
menced. On  behalf  of  the  Indians  there 
were  present;  Capt.  Jack,  Black  Jim,  Scliac 
Nasty  Jim,  Ellen's  Man,  and  Hooker  Jim. 
They  had  no  guns,  but  carried  pistols. 
After  short  speeches  by  Mr.  Meacliam,  Gen. 
Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas,  Chief  Schonchin 
arose  to  speak.  He  had  scarcely  proceeded 
when,  as  if  by  a  preconcerted  arrangement, 
Capt.  Jack  drew  his  pistol  and  shot  Gen. 
Canby  dead.  In  less  than  a  minute  a  dozen 
shots  were  fired  by  the  savages,  and  the 
massacre  completed.  Mr.  Meacham  was 
shot  by  Schonchin,  and  Dr.  Thomas  by 
Boston  Charley.  Mr.  Dyer  barely  escaped, 
being  fired  at  twice.  Riddle,  the  interpre- 
ter, and  liis  squaw  escaped.  The  troops 
rushed  to  the  spot  where  they  found  Gen. 
Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas  dead,  and  Mr. 
Meacham  badly  wounded.  The  savages 
had  esca])ed  to  their  impenetrable  fastnesses 
and  could  not  be  pursued. 

The  whole  country  was  aroused  by  this 
brutal  massacre;  Ijut  it  was  not  until  the 
following  May  that  the  murderers  were 
brought  to  justice.  At  that  time  Boston 
Charley  gave  himself  up,  and  offered  to 
guide  the  troops  to  Capt.  Jack's  stronghold. 
This  led  to  the  ca])ture  of  his  entire  gang, 
a  number  of  whom  were  murdered  by  Ore- 


gon Volunteers  while  on  their  way  to  trial. 
The  remaining  Indians  were  held  as  pris- 
oners until  July,  when  their  tria!  occurred, 
which  led  to  the  conviction  of  Capt.  Jack, 
Schonchin,  Boston  Charley,  Hooker  Jim, 
Broncho,  alias  One- Eyed  Jim,  and  Slotuck, 
who  were  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  These 
sentences  were  approved  b}'  the  President, 
save  in  the  case  of  Slotuck  and  Broncho 
whose  sentences  were  commuted  to  impris- 
onin  lit  for  life.  The  others  were  executed 
at  Fore  Klamath,  October  :3,  1ST3. 

These  closed  the  Indian  troubles  for  a 
time  in  the  Northwest,  and  for  several  3'ears 
the  borders  of  civilization  remained  in  pence. 
They  were  again  involved  in  a  conflict  with 
the  savages  aliout  the  country  of  the  B!ack 
Hills,  in  which  war  the  gallant  Gen.  Custer 
lost  his  life.  Just  now  the  borders  of  Ore- 
gon and  California  are  again  in  fear  of  hos- 
tilities; but  as  the  Government  has  le;irned 
how  to  deal  with  the  Indians,  they  will  be 
of  short  duration.  The  red  man  is  fast 
passing  away  before  the  march  of  the  white 
man,  and  a  few  more  generations  will  read 
of  the  Indians  as  one  of  the  nations  of  the 
past. 

The  Northwest  abounds  in  memorable 
places.  AVe  have  generally  noticed  them 
in  the  narrative,  but  our  space  forbids 
their  description  in  detail,  save  of  the  most 
important  places.  Djtroit,  Cincinnati, 
Yincennes,  Kaskaskia  ami  their  kindred 
towns  have  all  been  described.  But  ere 
we  leave  the  narrative  we  will  present  our 
readers  with  an  account  of  the  Kinzie 
house,  the  old  landnnirk  of  Chicago,  and 
the  discovery  of  the  source  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  each  of  which  mav  well  find  a 
place  in  the   annals    of  the    Northwest. 

Mr.  John  Kinzie,  of  the    Kinzie   house, 


63 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


establislied  a  tr:ulitig  house  at  Fort  Dear- 
born in  1804.  The  stockade  had  been 
erected  tlie  year  previous,  and  named  Fort 
Dearborn  in  honor  of  tlie  Secretary  of  War. 
It  liad  a  block  house  at  each  of  the  two 
auf^les,  on  the  southern  side  a  sallyport,  a 
covered  way  on  the  north  side,  that  led 
down  to  the  river,  for  the  double  purpose 
of  providing  means  of  escape,  and  of  pro- 
curina:  water  in  the  event  of  a  siejje. 

Fort  Dearborn  stood  on  the  soutli  bank 
of  the  Cliicai^o  River,  about  iuilf  a  mile 
fi'oui  its  mouth.  When  Major  Whistler 
built  it,  his  soldiers  hauled  all  the  timber, 
for  he  had  no  oxen,  anil  so  economically 
did  he  wiu-k  that  the  fort  cost  the  Govern- 
ment only  fifty  dollars.  For  a  while  the 
garrison  could  sret  nt)  grain,  and  Whistler 
and  his  men  subsisted  on  acorns.  Now 
Chicago  is  the  greatest  grain  center  in  the 
world. 

Mr.  Kinzie  bought  the  hnt  of  the  first 
settler,  Jean  Baptiste  Point  au  Sable,  on 
the  site  of  which  he  erected  his  mansion. 
Within  an  inclosure  in  front  he  plaute  1 
some  Loinbardy  pojihirs,  and  in  the  rear  he 
soon  had  a  tine  garden  and  nfrowinjr  orchard. 

In  1S12  the  Kinzie  house  and  its  sur- 
roundings became  the  theater  of  stirring 
events.  The  garrison  of  P'ort  Dearborn 
consisted  of  fifty-four  men,  under  the 
charge  of  Caijt.  Nathan  Heald,  assisted  by 
Lieutenant  Lenai  T.  Helm  (son-in-law  to 
Mrs.  Kinzie),  and  ensign  Ronan.  Tiie  .sur- 
geon was  Dr.  Voorhees.  The  only  resi- 
dents at  the  post  at  that  time  were  the 
wives  of  Capt.  Heald  and  Lieutenant  Helm 
and  a  few  of  the  soldiers,  Mr.  Kinzie  and 
his  family,  and  a  few  Canadian  voyaceurs 
with  their  wives  and  children.  The  sol- 
diers and    Mr.  Kinzie    were   on    the    mo.st 


friendly  terms  with  the  Fottawatomies  and 
the  Winuebagoes,  the  principal  .tribes 
around  them,  but  they  could  not  win  them 
from  their  attachment  to  the  British. 

After  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  it  was 
observed  that  some  of  the  leading  chiefs 
became  sullen,  for  some  of  their  people 
had  perished  iu  that  conflict  with  Ameri- 
can troops. 

One  evening  in  April  1813,  Mr.  Kinzie 
sat  playing  his  violin  and  his  children 
were  dancing  to  the  music,  when  Mrs. 
Kinzie  came  rushing  into  the  house  pale 
with  terror,  e.xclaiming,  ''The  Lidians!  the 
Indians!"  "What?'  AVhere?"  eagerly 
inquired  Ml'.  Kinzie.  "Up  at  Lee's,  kill- 
ing and  scalping,"  answered  the  frightened 
mother,  who,  when  the  alarm  was  given, 
was  attending  Mrs.  Burns,  a  newly-made 
mother,  living  not  far  off.  Mr.  Kinzie 
and  his  family  crossed  the  river  in  bouts, 
and  took  refuge  in  the  fort,  to  which  place 
Mrs.  Burns  and  her  infant,  not  a  day  old, 
were  conveyed  in  safety  to  the  shelter  of 
the  guns  of  Fort  Dearborn,  and  the  rest  of 
the  white  inhabitants  fled.  The  Indians  were 
a  scalping  party  of  Winuebagoes,  who  hov- 
ered around  the  fort  some  days,  when  they 
disapjieared,  and  for  several  weeks  the  in- 
hale tan  ts  were  not  disturbed  by  alarms. 

Chicngo  was  then  so  deep  in  the  wilder- 
ness, that  the  news  of  the  declaration  of 
war  against  Great  Britain,  made  on  the 
19th  of  June,  1812,  did  not  i-each  the  com- 
mander of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Dearborn 
till  the  7th  of  August.  Now  the  fast  mail 
train  will  carry  a  man  from  New  York  to 
Chicago  in  twentj'-seven  hours,  and  such  a 
declaration  might  be  sent,  every  word,  by 
the  telegraph  iu  less  than  the  same  number 
of  minutes. 


THE  iCUKTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


61 


PRESENT  CONDITION   OF  THE  NOltTHWEST. 

Pivcediiig  chapters  li:ive  broui^lit  us  to 
tlie  close  of  the  Uhick  Ilawk  war,  iuul  we 
now  turn  to  the  contemplation  ot'tiie  ijrowtli 
and  pr(js[)erity  of  the  nortlnvest  under  the 
smile  of  pea  e  and  tlie  blessings  of  our 
civilization.  The  pioneers  of  tiiis  region 
date  events  back  to  the  deep  snow  of  1831, 
no  one  arriving  here  since  that  date  taking 
first  honors.  Tlie  inciting  cause  of  the 
immigration  wiiicli  overflowed  the  prairies 
early  in  the  '30s  was  tiie  reports  of  the 
marvelous  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  re- 
gion distributed  through  tiie  East  by  those 
who  had  {>articipated  in  the  Black  Hawk 
campaign  with  Gen.  Scott.  Chicago  and 
Milwaukee  then  had  a  few  hundred  inhab- 
itants, and  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard's  trail  from 
tiie  former  city  to  Kaskaskia  led  almost 
through  a  wilderness.  Vegetables  and 
clothiiiLj  were  largely  distributed  through 
the  regions  adjoining  the  hxkes  by  steam- 
ers from  the  Ohio  towns.  There  are  men 
now  living  in  Illinois  who  came  to  the 
State  when  barely  an  acre  was  in  cultiva- 
tion, and  a  man  now  prominent  in  tlie  bus- 
iness circles  of  Cliicago  looked  over  the 
swampy,  cheerless  site  of  that  metropolis  in 
ISIS  and  went  southward  into  civilization. 
Emigrants  from  Pennsylvania  in  1830 
left  Ijehind  them  but  one  small  railway  in 
tlie  coal  regions  thirty  miles  in  len^^th, 
and  made  their  way  to  the  Northwest 
mostly  with  ox  team^,  linding  in  Xorthern 
Illinois  petty  settlements  scores  of  miles 
apart,  alth(jugh  the  southern  portion  of 
the  state  wa.5  fairly  dotted  with  farm's.  The 
water  courses  of  the  lakos  and  rivers  fur- 
nished transportation  to  the  second  great 
army  of  immigrants,  and  about  1S50  rail- 
roads   were    pushed  to  that  extent  that  the 


crisis  of  1837  was  precipitated  upon  us,  from 
the  effects  of  which  the  Western  country 
had  not  fully  recovered  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  war.  Hostilities  found  the  c:^lonists 
of  the  prairies  fully  alive  to  the  damiinds 
of  the  occasion,  and  the  lionor  of  recruit- 
ing the  vast  armies  of  the  Union  fell  largely 
to  Gov.  Yates,  of  Illinois,  and  Gov.  Mor- 
ton, of  Indiana.  To  recount  the  share  of 
the  glories  of  the  campaign  won  by  our 
Western  troops  is  a  needless  task,  except 
to  mention  the  fact  that  Illinois  gave  to 
the  nation  the  President  who  saved  it,  and 
sent  out  at  the  head  of  one  of  its  regiments 
the  general  who  led  its  armies  to  the  final 
victory  at  A]5pomattox.  The  struggle,  o:i 
the  whole,  had  a  marked  effjct  for  the  bet- 
ter on  the  new  Northwest,  giving  it  an  im- 
petus which  twenty  years  of  i>eace  would 
not  have  proiluced.  In  a  large  degree  this 
prosperity  was  an  inflated  one,  and  with 
the  rest  of  the  Union  we  have  since  been 
compelled  to  atone  therefor.  A.gricalture, 
still  the  leading  feature  in  our  industries, 
has  been  quite  prosperous  through  all  these 
years,  and  the  farmers  have  c!e:ired  away 
many  incumbrances  resting  over  them  from 
the  period  of  fictitious  values.  The  pop- 
ulation has  steadily  increased,  the  arts  and 
sciences  are  gain  in  ic  a  stronger  foothold, 
the  trade  area  of  the  region  is  becoming 
daily  more  extemled,  and  wj  have  been 
largely  exempt  fro:u  the  financial  calam- 
ities. 

At  the  present  period  there  are  no  grjat 
schemes  broached  for  the  Northwest,  no 
l^ropositions  for  government  subsidies  or 
national  works  of  improvement,  but  the 
cipital  of  the  world  is  attracied  hither  for 
the  purchase  of  our  products  or  the  expan- 
sion of  our  capacity  for  serving  the  nation 


62 


THE  KORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


at  large.  A  new  era  is  dnwriiiig  as  to 
transportation,  and  we  bid  fair  to  deal  al- 
most exclusively  with  the  increasing  and 
expanding  lines  of  steel  rail  running 
through  every  few  miles  of  territory  on  the 
prairies.  Tiie  lake  marine  will  no  doubt 
continue  to  be  useful  in  the  wanner  season, 
and  to  serve  as  a  regulator  of  freight  rates; 
but  experienced  navigators  forecast  the 
decay  of  the  system  in  moving  to  the  sea- 
board the  enormous  crops  of  the  West. 
Within  the  past  few  years  it  has  become 
quite  common  to  see  direct  shipments  to 
Europe  and  the  West  Indies  going  through 
from  the  second  class  towns  along  the 
Mississippi  and  Missouri. 

As  to  popular  education,  the  standard 
has  of  late  risen  very  greatly,  and  our 
schools  would  be  creditable  to  any  section 
of  the  Union. 

More  and  more  as  the  events  of  the  war 
pass  into  obscurity  will  the  fate  of  the 
Northwest  be  linked  with  that  of  the 
Southwest. 

Our  public  men  continue  to  wield  the 
full  share  of  influence  pertaining  to  their 
rank  in  the  national  autonomy,  and  seem 
not  to  forget  that  for  the  past  sixteen  years 
they  and  their  constituents  have  dictated 
the  principles  which  should  govern  the 
country. 

In  a  work  like  this,  destined  to  lie  on 
the  shelves  of  the  library  for  generations, 
and  not  doomed  to  daily  destruction  like  a 
newspaper,  one  can  not  indulge  in  the 
same  glowing  predictions,  the  sanguine 
statements  of  actualities  that  fill  the  col- 
umns of  ephemeral  publications.  Time 
may  bring  grief  to  the  pet  projects  of  a 
writer,  and  explode  castles  erected  on  a 
pedestal  of  facts.     Yet  there  are  unmistaka- 


ble indications  before  us  of  the  same  railicid 
change  in  our  great  Northwest  which  char- 
acterizes its  history  for  the  past  thirty 
years.  Our  domain  has  a  sort  of  natural 
geographical  border,  save  where  it  melts 
away  to  the  southward  in  the  cattle  raising 
districts  of  the  Southwest. 

Our  prime  interest  will  for  some  years 
doubtless  be  the  growtli  of  the  food  of  the 
world,  in  which  branch  it  has  already  out- 
stripped all  competitors,  and  our  great  rival 
in  this  duty  will  naturally  be  the  fertile 
])lains  of  Kansas,  Nebraska  aniT  Colorado, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  new  empire  so  rapid- 
ly growing  up  in  Texas.  Over  these  regions 
there  is  a  continued  progress  in  agriculture 
and  in  railway  building,  and  we  must  look 
to  our  laurels.  Intelligent  observers  of 
events  are  fully  aware  of  the  strides 
made  in  the  way  of  shipments  of  fresh 
meats  to  Europe,  many  of  those  ocean  car- 
goes being  actnall}'  slaughtered  in  the  West 
and  transported  on  ice  to  the  whai'ves  of  the 
seaboard  cities.  Tliat  this  new  enter[)rise 
will  continue  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt. 
There  are  in  Chicago  several  factories  for 
the  canning  of  prepared  meats  for  European 
consumption,  and  the  orders  for  this  class 
of  goods  are  already  immense.  English 
capital  is  becoming  daily  more  and  more 
and  more  dissatisfied  w^ith  railway  loans 
and  investments,  and  is  gradually  seeking 
mammoth  outlays  in  lands  and  live  stock. 
The  stock  yards  in  Chicago,  Indianapolis 
and  East  St.  Louis  are  yearly  increasing 
their  facilities,  and  their  plant  steadily 
grows  more  valuable.  Importations  of 
blooded  animals  from  the  progressive  coun- 
tries of  Europe  are  destined  to  greatly  im- 
prove the  quality  of  our  beef  and  mutton. 
Nowhere  is  there  to  be  seen  a  more  enticing 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


65 


display  in  this  line  than  at  onr  state  and 
county  fairs,  and  the  interest  in  the  matter 
is  on  the  increase. 

To  attempt  to  give  statistics  of  onr  grain 
production  would  be  useless,  so  far  have  we 
surpassed  ourselves  in  t!ie  quantity  and 
quality  of  our  product.  We  are  too  liable 
to  forget  that  we  are  giving  the  world  its 
first  article  of  necessity — its  food  supply. 
An  opportunity  to  learn  this  fact  so  it  nev- 
er can  be  forgotten  was  afforded  at  Chicago 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  great  panic  of  1873, 
when  Canadian  purchasers,  fearing  the  pros- 
tration of  business  might  bring  about  an 
anarchical  condition  of  affairs,  went  to  that 
city  with  coin  in  bulk  and  foreign  drafts  to 
secure  their  supplies  in  their  own  currency 
at  first  hands.  It  may  be  justly  claimed  by 
the  agricultural  community  that  their  com- 
bined efiorts  gave  the  nation  its  first  impe- 
tus toward  a  restoration  of  its  crippled 
industries,  and  their  labor  brought  the  gold 
premium  to  a  lower  depth  than  the  govern- 
ment was  able  to  reach  by  its  most  intense 
efforts  of  legislation  and  compulsion.  The 
hundreds  of  millions  about  to  be  disbursed 
for  farm  products  have  already,  by  the  an- 
ticipation common  to  all  commercial  nations, 
set  the  wheels  in  motion,  and  will  relieve 
us  from  the  perils  so  long  siiadowing  our 
efiorts  to  return  to  a  healthy  tone. 

Manufacturing  has  attained  in  tiie  chief 
cities  a  foothold  which  bids  fair  to  render 
the  Northwest  independent  of  the  outside 
world.  Nearly  our  whole  region  has  a  dis- 
tribution of  coal  measures  which  will  in 
time  support  the  manufactures  necessary  to 
our  comfort  and  prosperity.  As  to  trans- 
portation, the  chief  factor  in  the  production 
of  all  articles  except  food,  no  section  is  so 
magnificently  endowed,  and   our  facilities 


are  yearly  increasing  beyond   those  of  any 
other  region. 

The  ])eriod  from  a  central  point  of  the 
war  to  the  outbreak  of  the  panic  was 
marked  by  a  tremendous  growth  in  our 
railway  lines,  but  the  depression  of  the 
times  caused  almost  a  total  suspension  of 
operations.  Now  that  prosperity  is  return- 
ing to  our  stricken  country  we  witness  its 
anticipation  by  the  railroad  interest  in  a 
series  of  projects,  extensions,  and  leases  . 
which  bid  fair  to  largely  increase  our 
transportation  facilities.  The  process  of 
foreclosure  and  sale  of  incumbered  lines  is 
another  matter  to  be  considered.  In  the 
case  of  the  Illinois  Central  road,  which 
formerly  transferred  to  other  lines  at  Cairo 
the  vast  burden  of  freight  destined  for  the 
Gulf  region,  we  now  see  the  incorporation 
of  the  tracts  connecting  through  to  New 
Orleans,  every  mile  co-operating  in  turning 
toward  the  northwestern  metropolis  the 
weight  of  the  interstate  commerce  of  a 
thousand  miles  or  more  of  fertile  planta- 
tions. Three  competing  routes  to  Texas 
have  established  in  Chicago  their  general 
freight  and  passenger  agencies.  Four  or 
five  lines  compete  for  all  Pacific  freights 
to  a  ])oint  as  far  as  the  interior  of  Nebraska. 
Half  a  dozen  or  more  splendid  bridge 
structures  have  been  thrown  across  the 
Missouri  and  Mississippi  Rivers  by  the 
railways.  The  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
line  has  become  an  aggregation  of  over 
two  thousand  miles  of  rail,  and  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  is  its  close  rival  in 
extent  and  importance.  The  three  lines 
running  to  Cairo  via  Vincennes  form  a 
through  route  for  all  traffic  with  the  States 
to  the  southward.  The  trunk  lines  being 
mainly  in  operation,  the  progress  made  in 


66 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


the  way  of  shortening  tracks,  making  air- 
line branches,  and  running  extensions  does 
not  show  to  the  advantage  it  deserves,  as 
this  process  is  constantly  adding  new  facili- 
ties to  the  established  order  of  things.  The 
panic  reduced  the  price  of  steel  to  a  point 
where  the  railways  could  hardly  aiford  to 
use  iron  rails,  and  all  our  northwestern 
lines  report  large  relays  of  Bessemer  track. 
The  immense  crops  now  being  moved  have 
given  a  great  rise  to  the  value  of  railway 
stocks,  and  their  transportation  must  result 
in  lieavy  pecuniary  advantages. 

Few  are  aware  of  the  importance  of  the 
wliolesale  and  jobbing  trade  of  Chicago. 
In  boots  and  shoes  and  in  clothing,  twenty 
or  more  great  firms  from  the  East  liave 
placed  here  their  distributing  agents  or 
their  factories  ;  and  in  groceries  Chicago 
supplies    the    entire   Northwest   at    rates 


presenting    advantages    over    New    York. 

Chicago  has  stejiped  in  between  Nevvf 
York  and  the  rural  bunks  as  a  finar.cial 
center,  and  scarcely  a  banking  institution 
in  the  grain  or  cattle  regions  but  keeps  its 
reserve  funds  in  the  vaults  of  our  com- 
mercial institutions.  Accumulating  here 
throughout  the  S])ring  and  summer  months, 
they  are  summoned  home  at  pleasure  to 
move  the  products  of  the  prairies.  This 
process  greatl\'  strengthens  the  northwest 
in  its  financial  operations,  leaving  home 
capital  to  supplement  local  operations  on 
behalf  of  home  interests. 

It  is  impossible  to  forecast  the  destiny 
of  this  grand  and  growing  section  of  the 
Union,  figures  and  predictions  made  at 
this  date  might  seem  ten  years  hence  so 
ludicrously  small  as  to  excite  only  derision. 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Tlie  name  of  this  l)cantifnl  Prairie  State 
is  (IfrivL'il  trmu  lU/'/u',  a  Delaware  word 
sii^iiityiiii;  Superior  Men.  It  lias  a  French 
termination,  and  is  a  symbol  of  how  the 
two  races — the  French  and  the  Indians — 
were  intermixed  during  the  early  history 
of  the  country. 

The  ap])ellation  was  no  doubt  well  ap- 
plied to  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  the 
soil  whose  prowess  in  savage  warfare  long 
withstood  the  combined  attacks  of  the 
fierce  Iroquois  on  tlie  one  side,  and  the  no 
less  savage  and  relentless  Sacs  and  Foxes 
on  the  other.  The  Illinois  were  once  a 
powerful  confederacy,  occupying  the  most 
beautiful  and  fertile  region  in  the  great 
Yallej  of  the  Mississippi,  which  their  en- 
emies coveted,  and  struggled  long  and 
hard  to  wrest  from  them.  Ey  the  tortnnes 
of  war,  they  were  diminished  in  numbers, 
and  finally  destroyed.  "  Starved  Euck," 
on  the  Illinois  Itiver,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, comuiemorates  their  last  tnigedy, 
where,  it  is  said,  the  entire  tribe  starved 
rather  than  surrender. 

EARLY  niSCOVERIES. 

The  fii'St  European  discoveries  in  Illi- 
nois date  back  over  two  hundred  years. 
They  are  a  part  of  that  mcivement  which, 
Ironi  the  beginning  to  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  brought  the  French 


Canadian  missionaries  and  fur  traders  into 
the  Valley  of  the  Missis-ippi,  and  which 
at  a  later  ])eriod  established  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  authority  of  France,  from  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexi- 
co, and  from  the  foot-hills  of  the  AUeghe- 
nies  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  great  river  of  tiie  West  liad  been 
discovered  by  Da  Soto,  the  Spanish  con- 
queror of  Florida,  three  quarters  of  a  cent- 
ury before  the  French  founded  Quebec  in 
ItjOS,  but  the  Spanisli  left  the  country  a 
wilderness,  without  further  exploration  or 
settlement  witiiin  its  borders,  in  which  con- 
dition it  remained  until  the  Mississippi 
was  discovered  by  the  agents  of  the  French 
Canadian  government,  Joliet  and  Mar- 
quette, in  1678.  These  renowned  explor- 
ers were  not  the  first  white  visitors  to  Illi- 
nois In  1(371 — two  years  in  advance  of 
them — came  Nicholas  Perrot  to  Chicago. 
He  had  been  sent  by  Talon  as  an  agent  of 
the  Canadian  f.'Overnment  to  call  a  great 
peace  convention  of  Western  Indians  at 
Green  Bay,  preparatory  to  the  movement 
for  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi.  It 
was  deemed  a  good  stroke  of  policy  to  se- 
cure, as  far  as  possible,  the  tViendship  and 
co-operation  of  the  Indians,  far  and  near, 
before  venturing  npon  an  enterprise  which 
their  hostility  might  render  disastrous,  and 
which  their  friendship  and  assistance  would 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


do  SO  much  to  make  successful;  and  to  this 
end  Perrot  was  sent  to  call  together  in 
council,  the  tribes  throughout  the  North- 
west, and  to  promise  them  the  commerce 
and  protection  of  the  French  government, 
lie  accordingly  arrived  at  Green  Bay  in 
1671,  and  procuring  an  escort  of  Pottawat- 
omies,  proceeded  in  a  bark  canoe  upon  a 
visit  to  the  Miamis,  at  Chicago.  Perrot 
was  therefore  the  first  European  to  set  foot 
upon  the  soil  of  Illinois. 

Still  there  were  others  before  Marquette. 
In  1672,  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  Fathers 
Claude  Allouez  and  Claude  Dablon,  bore 
the  standard  of  the  Cross  from  their  mis- 
sion at  Green  Baj'  through  western  Wis- 
consin and  northern  Illinois,  visiting  the 
Foxes  on  Fox  Piver,  and  the  Masquotines 
and  Kickapoos  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mil- 
waukee. These  missionaries  penetrated  on 
the  route  afterwards  followed  .by  Marquette 
as  far  as  the  Kickapoo  village  at  the  head 
of  Lake  Winnebago,  where  Marquette,  in 
his  journey,  secured  guides  aorcss  the 
portage  to  tlie  Wisconsin. 

Tiie  oft  repeated  story  of  Marquette  and 
Joliet  is  well  known.  They  were  tiie 
agents  employed  by  the  Canadian  govern- 
ment to  discover  the  Mississippi.  Mar- 
quette was  a  native  of  France,  born  in 
1637,  a  Jesuit  priest  by  education,  and  a 
man  of  simple  faith  and  of  great  zeal  and 
devotion  in  extending  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion  among  the  Indians.  Arriving  in 
Canada  in  1666,  he  was  sent  as  a  mission- 
ary to  the  far  Northwest,  and,  in  1668, 
founded  a  mission  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  The 
following  year  he  moved  to  La  Pointe,  in 
Lake  Superior,  where  he  instructed  a  branch 
of  the  Ilurons  till  1670,  when  he  removed 
south  and  founded  the  mission  at  St.  Ignace, 


on  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw.  Here  he  re- 
mained, devoting  a  portion  of  his  time  to 
the  study  of  the  Illinois  language  under  a 
native  teacher  who  had  accompanied  him 
to  the  mission  from  La  Pointe,  till  he  was 
joined  by  Joliet  in  the  spring  of  1673. 
By  the  way  of  Green  Bay  and  the  Fox  and 
Wisconsin  Pivers,  they  entered  the  Mis- 
sissippi, which  they  explored  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Arkansas,  and  returned  by  the  way 
of  the  Illinois  and  Chicago  Pivers  to  Lake 
Michigan. 

On  his  way  up  the  Illinois,  Marquette 
visited  the  great  village  of  the  Ivaskaskias, 
near  what  is  now  Utica,  in  the  county  of 
La  Salle.  The  following  year  he  returned 
and  established  among  them  the  mission 
of  the  Immaculate  Virgin  Mary,  which 
was  the  first  Jesuit  mission  founded  in 
Illinois  and  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The 
intervening  winter  he  luid  spent  in  a  hut 
which  his  companions  erected  on  the  Chi- 
cago River,  a  few  leagues  from  its  mouth. 
The  founding  of  this  mission  was  the  last 
act  of  Marquette's  life.  He  died  in  Mich- 
igan, on  his  way  back  to  Green  Bay,  May 
18,  1675. 

FIRST  FRENCH  OCCUPATION. 

Tlie  first  French  occupation  of  the  terri- 
tory now  embraced  in  Illinois  was  eflected 
by  La  Salle  in  1680,  seven  years  after  the 
time  of  Marquette  and  Joliet.  La  Salle, 
having  constructed  a  vessel,  tlie  "Griffin," 
above  the  falls  of  Niagara,  which  he  sailed 
to  Green  Bay,  and  having  passed  thence  in 
canoes  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph 
River,  by  which  and  the  Kankakee  he 
reached  the  Illinois,  in  January,  1680, 
erected  Fort  Cnvecaur,  at  the  lower  end 
of  Peoria  Lake,  where   the   city  of  Peoria 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


69 


is  now  situated.  The  place  where  this  an- 
cii'iit  fort  stood  may  still  be  seen  just  below 
tiie  outlet  of  Peoria  Lake.  It  was  destined, 
howes'er,  to  a  teijiporary  existence.  From 
this  poinfii  La  Salle  determined  to  descend 
the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  but  did  not 
accomplish  this  purpose  till  two  years  later 
— in  16S2.  Returninir  to  Fort  Frontenac 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  materials  with 
which  to  rig  his  vessel,  he  left  the  fort  in 
charge  of  Tonti,  his  lieutenant,  who  during 
his  absence  was  driven  off  by  the  Iroquois 
Indians.  Tliese  savages  had  made  a  raid  up- 
on the  settlement  of  the  Illinois,  and  had  left 
nothing  in  their  track  but  ruin  and  desola- 
tion. Mr.  Davidson,  in  his  History  of 
Illinois,  gives  the  following  graphic  account 
of  the  picture  that  met  the  eyes  of  La  Salle 
and  his  companions  on  their  return: 

"At  the  great  town  of  the  Illinois  they 
were  appalled  at  the  scene  which  opened  to 
their  view.  No  hunter  appeared  to  break 
its  death-like  silence  with  a  salutatory 
whoop  of  welcome.  The  plain  on  which 
tlie  town  had  stood  was  now  strewed  with 
charred  fragments  of  lodges,  which  had  so 
recently  swarmed  with  savage  life  and  hi- 
larity. To  render  more  hideous  the  picture 
of  desolation,  large  numbers  of  skulls  had 
been  placed  on  the  upper  extremities  of 
lodge-poles  which  had  escaped  the  devour- 
ing flames.  In  the  midst  of  these  horrors 
was  the  rude  fort  of  the  spoilers,  rendered 
frightful  by  the  same  ghastly  relics.  A 
near  approach  showed  that  the  graves  had 
been  robbed  of  their  bodies,  and  swarms  of 
buzzards  were  discovered  glutting  their 
loathsome  stomachs  on  the  reeking  corrup- 
tion. To  complete  the  work  of  destruction, 
the  growing  corn  of  the  village  had  been 
cut  down  and  burned,  while  the   pits  con- 


taining the  products  of  previous  years,  had 
been  rifled  and  their  contents  scattered  with 
wanton  waste.  It  was  evident  the  suspected 
blow  of  the  Iroquois  had  fallen  with  relent- 
less fury." 

Tonti  had  escaped.  La  Salle  knew  not 
whither.  Passing  down  the  lake  in  search 
of  him  and  his  men,  La  Salle  discovered 
that  the  fort  had  been  destroyed,  but  the 
vessel  which  he  had  partly  constructed  was 
still  on  the  stocks,  and  but  slightly  in- 
jured. After  further  fruitless  search,  failing 
to  find  Tonti,  he  fastened  to  a  tree  a  painting 
representing  himself  and  party  sitting  in  a 
canoe  and  bearing  a  pipe  of  peace,  and  to 
the  painting  attached  a  letter  addressed  to 
Tonti. 

Tonti  had  escaped,  and  after  untold  pri- 
vations, taken  shelter  among  the  Potta- 
wattomies  near  Green  Bay.  These  were 
friendly  to  the  French.  One  of  their  old 
chiefs  used  to  say,  "There  were  but  three 
great  captains  in  the  world,  himself,  Tonti 
and  La  Salle." 

GENIUS  OF  LA  SALLE. 

We  must  now  return  to  La  Salle,  whose 
exploits  stand  out  in  such  bold  relief.  He 
was  born  in  Rouen,  France,  in  16i3.  His 
father  was  wealthy  but  he  renounced  his 
patrimony  on  entering  a  college  of  the 
Jesuits,  from  which  he  separated  and  came 
to  Canada  a  poor  man  in  1666.  The  priests 
of  St.  Sulpice,  among  whom  he  had  a 
brother,  were  then  the  proprietors  of  Mon- 
treal, the  nucleus  of  which  was  a  seminary 
or  convent  founded  by  that  order.  The 
Superior  granted  to  La  Salle  a  large  tract 
of  land  at  La  Chine,  where  he  established 
himself  in  the  fur  trade.  He  was  a  man 
of  daring  genius,  and  outstripped  all  Iiis 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


competitors  in  exploits  of  travel  and  com- 
merce with  the  Indians.  In  IGGO,  he  vis- 
ited the  headquarters  of  the  great  Iroquois 
confederacy,  at  Onondaga,  in  the  lieart  of 
New  York,  and  obtaining  guides,  explored 
the  Ohio  River  to  the  falls  at  Louisville. 

In  order  to  understand  the  genius  of 
La  Salle,  it  must  be  remembered  that  for 
many  years  prior  to  liis  time  the  mission- 
aries and  traders  were  obliged  to  make 
their  way  to  the  Northwest  by  the  Ottawa 
River  (of  Canada)  on  account  of  the  fierce 
hostility  of  the  Iroquois  along  the  lower 
lakes  and  Niau;ara  River,  which  entirely 
closed  this  latter  route  to  the  UpperLakes. 
They  carried  on  their  commerce  chiefly  by 
canoes,  paddling  them  through  the  Ottawa 
to  Lake  Nipissing,  carrying  them  across 
the  portage  to  French  River,  and  descend- 
ing that  to  Lake  Huron.  This  being  the 
route  by  which  the}' reached  the  Northwest 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  all  the  earliest 
Jesuit  missions  were  established  in  the 
neicrhborhood  of  the  U]iper  Lakes.  La  Salle 
conceived  the  grand  idea  of  opening  the 
route  by  Niagara  River  and  the  Lower 
Lakes  to  Canadian  commerce  by  sail  vessels 
connecting  it  with  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  tlmsopiening  a  magnificent 
water  communication  from  the  Gnlf  of  St. 
Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This 
truly  grand  and  comprehensive  purpose 
seems  to  have  animated  him  in  all  his 
wonderful  achievements  and  the  matchless 
difficulties  and  liardships  he  surmounted. 
A3  the  first  step  in  the  accomplishment  of 
tliis  object  he  established  himself  on  Lake 
Ontario,  and  built  and  garrisoned  Fort 
Frontenac,  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Kingston,  Canada.  Here  he  obtained  a 
grant  of  land  from  the  French  crown,  and 


a  body  of  troops  by  which  he  beat  back  the 
invading  Iroquois  and  cleared  the  jiassage 
to  Niagara  Falls.  Having  by  this  musterly 
stroke  made  it  safe  to  attempt  a  hitherto 
untrii^d  expedition,  bis  next  step,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  to  advance  to  the  Falls  with 
all  his  outfit  for  building  a  ship  with  which 
to  sail  the  lakes.  He  was  successful  in 
this  undertaking,  though  his  ultimate  pur- 
pose was  defeated  by  a  strange  combination 
t)f  untoward  circumstances.  The  Jesuits 
evidently  bated  La  Salle  and  plotted  against 
him,  because  he  had  abandoned  them  and 
co-operated  with  a  rival  order.  The  fur 
traders  were  also  jealous  of  his  superior 
success  in  opening  new  channels  of  com- 
merce. At  La  Chine  he  had  taken  the  trade 
of  Lake  Ontario,  which  but  for  his  presence 
there  would  have  gone  to  Quebec.  While 
they  were  plodding  witli  their  bark  canoes 
through  the  Ottawa  he  was  constructing 
sailinf^  vessels  to  command  the  trade  of  the 
lakes  and  tlie  Mississippi.  These  great 
plans  excited  the  jealousy  and  envy  of  the 
small  traders,  introduced  treason  and  revolt 
into  the  ranks  of  his  own  companions,  and 
finally  led  to  the  foul  assassination  by  which 
his  great  achievements  were  prematurely 
ended. 

In  1682,  La  Salle,  having  completed  his 
vessel  at  Peoria,  descended  the  Mississippi 
to  its  confluence  with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Erecting  a  standard  on  which  he  inscribed 
the  arms  of  France,  he  took  formal  posses- 
sion of  the  whole  valley  of  the  mighty 
river,  in  the  name  of  Louis  XIV,  then 
reiojnin'r,  in  lionor  of  whom  he  named  the 
country  Louisiana. 

La  Salle  then  went  to  France,  was  ap- 
pointed Governor,  and  returned  with  a 
fleet  and  immigrants,  for   the  purpose  of 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


71 


pliintirifj  a  colony  in  Illinois.  They  arrived 
in  line  time  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  but 
Inilinij;  to  tind  tlic  month  of  the  Mississippi, 
up  which  La  Salle  intended  to  sail,  his 
Bui^ply  ship,  with  the  immigrants,  was 
driven  ashore  and  wrecked  on  Matagorda 
Bay.  "With  tlie  fragments  of  the  vessel  he 
constructed  a  stockade  and  rnde  huts  on 
the  shore  for  the  jirotection  of  the  immi- 
grants, calling  the  post  Fort  St.  Louis. 
He  then  made  a  trip  into  New  Mexico,  in 
search  of  silver  mines,  but,  meeting  with 
disappointment,  returned  to  find  his  little 
colony  reduced  to  forty  souls.  lie  then 
resolved  to  travel  on  foot  to  Illinois,  and, 
starting  with  his  companions,  had  reached 
tJie  valley  of  the  Colorado,  near  the  month 
of  Trinity'  river,  when  he  was  shot  bj'  one 
of  his  men.  This  occurred  on  the  19th  of 
March,  1687. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Foster  remarks  of  him  : 
"  Thus  fell,  not  far  from  the  haidcs  of  the 
Trinity,  Robert  Cavalier  de  la  Salle,  one 
of  the  grandest  characters  that  ever  figured 
in  American  history — a  man  capable  of 
originating  the  vastest  schemes,  and  en- 
dowed with  a  will  and  a  judi;'ment  capable 
of  carrying  them  to  successful  results.  Had 
ample  facilities  been  placed  by  the  King 
of  France  at  his  disposal,  tiie  result  of  the 
colonization  of  this  continent  might  have 
l)een  far  different  from  what  we  now 
behold." 

j:ari.y  settlements. 

A  temporary  settlement  was  made  at 
Fort  St.  Louis,  or  the  old  Kaskaskia  village, 
on  the  Illinois  River,  in  what  is  now  La 
Salle  County,  in  1682.  In  1690,  this  was 
removed,  with  the  mission  connected  with 
it,  to  Kaskaskia,  on  the  river  of  that  name, 


emptying  into  the  lower  Mississippi  in  St. 
Clair  County.  Cahokia  was  settled  about 
the  same  time,  or  at  least,  both  of  these 
settlements  began  in  the  year  1690,  though 
it  is  now  pretty  well  settled  that  Cahokia 
is  the  older  place,  and  ranks  as  the  oldest 
liermanent  settlement  in  Illinois,  as  well  as 
in  the  Mississippi  Yaliey.  The  reason  for 
the  removal  of  the  old  Kaskaskia  settle- 
ment and  riiission,  was  probably  because 
the  dangerous  and  difficult  route  by  Lake 
Michigan  and  the  Chicago  portage  had  been 
almost  abandoned,  and  travelers  and  traders 
passed  down  and  up  the  Mississippi  by  the 
Fox  and  Wisconsin  River  route.  They  re- 
moved to  the  vicinity  of  the  Mississippi  in 
order  to  be  in  the  line  of  travel  from  Can- 
ada to  Louisiana,  that  is,  the  lower  part  of 
it,  for  it  was  all  Louisiana  then  south  of 
the  lakes. 

During  the  period  of  French  rule  in 
Louisiana,  the  population  probably  never 
exceeded  ten  thousand,  including  whites 
and  blacks.  Within  that  portion  of  it  now 
included  in  Indiana,  trading  posts  were  es- 
tablished at  the  principal  Miami  villages 
which  stood  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Maumee,  the  Wea  villages  situated  at 
Ouiatenon,  on  the  Wabash,  and  the  Pian- 
keshaw  villages  at  Post  Vincennes;  all  of 
which  were  probably  visited  by  French 
traders  and  missionaries  before  the  close  of 
the  seventeenth  century. 

In  the  vast  territory  claimed  bj'  the 
French,  many  settlements  of  considerable 
importance  had  sprung  up.  Biloxi,  on 
Mobile  Bay,  had  been  founded  by  D'lber- 
ville,  in  1699;  Antoine  de  Lamotte  Cadillac 
had  founded  Detroit  in  1701;  and  New 
Orleans  had  been  founded  by  Bienville, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Mississippi  Com- 


72 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


pan 7,  in  1718.  In 'Illinois  also,  considera- 
ble settlements  liad  been  made,  so  that  in 
1730  they  embraced  one  hundred  and  forty 
French  families,  about  six  hundred  "con- 
verted Indians,"  and  many  traders  and 
vowaweiirs.  In  that  portion  of  the  country, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  there 
were  five  distinct  settlements,  with  their 
respective  villages,  viz.:  Cahokia,  near  the 
mouth  of  Cahokia  Creek  and  about  five 
miles  below  the  present  city  of  St.  Louis; 
St.  I'hilip,  about  furty-five  miles  below  Ca- 
hokia, and  four  miles  above  Fort  Chartres; 
Fort  Chartres,  twelve  miles  above  Kaskas- 
kia;  Kaskaskia,  situated  on  the  Kaskaskia 
Eiver,  five  miles  above  its  confluence  with 
the  llississipju;  and  Prairie  du  Rocher, 
near  Fort  Chartres.  To  these  must  be  add- 
ed St.  Genevieve  and  St.  Louis,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Mississippi.  These  with  the 
exceptioa  of  St.  Louis,  are  among  the  oldest 
French  towns  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
Kaskaskia,  in  its  best  days,  was  a  town  of 
some  two  or  three  thousand  inhabitants. 
After  it  passed  from  the  crown  of  France 
its  population  for  many  years  did  not  ex- 
ceed fifteen  hundred.  Under  British  rule, 
in  1773,  the  pojiulation  had  decreased  to 
four  hundred  and  fifty.  As  earl}'  as  1721 
the  Jesuits  had  established  a  college  and  a 
monastery  in  Kaskaskia. 

Fort  Chartres  was  first  built  under  the 
direction  of  tlie  Mississippi  Company,  in 
1718,  by  M.  de  Boisbraint,  a  military  ofiicer, 
under  command  of  Bienville.  It  stood  on 
tlie  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  about 
eighteen  miles  below  Kaskaskia,  and  was 
for  some  time  the  headquarters  of  the  mil- 
itary commandants  of  the  district  of  Illinois. 

In  the  Centennial  Oration  of  Dr.  Fowler, 
delivered  at  Pliiladelpliia,  by  appointment 


of  Gov.  Beveridge,  we  find  some  interesting 
facts  with  regard  to  the  State  of  Illinois, 
which  we  appropriate  in  this  history: 

In  1682  Illinois  became  a  possession  of 
the  French  crown,  adependency  of  Canada, 
and  a  part  of  Louisiana.  In  1765  the  Eng- 
lish flag  was  run  up  on  old  Fort  Chartres, 
and  Illinois  was  counted  among  the  treas- 
ures of  Great  Britain. 

In  1771)  it  was  taken  from  the  English 
by  Col.  George  Rogers  Clark.  This  man 
was  resolute  in  nature,  wise  in  council, 
prudent  in  policy,  bold  in  action,  and  heroic 
in  danger.  Few  men  who  have  figured  in 
the  history  of  America  are  more  deserving 
than  this  colonel.  Jsothing  short  of  first- 
class  ability  could  have  rescued  "Vincennes 
and  all  Illinois  from  the  English.  And  it 
is  not  possible  to  over-estimate  the  influence 
of  this  achievement  upon  the  republic.  In 
1779  Illinois  became  a  part  of  Virginia.  It 
was  soon  known  as  Illinois  County.  In 
1784:  Virginia  ceded  all  this  territory  to  the 
general  government,  to  be  cut  into  States, 
to  be  re])ublican  in  form,  with  "  the  same 
right  of  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  inde- 
pendence as  the  other  States." 

In  1787  it  was  the  object  of  the  wisest 
and  ablest  legislation  found  in  any  merely 
human  records.  Xo  man  can  study  the 
secret  history  of 

TOE  "compact  of  1787," 

and  not  feel  that  Providence  was  guiding 
with  sleepless  eye  these  unborn  States.  The 
ordinance  that  on  July  13,  1787,  finally  be- 
came the  incorporatinu:  act,  has  a  most 
marvelous  history.  Jefferson  had  vainly 
tried  to  secure  a  system  of  government  for 
the  northwestern  territory.  He  was  an 
emancipationist  of  that  day,  and  favored  the 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


exclusion  of  slavery  from  the  territory  Vir- 
ginia had  ceded  to  the  (general  government; 
tint  the  South  voted  him  down  as  often  as 
it  came  up.  In  1787,  as  late  as  July  10th, 
an  organizing  act  without  the  anti-slavery 
clause  was  pending.  This  concession  to  the 
South  was  expected  to  carry  it.  Congress 
was  in  session  in  New  York  City.  On  July 
5th,  Rev.  Dr.  Mannasseh  Cutler,  ol  Massa- 
chusetts, came  into  New  York  to  lobby  on 
the  northwestern  territory.  Everything 
seemed  to  fall  into  his  hands.  Events  were 
ripe. 

The  stateof  the  public  credit,  the  growing 
of  Southern  ])rejndice,  the  basis  of  his  mis- 
sion, his  personal  character,  all  combined  to 
coinplete  one  of  those  sudden  and  marvelous 
revolutions  of  public  sentiment  that  once  in 
live  or  ten  centuries  are  seen  to  sweep  over 
a  country  like  the  breath  of  the  Almighty. 
Cutler  was  a  graduate  of  Yale — receivedhis 
A.  M.  from  Harvard,  and  his  D.  D.  from 
Yale.  He  had  studied  and  taken  degrees 
in  the  three  learned  professions,  medicine, 
law,  and  divinity.  He  had  thus  America's 
best  indorsement.  lie  had  published  a 
scientific  examination  of  the  plants  of  New 
England.  His  name  stood  second  only  to 
that  of  Franklin  as  a  scientist  in  America. 
He  was  acourtly  gentleman  of  tJie  old  style, 
a  man  of  commanding  presence,  and  of 
inviting  face.  The  Southern  members  said 
they  had  never  seen  such  a  gentleman  in  the 
North.  He  came  representing  a  company 
that  desired  to  purchase  a  tract  of  land  now 
included  in  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  plant- 
ing a  Colon}'.  It  was  a  speculation.  Gov- 
ernment money  was  worth  eighteen  cents 
on  the  dollar.  This  Massachusetts  coin]);inv 
had  coller-ted  enough  to  juircha^e  1,500. 000 
acruti  of  laud.     Other  speculators  in  New 


York  made  Dr.  Cutler  theiragent  (lobbyist). 
On  the.]2th  he  represented  a  demand  for 
5,500,000  acres.  This  would  reduce  the 
national  debt.  Jefferson  and  Virginia  were 
regarded  as  authority  concerning  the  land 
Virginia  had  just  ceded.  Jetferson's  policy 
wanted  to  provide  for  the  public  credit,  and 
this  was  a  good  opportunity  to  do  some- 
thing. 

Massachusetts  then  owned  the  Territory 
of  Maine,  which  she  was  crowding  on  the 
market.  She  was  opposed  to  opening  the 
northwestern  region.  This  tired  the  zeal  of 
Virginia.  The  South  caught  the  inspiration, 
and  all  exalted  Dr.  Cutler.  The  English 
minister  invited  him  to  dine  with  some  of 
the  Southern  gentlemen.  He  was  the  cen- 
ter of  interest. 

The  entire  South  rallied  round  him, 
Massachusetts  could  not  vote  against  him, 
because  many  of  the  constiiuents  of  her 
members  were  interested  personally  in  the 
western  speculation.  Thus  Cutler,  making 
friends  with  the  South,  and,  doubtless,  using 
all  the  arts  of  the  lobby,  was  enabled  to 
command  the  situation.  True  to  deeper 
convictions,  he  dictated  one  of  the  most 
compact  and  finislied  documents  of  wise 
statesmanship  that  has  ever  adorned  any 
human  law  book.  He  borrowed  from  Jef- 
ferson the  term  "Articles  of  Compact," 
which,  preceding  the  Federal  constitution, 
rose  into  the  most  sacred  character.  He 
then  followed  very  closely  the  constitution 
of  Massachusetts,  adopted  three  years  be- 
fore.    Its  most  marked  points  were: 

1.  The  exclusion  of  slavery  fron)  the  ter- 
rit  ry  forever. 

2.  Provision  for  [>ul)lic  schools,  giving 
otie  tnwiishi)!  for  a  seminary,  and  every  sec- 
tion numbered  10  in  each    township;  that 


74 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLTN'OIS. 


is,  one  thirty-sixth  of  all  the  land,  for  public 
schools. 

3.  A  provision  prohibiting  the  adop- 
tion of  any  constitution  or  tlie  enactment 
of  any  law  that  should  nullify  pre-existino; 
contracts. 

Be  it  forever  remembered  that  this  com- 
pact declared  that  "  Religion,  morality  and 
knowledge  beinar  necessary  to  good  govern- 
ment and  the  happiness  of  mankind, 
schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall 
always  be  encouraged." 

Dr.  Cutler  planted  himself  on  this  plat- 
form and  would  not  yield.  Giving  his 
nnqnalilied  declaration  that  it  was  that  or 
nothing — tliat  unless  they  could  make  the 
land  desirable  they  did  not  want  it — he 
took  his  horse  and  bng:jy,  and  started  for 
the  constitutional  convention  in  Phila- 
delphia. On  July  13.  17S7.  the  bill  was 
put  upon  its  passage,  and  was  unanimously 
adopted,  every  S.JUthern  member  voting 
for  it,  and  only  one  man,  Mr.  Yates,  of 
Xew  York,  voting  against  it.  But  as  the 
States  voted  as  States,  Yates  lost  his  vote, 
and  the  compact  was  put  beyond  repeal. 

Thus  the  great  States  of  Ohio,  ludiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin — a  vast 
empire,  the  heart  of  the  great  valley — were 
consecrated  to  freedom,  intelliirence  and 
h«nesty.  Thus  the  great  heart  of  the  na- 
tion was  prepared  for  a  year  and  a  day  and 
an  honr.  In  the  light  of  tlie*e  eiglity-nine 
years  I  affirm  that  this  act  was  the  salva- 
tion of  the  republic  and  the  destruction  of 
slavery.  Soon  the  South  saw  their  great 
blunder,  and  tried  to  repeal  the  compact. 
In  1S03,  C<nigress  re  erred  it  to  a  commit- 
tee of  which  John  Randolph  was  chairman. 
He  repiirted  that  this  ordinance  was  a  com- 
pact, and  opposed  repeal.     Thus  it  stood  a 


rock,  in  tlie  way  of  the  on-rashing  sea  of 
slavery. 

"With  all  this  timely  aid,  it  was,  after 
all,  a  most  desperate  and  protracted  strug- 
gle to  keep  the  soil  of  Illinois  sacred  to 
freedom.  It  was  the  natural  battle-field 
for  the  irrepressible  conflict  In  the 
southern  end  of  the  State,  slavery  preceded 
the  compact  It  existed  among  the  old 
French  settlers,  and  was  hard  to  eradicate. 
The  southern  part  of  the  State  was  settled 
from  the  slave  States,  and  this  population 
brought  their  laws,  customs  and  institu- 
tions with  them.  A  stream  of  population 
from  the  Xorth  poured  into  the  northern 
part  of  the  State.  These  sections  misun- 
derstood and  hated  each  other  perfectlv. 
The  Southerners  re^rarded  the  Yankees  as 
a  skinning,  tricky,  penurious  race  of  ped- 
dlers, filling  the  country  with  tinware, 
brass  clocks  and  wooden  nutmegs.  The 
Northerner  thought  of  the  Southerner  as  a 
lean,  lank,  lazy  creature,  burrowing  in  a 
hnt,  and  rioting  in  whisky,  dirt  and  igno- 
rance. These  causes  aided  in  making  the 
struggle  long  and  bitter.  So  strong  was 
the  sympathy  with  slavery,  that  in  spite 
of  the  ordinance  of  17S7,  and  in  spite  of 
the  deed  of  cession,  it  was  determined  to 
allow  the  old  French  settlers  to  retain  their 
slaves.  Planters  from  the  slave  States 
might  bring  their  slaves,  if  they  would 
crive  them  a  chance  to  choose  freedom  or 
years  of  service  and  bondage  for  their  chil- 
dren till  they  should  become  thirty  years 
of  age.  If  they  chose  freedom  they  must 
leave  the  State  in  sixty  days  or  be  sold  as 
fugitives.  Servants  were  whipped  for  of- 
fenses for  which  white  men  are  fined. 
Each  lash  paid  forty  cents  of  the  fine.  A 
negro  ten  miles  from  home  without  a  pass 


EARLY  HISTOBT  OF  rLLINOlS. 


was  ■whipped-  Tliese  famous  laws  were 
importcJ  Iroin  the  slave  Stales  just  as  they 
imported  laws  for  the  insjjection  of  flax 
and  wool  when  there  was  neither  in  the 
State. 

These  Black  Laws  are  now  wiped  out 
A  vigorons  effort  was  made  to  protect 
slavery  in  the  State  Constitntion  of  1S17. 
It  barely  failed.  It  was  renewed  in  1S25, 
when  a  convention  was  asked  to  make  a 
new  constitntion.  After  a  hard  fi^ht  the 
convention  was  defeate-i.  Bat  slaves  did 
not  disapptear  from  the  censns  of  the  State 
nntil  ISoO.  There  were  mobs  and  mar- 
ders  in  the  interest  of  slavery.  Lovejoy 
was  added  to  the  list  of  martyrs — a  sort  of 
first  finits  of  that  long  life  of  immortal 
heroes  who  saw  freedom  as  the  one  snpreme 
desire  of  their  sonls.  and  were  so  enam- 
ored of  her,  that  tliey  preferred  to  die 
rather  than  survive  her. 

Tlie  population  of  12.2S2  that  occnp'ed 
the  Territ«>ry  in  A.  D.  ISOO,  increased  to 
45.000  in  A.  D.  ISIS,  when  tlie  State  Con- 
stitntion was  adopted,  and  Dlinois  took 
her  place  in  the  Union,  with  a  star  on  the 
flag  and  two  votes  in  the  Senate. 

Shadrach  Bond  was  the  first  Governor, 
and  in  his  first  message  he  recommended 
tlie  construction  of  the  Illinois  and  2£ichi- 
gan  Canal. 

The  simple  economy  in  those  days  is 
seen  in  the  tact  the  entire  bill  for  station- 
ery for  the  first  Legislature  was  onlv 
$13.50.  Tet  this  simple  body  actnaJlv 
enacted  a  very  superior  code. 

There  was  no  money  in  the  Terrltorv 
before  tlie  war  ot  1S12.  Deer  skins  ajid 
coon  skins  were  tlie  circulating  medium. 
In  1S21.  the  Legislature  orvl;*iiie"J  a  St,<te 
Bank  ou  the  credit  of  tlie  Stale.     It  issued 


notes  in  the  likeness  of  bank  bills.  Tiiese 
notes  were  made  a  legal  tender  for  every 
thing,  and  tiie  bank  was  ordered  to  loan  to 
the  pe>f>ple  §10<1«  on  personal  secmrity,  and 
more  on  mortgage.  They  actually  poseed 
a  resolntion  reqaestins:  tfae  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  Stat^  to  re- 
ceive these  notes  for  land.  Tiie  old  Frraieh 
Lieatenant  Governor,  CoL  Menard,  put  the 
resolution  as  follows:  ~  Gentlemen  of  tiie 
Senate:  It  is  moved  and  seconded  d-at  de 
notes  of  dis  hank  be  made  land  offiee 
money.  All  in  favor  of  dat  motion  say  aye; 
all  against  it  say  no.  It  is  decided  in  de  af- 
firmative. Xow,  gentlemen.  I  bet  yoo  one 
hnndied  dollar  he  never  be  land-office 
money!"  Hard  sense,  like  bard  money, 
is  always  alcove  par. 

This  o.d  Freacliman  presents  a  fine  Bg- 
nre  np  against  the  dark  background  of 
most  of  his  nation.  They  made  no  prog- 
ress. Tiiey  clung  to  their  earli^t  and 
simplest  implements.  They  never  wore 
hats  or  cape.  They  pniled  their  blankets 
over  their  heads  in  the  winter  like  the  lu- 
dianSj  with  whom  they  fineslj  intrarmin- 
gled. 

Dema^rogism  had  an  eaiiy  development. 
One  John  Graiuuiar(only  in  name*,  elected 
to  the  Territorial  and  State  L?gisiatar«  of 
1S16  and  1S36,  invented  the  policy  of  m>- 
posing  every  new  thing,  sayinjr,  "li  it 
succeeds,  no  one  will  ask  who  voted  a  jainst 
it.  If  it  proves  a  £ulnre,  be  eonld  quote 
its  record.^  In  sharp  CDUtrast  witii  Gnm- 
mar  was  the  character  of  D.  P.  Coi«k.  after 
whom  the  oonnty  coatAJ  ."  _•  "  '  ,■  was 
named.     Sneiiwashis  iri   -    .  ^^J"- 

ty  and  rtm  irkab^e  ability  that  his  will  was 
aJraL«st  thelawof  the  Srare.  In  CL«a^-ess, 
a  voUD  9-  maji.  and  from  a  poor  State,  ne  w^ts 


?6 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


iiiaile  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Couiuiittee.  He  was  pre-eminent  for 
standing  by  his  committee,  regardless  of 
consequences.  It  was  his  integrity  that 
elected  Joiin  Quincy  Adams  to  the  Presi- 
dency. There  were  four  candidates  in 
1824,  Jackson,  Clay,  Crawford,  and  John 
Quincy  Adams.  There  being  no  choice  by 
thepeiple,  the  election  was  thrown  into  the 
House.  It  was  so  balanced  that  it  turned 
on  his  vote,  and  that  he  cast  for  Adams, 
electing  him  ;  then  went  home  to  face  the 
wrath  of  the  Jackson  party  in  Illinois.  It 
cost  him  all  but  character  and  greatness. 
It  is  a  suorsestive  comment  on  the  titnes, 
that  there  was  no  legal  interest  till  1830. 
It  often  reached  150  per  cent.,  usually  50 
pel- cent.  Tiien  it  was  reduced  to  12,  and 
now  to  10  per  cent. 

PUVSICAL    FEATURES    OF    THE    PRAIRIE    STATE. 

luarea  the  State  has  55,410  square  miles 
of  territory'.  It  is  about  150  miles  wide 
and  400  miles  long,  stretching  in  latitude 
from  Maine  to  North  Carolina.  It  embraces 
wide  variety  of  climate.  It  is  tempered  on 
the  north  b}'  the  great  inland,  saltless,  tide- 
less  sea,  which  keeps  the  thermometer  from 
either  extreme.  Being  a  table  land,  from 
600  to  1,200  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
OOP  is  prepared  to  find  on  the  health  maps, 
prepared  by  the  general  government,  an  al- 
most clean  and  perfect  record.  In  freedom 
from  fever  and  malarial  diseases  and  con- 
sumptions, the  three  deadly  enemies  of  the 
American  Saxon,  Illinois,  as  a  State,  stands 
without  a  superior.  She  furnishes  one  of 
the  essential  conditions  of  a  great  people — 
Sound  bodies.  I  suspect  that  this  fact  lies 
back  of  that  old  Delaware  word,  Illini,  su- 
perior men. 


The  great  battles  of  history  that  have 
been  determinative  of  dynasties  and  desti- 
nies have  been  strategical  battles,  chiefly 
the  question  of  position.  Thermopylse  has 
been  the  war-cry  of  freemen  for  twenty-four 
centuries.  It  only  tells  how  much  there 
may  be  in  position.  All  this  advantage 
belongs  to  Illinois.  It  is  in  the  heart  of 
the  greatest  valley  in  the  world,  the  vast 
region  between  the  mountains — ;-a  valley 
that  could  feed  mankind  for  one  thousand 
3'ears.  It  is  well  -on  toward  the  center  of 
the  continent.  It  is  in  the  great  temperate 
belt,  in  which  have  been  found  nearlv  all 
the  aggressive  civilizations  of  history.  It 
has  sixty-five  miles  of  frontage  on  the  head 
of  the  lake.  With  the  Mississippi  forming 
the  western  and  southern  boundary,  with 
the  Ohio  running  along  the  southeastern 
line,  with  the  Illinois  river  and  canal  divid- 
ing; the  State  diagonally  from  the  lake  to 
the  lower  Mississij)pi,  and  with  the  Rock 
and  Wabash  rivers,  furnishing  altogether 
2,000  miles  of  water  front,  connecting  with, 
and  running  through,  in  all  about  12,000 
miles  of  navigable  water. 

But  this  is  not  all.  These  waters  are 
made  most  available  by  the  fact  that  the 
lake  and  the  State  lie  on  the  ridge  running 
into  the  great  valley  from  the  east.  Within 
cannon-shot  of  the  lake,  the  water  runs 
away  from  the  lake  to  the  gulf.  The  lake 
now  empties  at  both  ends,  one  into  the  At- 
lantic and  one  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  lake  thus  seems  to  hang  over  the  land. 
This  makes  the  dockage  most  serviceable; 
there  are  no  steep  banks  to  damage  it. 
Both  lake  and  river  are  made  for  use. 

The  climate  varies  from  Portland  to 
Richmond;  it  favors  every  product  of  the 
continent,  including  the  tropics,  with  less 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


than  lialf  a  dozen  exceptions.  It  produces 
every  great  nutriment  of  the  world  except 
bananas  and  rice.  It  is  hardly  too  much 
to  sa}'  that  it  is  the  most  productive  spot 
known  to  civilization.  With  the  soil  full 
of  bread  and  the  earth  full  of  minerals; 
witli  an  upper  surface  of  food  and  an  un- 
dei' layer  of  fuel;  with  perfect  natural  drain- 
age, and  abundant  springs  and  streams  and 
navigable  rivers;  halfway  between  the  for- 
ests of  the  north  and  the  fruits  of  the  soutli ; 
witliin  a  day's  ride  of  the  great  deposits  of 
iron,  coal,  copper,  lead  and  zinc;  contain- 
ing and  controlling  the  great  grain,  cattle, 
]iork  and  lumber  markets  of  the  world,  it 
is  not  strange  that  Illinois  has  the  advan- 
tage of  position. 

This  advantage  has  been  supplemented 
by  the  character  of  the  population.  In  the 
early  days  when  Illinois  was  first  admitted 
to  the  union,  lier  jiopulation  were  chiefly 
from  Kentucky  and  Virginia.  But,  in  the 
conflict  of  ideas  concerning  slaver^',  a 
strong  tide  of  emigration  came  in  from  tlie 
East,  and  soon  changed  this  composition. 
In  1870  her  non-native  population  were 
from  colder  soils.  New  York  furnished 
133,290;  Ohio  gave  162,623;  Pennsylvania 
sent  on  98,3.52;  the  entire  South  gave  us 
only  206,734.  In  all  her  cities,  and  in  all 
•her  German  and  Scandinavian  and  other 
foreign  colonies,  Illinois  has  only  about 
one-tifth  of  lier  people  of  foreign  birth. 

PROGRESS  OF    DEVELOPMENT. 

One  of  the  greatest  elements  in  the 
early  development  of  Illinois  is  the  Illi- 
nois and  Michigan  Canal,  connecting  the 
Illinois  and  Mississippi  Rivers  with  the 
lakes.  It  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
the  Sate.     It  was   i-  co  nnended   by  Gov. 


Bond,  the  first  governor,  in  his  first  mes- 
sage. In  1S21,  the  Legislature  a)i])ro)iri- 
ated  $10,000  for  surveying  the  route.  Two 
brioht  young  engineers  surveyed  it,  and 
estimated  the  cost  at  .^600,000  or  870tt,()00. 
It  finally  cost  $8,000,000.  In  1825,  a  law 
was  passed  to  incorporate  the  Canal  Com- 
pany, but  no  stock  was  sold.  In  1826, 
upon  the  solicitation  of  Cook,  Congress 
gave  800,000  acres  of  land  on  the  line  of 
the  work.  In  1828,  another  law — commis- 
sioners a]ipointed,  and  work  commenced 
with  new  survey  and  new  estimates.  In 
1831—35,  George  Farquhar  made  an  able 
report  on  the  whole  matter.  This  was, 
doubtless,  the  ablest  report  ever  made  to  a 
western  legislature,  and  it  became  the 
model  for  subse(iuent  reports  and  action. 
From  this,  the  work  went  on  till  it  was 
finished  in  1818.  It  cost  the  State  a  large 
amount  of  money;  but  it  gave  to  the  in- 
dustries of  the  State  an  imjietus  that 
pushed  it  up  into  the  fii-st  rank  of  great- 
ness. It  was  not  built  as  a  speculation  any 
more  than  a  doctor  is  employed  on  a  specu- 
lation. But  it  has  paid  into  the  treasury 
of  the  State  an  average  annual  net  sum  of 
over  $111,000. 

Pending  the  construction  of  the  canal, 
the  land  and  town-lot  fever  broke  out  in 
the  State,  iii.  1831-35.  It  took  on  the 
malignant  type  in  Chicago,  lifting  the 
town  up  into  a  city.  The  disease  spread 
over  the  entire  State  and  adjoining  States. 
It  was  epidemic.  It  cut  up  men's  farms 
without  regard  to  loealitj',  and  cut  up  the 
purses  of  tiie  purchasers  without  regard  to 
consequences.  It  is  estimated  that  build- 
ing lots  enough  were  sold  in  Indiana  alone 
to  accommodate  every  citizen  then  in  the 
United  States. 


78 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Towns  and  cities  were  exported  to  the 
Eastern  market  by  the  8hi|i-load.  There 
was  no  lack  of  buyers.  Every  np-ship 
came  freighted  witli  speenlators  and  their 
money. 

This  distempter  seized  npon  the  Legis- 
lature in  1836-37,  and  left  not  one  to  tell 
the  tale.  They  enacted  a  system  of  inter- 
nal improvement  without  a  parallel  in  the 
grandeur  of  its  conception.  They  ordered 
the  construction  of  1,300  miles  of  railroad, 
crossing  the  State  in  all  directions.  This 
■was  surpassed  by  the  river  and  canal  im- 
provements. There  were  a  few  counties 
not  touched  by  either  railroad  or  river  or 
canal,  and  those  were  to  be  comforted  and 
compensated  by  the  free  distribution  of 
$:^00,000  among  them.  To  inflate  this 
balloon  beyond  credence,  it  was  ordered 
that  work  should  be  commenced  on  both 
ends  of  each  of  these  railroads  and  rivers, 
and  at  each  river  crossing,  all  at  the  same 
time.  The  appropriations  for  these  vast 
improvements  were  over  $12,000,000,  and 
commissioners  were  appointed  to  borrow 
the  money  on  the  credit  of  the  State.  Re- 
member that  all  this  was  in  the  early  days 
of  railroading,  when  railroads  were  luxu- 
ries; that  the  State  had  whole  counties 
■with  scarcely  a  cabin;  and  that  the  popu- 
lation of  the  State  was  less  than  400,000, 
and  you  can  form  some  idea  of  the  vigor 
with  which  these  brave  men  undertook  tha 
■work  of  making  a  great  State.  In  the 
light  of  history  I  am  compelled  to  say  that 
this  was  only  a  premature  throb  of  the 
power  that  actual  1}'  slumbered  in  the  soil 
of  the  State.  It  was  Hercules  in  the  cra- 
dle. 

At  this  juncture  the  State  Bank  loaned 
its  funds  largely  to  Godfrey  Gilman  &  Co. 


and  to  other  leading  houses,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  drawing  trade  from  St.  Louis  to 
Alton.  Soon  they  failed  and  took  down 
the  bank  with  them. 

In  ISIO,  all  hope  seemed  gone.  A  pop- 
ulation of  1:80,000  were  loaded  with  a  debt 
of  $14,000,000.  It  had  only  six  small 
cities,  really  only  towns,  namely:  Chicago, 
Alton,  Springtield,  Quincy,  Galena,  Nau- 
vot).  This  debt  was  to  be  cared  for  when 
there  was  not  a  dollar  in  the  treasury,  and 
when  the  State  had  borrowed  itself  out  of 
all  credit,  and  wlu-n  there  was  not  good 
money  enough  in  the  hands  of  all  the  peo- 
ple to  pay  the  interest  of  the  debt  for  a 
single  year.  Yet,  in  tiie  presence  of  all 
these  difficulties,  the  .young  State  steadil}' 
rei'used  to  re])udiate.  Gov.  Ford  took  hold 
of  the  problem  and  solved  it,  bringing  the 
State  through  in  triumph. 

Having  touched  lightly  upon  some  of  the 
more  distinctive  points  in  the  history  of 
the  development  of  Illinois,  let  us  next 
bri'efly  consider  the 

MATERIAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE  STATE. 

It  is  a  garden  four  hundred  miles  long 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide.  Its 
soil  is  chiefly  a  black  sandy  loam,  from  six 
inches  to  sixty  feet  thick.  On  the  Ameri- 
can bottoms  it  has  been  cultivated  for  one 
hundred  and   fifty  years  without  renewal. 

About  the  old  French  towns  it  has  yield- 
ed corn  for  a  century  and  a  half  without 
rest  or  help.  It  produces  nearly  every- 
thing green  in  the  temperate  and  tropical 
zones.  She  leads  all  other  States  in  the 
number  of  acres  actually  under  plow.  Her 
products  from  25,000,000  of  acres  are  in- 
calculable. Her  mineral  wealth  is  scarce- 
ly second  to  her  agricultural  power.     She 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


l:;is  coal,  iron,  lead,  copper,  zinc,  many  va- 
rieties of  bniltliniT  stone,  fire  clay,  cnina 
clay,  common  brick  clay,  sand  of  all  kinds, 
gravel,  mineral  paint — everythiiii^  nee  led 
for  a  hiL;li  civilization.  Left  to  herself, 
slie  has  the  elements  of  all  greatness.  The 
single  item  of  ooal  is  too  vast  for  an  apju'e- 
ciative  handling  in  fignres.  We  can  lian- 
dle  it  in  general  terms  like  algebraical 
signs,  but  long  bei'ore  we  get  np  into  the 
millions  and  billions  the  human  mind 
drops  down  from  comprohension  to  mere 
symbolic  ap]irehension. 

When  I  tell  you  that  nearly  four-iifths 
of  the  entire  State  is  underlaid  with  a  de- 
])0sit  of  coal  more  than  forty  feet  thick  on 
the  average  (now  estimated  by  recent  sur- 
veys, at  seventy  feet  tiiick),  you  can  get 
some  idea  of  its  amount,  as  you  do  of  the 
amount  of  the  national  debt.  There  it  is! 
4I,0:jO  square  miles — one  vast  mine  into 
whicli  you  could  put  any  of  the  States;  in 
which  you  could  bury  scores  of  European 
and  ancient  empires,  and  have  roona  all 
round  to  work  without  knowing  that  they 
bad  been  sepulchered  there. 

Put  this  vast  coal-bed  down  by  the  other 
great  coal  deposits  of  the  world,  and  its 
importance  becomes  manifest.  Great  Brit- 
ain has  12,000  square  miles  of  coal;  Spain, 
3,000;  P>ance,  1719;  Belgium,  578;  Illinois 
about  twice  as  many  square  miles  as  all 
combined.  Virginia  has  20,000  square 
miles;  Pennsylvania,  16,000;  Ohio,  12,000. 
Illinois  has  41,000  square  miles.  One- 
seventh  of  all  the  known  coal  on  this  con- 
tinent is  in  Illinois. 

Could  we  sell  the  coal  in  this  single  State 
for  one-seventh  of  one  cent  a  ton,  it  would 
pay  the  national  dcl)t.  Converted  into 
power,  even   with  the   wastage  in  our  com- 


mon eiiirines,  it  would  do  more  work  than 
could  be  done  by  the  entire  race,  beginning 
at  Adam's  wedding  and  working  ten  hours 
a  day  through  all  the  centuries  till  the  i)re3- 
ent  time,  and  right  on  into  the  future  at 
the  same  rate  for  the  next  600,000  years. 

Great  Britain  uses  enough  mechanical 
power  to-day  to  give  to  each  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  kingdom,  the  help  and  sei-- 
vice  of  nineteen  untiring  servants.  No 
wonder  she  has  leisure  and  luxuries.  No 
wonder  the  home  of  the  common  artisan 
has  in  it  more  luxuries  than  couhl  be  found 
in  the  palace  of  good  old  King  Arthur. 
Think  if  you  can  conceive  of  it,  of  the  vast 
army  of  servants  that  slumber  in  the  soil  of 
Illinois,  impatiently  awaiting  the  call  of 
Genius  to  come  forth  to  minister  to  our 
comfort. 

At  the  present  rate  of  consumption  Eng- 
land's coal  sujijily  will  be  exhausted  in 
250  years.  When  this  is  gone  she  iriust 
transfer  her  dominion  either  to  the  Indies, 
or  to  British  America,  wdiich  I  would  not 
resist;  or  to  some  other  people,  which  I 
would  regret  as  a  loss  to  civilization. 

COAL  IS  KING. 

At  the  same  rate  of  consumption  (which 
far  exceeds  our  own),  the  deposit  of  coal  in 
Illinois  will  last  120,000  years.  And  her 
kingdom  shall  be  an  everlasting  kingdom. 

Let  us  turn  now  from  this  reserve  power 
to  the  annual  products  of  the  State.  AVe 
shall  not  be  humiliated  in  this  field.  Here 
we  strike  the  secret  of  our  national  credit. 
Nature  provides  a  market  in  the  constant 
appetite  of  the  race.  Men  must  eat,  and  it 
we  can  furnish  the  provisions  we  can  com- 
mand the  treasure.  All  that  a  man  hath 
will  he  give  for  his  life. 


80 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


According  to  tlie  last  census  Illinois  pro- 
duced 30,000.000  of  bushels  of  wheat.  That 
is  more  wlieat  tlian  was  raised  by  any 
other  State  in  the  union.  She  raised  in 
1875,  130,000,000  of  bushels  of  corn— twice 
as  much  as  any  other  State,  and  one-sixtii 
of  all  the  corn  raised  in  the  United  States. 
She  harvested  2,747,000  tons  of  hay,  nearly 
one-tenth  of  all  the  hay  in  the  republic. 
It  is  not  generally  appreciated,  but  it  is 
true  that  the  hay  crop  of  the  country  is 
worth  more  than  the  cotton  crop.  The  hay 
of  Illinois  equals  tiie  cotton  of  Louisiana. 
Go  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  see  them  ped- 
dling handfuls  of  hay  or  grass,  almost  as  a 
curiosity,  as  we  regard  Chinese  gods  or  the 
cryolite  of  Greenland;  drink  your  coffee  and 
condensed  milk;  and  walk  back  from  the 
coast  for  many  a  league  through  the  sand 
and  burs  till  you  get  up  into  the  better  at- 
mosphere of  the  mountains,  without  seeing 
a  waving  meadow  or  a  grazing  herd;  then 
you  will  begin  to  appreciate  the  meadows 
of  the  Prairie  State,  where  the  grass  often 
grows  sixteen  feet  high. 

The  value  of  her  farm  implements  is 
$211,000,000,  and  the  value  of  her  live 
stock  is  only  second  to  the  great  State  of 
New  York.  In  1875  she  had  25,000.000 
hogs,  and  packed  2,113,845,  about  one-half 
of  all  that  were  packed  in  the  United  States. 
This  is  no  insignificant  item.  Pork  is  a 
growing  demand  of  the  old  world.  Since 
the  laborers  of  Europe  have  gotten  a  taste 
of  our  bacon,  and  we  have  learned  how  to 
pack  it  drj'  in  boxes,  like  dry  goods,  the 
world  has  become  the  market. 

The  hog  is  on  the  marcli  into  the  future. 
His  nose  is  ordained  to  uncover  the  seci'ets 
of  dominion,  and  his  feet  shall  be  guided 
by  the  star  of  empire. 


Illinois  marketeil  $57,000,000  worth  of 
slaughtered  animals — more  than  any  other 
State,  and  a  seventh  of  all  the  States. 

Be  patient  with  me,  and  pardon  my 
pride,  and  I  will  give  you  a  list  of  some  of 
the  things  in  which  Illinois  excels  all  other 
States. 

Depth  and  richness  of  soil;  per  cent,  of 
good  ground;  acres  of  improved  land;  large 
farms — some  farms  contain  from  40,000  to 
60,000  aci-es  of  cultivated  land,  40,000  acres 
of  corn  on  a  single  farm;  number  of  farm- 
ers; amount  of  wheat,  corn,  oats  and  honey 
]>roduced;  value  of  animals  for  slaughter; 
number  of  hogs;  amount  of  pork;  number 
of  horses — three  times  as  many  as  Ken- 
tucky, the  horse  State. 

Illinois  excels  all  other  States  in  miles 
of  railroads  and  in  miles  of  postal  service, 
and  in  money  orders  sold  per  annum,  and 
in  the  amount  of  lumber  sold  in  her  mar- 
kets. 

Illinois  is  only  second  in  many  important 
matters.  This  sample  list  comprises  a  few 
of  the  more  important:  Permanent  school 
fund  (good  for  a  young  State);  total  in- 
come for  educational  purposes;  number  of 
publishers  of  books,  maps,  papers,  etc.; 
value  of  farm  products  and  implements, 
and  of  live  stock;  in  tons  of  coal  mined. 

The  shipping  of  Illinois  is  only  second 
to  New  York.  Out  of  one  port  during  the 
business  hours  of  the  season  of  navigation 
she  sends  forth  a  vessel  every  ten  minutes. 
This  does  not  include  canal  boats,  which 
go  one  every  five  minutes.  No  wonder  she 
is  only  second  in  number  of  bankers  and 
brokers  or  in  physicians  and  surgeons. 

She  is  third  in  collejres,  teachers  and 
schools;  c  ittle,  lead,  hay,  flax,  sorghum  and 
beeswax. 


'^/^. 


'OT>i^ 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


83 


She  is  fourth  in  population,  in  children 
enrolled  in  public  schools,  in  law  schools, 
in  butter,  potatoes  and  carriages. 

She  is  tif'th  in  value  of  real  and  personal 
property,  in  theological  seminaries  and 
colleges  exclusively  for  women,  in  milk 
sold,  and  in  boots  and  shoes  manufactured, 
and  in  book-binding. 

She  is  only  seventh  in  the  production 
of  wood,  while  she  is  the  twelfth  in  area. 
Surely  that  is  well  done  for  the  Prairie 
State.  She  now  has  much  more  wood  and 
growing  timber  than   she  had  thirty  years 

ago. 

A  few  leading  industries  will  justify- 
emphasis.  She  manufactures  $205,000,000 
worth  of  goods,  which  places  her  well  up 
toward  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  The 
number  of  her  manufacturing  establish- 
ments increased  from  1860  to  1870,  300 
percent;  capital  employed  increased  350 
per  cent.,  and  the  amount  of  product  in- 
creased 400  per  cent.  She  issued  5,500,000 
copies  of  commercial  and  financial  news- 
papers— only  second  to  New  York.  She 
has  6,759  miles  of  railroad,  thus  leading  all 
other  States,  worth  $636,458,000,  using 
3,245  engines,  and  67,712  cars,  making  a 
train  long  enough  to  cover  one- tenth  of  the 
entire  roads  of  the  State.  Her  stations  are 
only  five  miles  apart.  More  than  two- 
thirds  of  her  land  is  within  five  miles  of  a 
railroad,  and  less  than  two  per  cent  is 
more  than  fifteen  miles  away. 

The  State  has  a  large  financial  interest 
in  the  Illinois  Central  railroad.  The  road 
was  incorporated  in  1850,  and  the  State 
eave  each  alternate  section  for  six  miles  on 
each  side,  and  doubled  the  price  of  the  re- 
maining land,  so  keeping  herself  good. 
The  road  received  2,595,000  acres  of  land. 


and  pays  to  the  State  one-seventh  of  the 
gross  receipts.  Add  to  this  the  annual 
receipts  from  the  canal,  $111,000,  and  a 
large  per  cent,  of  the  State  tax  is  provided 
for. 

THE    EELIGION    AXD    MORALS 

of  the  State  keep  step  with  her  productions 
and  growth.  She  was  born  of  the  mission- 
arv  spirit.  It  was  a  minister  who  secured 
for  her  the  ordinance  of  1787,  by  which  she 
has  been  saved  from  slavery,  ignorance, 
and  dishonesty.  Rev.  Mr.  Wiley,  pastor 
of  a  Scotch  congregation  in  Eandolph ' 
County,  petitioned  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1818  to  recognize  Jesus 
Christ  as  king,  and'  the  scriptures  as  the 
only  necessary  guide  and  book  of  law.  The 
convention  did  not  act  in  the  case,  and  the 
old  covenanters  refused  to  accept  citizen- 
ship. They  never  voted  until  1824,  when 
the  slavery  question  was  submitted  to  the 
people;  then  they  all  voted  against  it  and 
cast  the  determining  votes.  (Conscience 
has  predominated  whenever  a  great  moral 
question  has  been  submitted  to  the  people. 

But  little  mob  violence  has  ever  been  felt 
in  the  State.  In  1817  regulators  disposed 
of  a  band  of  horse-thieves  that  infested  the 
Territory.  The  Mormon  indignities  finally 
awoke  the  same  spirit.  Alton  was  also  the 
scene  of  a  pro-slavery  mob,  in  which  Love- 
joy  was  added  to  the  list  of  martyrs.  Tiie 
moral  sense  of  the  people  makes  the  law 
supreme,  and  gives  to  the  State  unruffled 
peace. 

With  $22,300,000  in  church  property, 
and  4,298  church  organizations,  the  State 
has  that  divine  police,  the  sleepless  patml 
of  moral  ideas,  that  alone  is  able  to  secure 
perfect  safety.     Conscience  takes  the  knife 


84 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


from  the  assassin's  hand  and  tlie  bludgeon 
from  the  grasp  of  the  highwayman.  We 
sleep  in  safety,  not  because  we  are  behind 
bolts  and  bars — these  only  fence  against 
the  innocent;  not  because  a  lone  officer 
drowses  on  a  distant  corner  of  a  street; 
not  because  a  sheriff  may  call  his  posse 
from  a  remote  part  of  the  county;  but 
because  conscience  guards  the  very  portals 
of  the  air  and  stirs  in  tlie  deepest  re- 
cesses of  the  public  mind.  This  spirit 
issues  within  the  State  9,500,000  copies 
of  religious  papers  annually,  and  receives 
still  more  from  without.  Thus  the  crime 
of  the  State  is  only  one  fourth  that  of  New 
York  and   one  half  that  of  Pennsylvania. 

Illinois  never  had  but  one  duel  between 
her  own  citizens.  In  Belleville,  in  1S20, 
Alphonso  Stewart  and  William  Bennett 
arranged  to  vindicate  injured  honor.  The 
seconds  agreed  to  make  it  a  sham,  and 
make  them  shoot  blanks.  Stewart  was  in 
the  secret.  Bennett  mistrusted  sometliing, 
and  unobserved,  slipped  a  bullet  into  his 
gun  and  killed  Stewart.  He  then  fled  the 
State.  After  two  years  he  was  caught, 
tried,  convicted,  and,  in  spite  of  friends 
and  political  aid,  was  hung.  This  fixed 
tlie  code  of  honor  on  a  Christian  basis,  and 
terminated  its  use  in  Illinois. 

The  early  preachers  were  ignorant  men, 
who' were  accounted  eloquent  according  to 
the  strength  of  their  voices.  But  they  set 
the  stj'le  for  all  public  speakers.  Lawyers 
and  political  speakers  followed  this  rule. 
Gov.  Ford  says:  "Nevertheless,  these  first 
preachers  were  of  incalculable  benefit  to 
the  country.  They  inculcated  justice  and 
morality.  To  them  are  we  indebted  for 
the  first  Christian  ciiaracter  of  the  Protest- 
ant portion  of  the  people." 


In  education  Illinois  surpasses  her  ma- 
terial resources.  The  ordinance  of  1787 
consecrated  one  thirtj'-sixth  of  her  soil  to 
common  schools,  and  the  law  of  1818,  the 
first  law  that  went  upon  her  statutes,  gave 
three  per  cent  of  all  the  rest  to 

EDUCATION. 

The  old  compact  secures  this  interest 
forever,  and  by  its  yoking  morality  and 
intelligence  it  precludes  the  legal  interfer- 
ence with  the  Bible  in  the  public  schools. 
Witii  such  a  start  it  is  natural  that  we 
should  have  11,050  schools,  and  that  our 
illiteracy  should  be  less  tlian  New  York  or 
Pennsylvania,  and  only  about  one  half  of 
Massachusetts.  We  are  not  to  bhime  for 
not  having  more  tlian  one  half  as  many 
idiots  as  the  great  States.  These  public 
schools  soon  made  colleges  inevitable. 
The  first  college,  still  flourishing,  was 
started  in  Lebanon  in  1S2S,  by  the  M.  E. 
church,  and  named  after  Bishop  McKen- 
dree.  Illinois  College,  at  Jacksonville, 
supported  by  the  Presbyterians,  followed 
in  1830.  In  1832  the  Baptists  built  Shurt- 
leff  College,  at  Alton.  Then  the  Presby- 
terians built  Knox  College,  at  Galesburg, 
in  1838,  and  the  Episcopalians  built  Jubilee 
College,  at  Peoria,  in  181:7.  After  these 
early  years,  colleges  have  rained  down.  A 
settler  could  hardly  encamp  on  the  prairie 
but  a  college  would  spring  up  by  his  wagon. 
The  State  now  has  one  very  well  endowed 
and  equipped  university,  namely,  the 
Northwestern  LTniversity,  at  Evanston, 
with  six  colleges,  ninety  instructors,  over 
1,000  students,  and  $1,500,000  endowment. 

Kev.  J.  M.  Peck  Avas  the  first  educated 
Protestant  minister  in  the  State.  He 
settled  at  Rock  Spring,  in  St.  Clair  County, 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS- 


85 


1820,  aud  left  his  impress  on  the  State. 
Before  1S37  only  partj-  papers  were  pub- 
lished, hut  Mr.  Peck  ])ublished  a  Gazetteer 
of  Illinois.  Soon  after  John  Ilussell,  of 
ISIuriUale,  published  essays  and  tales  show- 
iiiir  ijeiiius.  Judge  James  Hall  published 
The  Illinois  M'onthJij  Miujuzine  with  great 
ability,  and  an  annual  called  The  Western 
Souvenir,  which  gave  him  an  enviable 
fame  all  over  the  United  States.  From 
tliese  beginnings,  Illinois  has  gone  on  till 
she  has  more  volumes  in  publ'c  libraries 
even  than  Massachusetts,  and  of  the  -ii,- 
500,000  volumes  in  all  the  public  libraries 
of  the  United  States,  she  has  one  thirteenth. 
In  newspapers  she  stands  fourth.  Iler 
increase  is  marvelous. 

This  brings  us  to  a  record  unsurpassed 
in  the  history  of  any  age. 

THE    WAR    EECOKD    OF   ILLINOIS. 

I  hardly  know  where  to  begin,  or  how  to 
advance,  or  what  to  say.  I  can  at  best  give 
you  only  a  broken  synopsis  of  her  deeds, 
and  you  must  put  them  in  the  order  ot 
glory  for  yourself.  Her  sons  have  always 
been  foremost  on  fields  of  danger.  In 
1832-33,  at  the  call  of  Gov.  Reynolds,  her 
sons  drove  Blackhawkover  the  Mississijipi. 

When  the  Mexican  war  came,  in  May, 
1846,  8,370  men  oifered  themselves  when 
only  3,720  could  be  accepted.  The  fields 
of  Buena  Vista  and  Yera  Cruz,  and  the 
storming  of  Cerro  Gordo,  will  carry  the 
glory  of  Illinois  soldiers  long  after  the 
causes  that  led  to  that  war  have  been 
forgotten.  But  it  was  reserved  till  our  day 
for  her  sons  to  find  a  field  and  cause  and 
foemen  that  could  fitly  illustrate  their  spirit 
and  iieroism.  Illinois  put  into  her  own 
regiments  for  the  United  States  government 


256,000  men,  and  into  the  army  through 
other  States  enough  to  swell  the  number  to 
290,000.  This  far  exceeds  all  the  soldiers 
of  the  Federal  government  in  all  the  war 
of  the  Revolution.  Her  total  3'ears  of 
service  were  over  600,000.  She  enrolled 
men  from  eighteen  to  forty-five  years  of 
age  when  the  law  of  Congress  in  1864 — 
the  test  time — only  asked  for  those  from 
twenty  to  forty-five.  Iler  enrollment  was 
otherwise  excessive.  Her  people  wanted  to 
go,  and  did  not  take  the  jiains  to  correct 
the  enrollment.  Thus  the  basis  of  fixing 
the  quota  was  too  great,  and  then  the  quota 
itself,  at  least  in  the  trying  time,  was  far 
above  anj"^  other  State. 

Thus  the  demand  on  some  counties,  as 
Monroe,  for  example,  took  every  able-bod- 
ied man  in  the  county,  and  then  did  not 
have  enough  to  fill  the  quota.  Moreover, 
Illinois  sent  20,844  men  for  ninety  or  one 
hundred  da3-s,  for  whom  no  credit  was 
asked.  When  Mr.  Lincoln's  attention  was 
called  to  the  inequality  of  the  quota  com- 
pared with  other  States,  he  replied  :  "The 
country  needs  the  sacrifice.  We  must  put 
the  whip  on  the  free  horse."  In  spite  of 
all  these  disadvantages  Illinois  gave  to  the 
country  73,000  years  of  service  above  all 
calls.  With  one  thirteenth  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  loyal  States,  she  sent  regularly 
one  tenth  of  all  the  soldiers,  and  in  the 
peril  of  the  closing  calls,  when  patriots 
were  few  and  weary,  she  then  sent  one 
eighth  of  all  that  were  called  for  by  her 
loved  and  honored  son  in  the  White  House. 
Her  mothers  and  daughters  went  into  the 
fields  to  raise  the  grain  and  keep  the 
children  together,  while  the  fathers  and 
older  sons  went  to  the  harvest  fields  of  tlio 
world.     I  knew  a  father  aud  four  sons  who 


86 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


agreed  that  one  of  them  must  stay  at  home  ; 
and  they  pulled  straws  from  a  stack  to  see 
who  might  go.  Tlie  father  was  left.  The 
next  day  lie  came  into  the  camp,  saying: 
"  Mother  says  slie  can  get  the  crops  in,  and 
I  am  going,  too."  1  know  large  Methodist 
churches  from  which  every  male  member 
went  to  the  army.  Do  you  want  to  know 
what  these  heroes  from  Illinois  did  in  the 
field  ?  Ask  any  soldier  with  a  good  record 
of  his  own,  who  is  able  to  judge,  and 
he  will  tell  you  that  the  Illinois  men  went 
in  to  win.  It  is  common  history  that  the 
greater  victories  were  won  in  the  West. 
When  everything  else  looked  dark  Illinois 
was  gaining  victories  all  down  tlie  river, 
and  dividing  the  Confederacy.  Sherman 
took  with  him  on  his  great  march  forty- 
five  regiments  of  Illinois  infantry,  three 
companies  of  artillery,  and  one  company  of 
cavalry.     He  could  not  avoid 

GOING   TO   THE    SEA. 

If  lie  had  been  killed,  I  doubt  not  the 
men  would  have  gone  right  on.  Lincoln 
answered  all  rumors  of  Sherman's  defeat 
with,  "It  is  impossible;  there  is  a  mighty 
Bight  of  fight  in  100,000  Western  men." 
Illinois  soldiers  brought  home  300  battle- 
flags.  The  first  United  States  flag  tliat 
floated  over  Kichmond,  was  an  Illinois  flag. 
She  sent  messengers  and  nurses  to  every 
field  and  hospital,  to  care  for  her  sick  and 
wounded  sons.  She  said,  "  these  suft'ering 
ones  are  my  sons,  and  I  will  care  for  them." 

Wiien  individuals  had  given  all,  then 
cities  and  towns  came  forward  with  their 
credit  to  the  extent  of  many  millions,  to 
aid  these  men  and  their  families. 

Illinois  gave  the  country  the  great 
general  of  the  war — Ulysses   S.   Grant — 


since  honored  with  two  terms  of  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  United  States. 

One  otlier  name  from  Illinois  comes  up 
in  all  minds,  embalmed  in  all  hearts,  that 
must  have  the  suj)reme  place  in  this  story 
of  our  glory  and  of  our  nation's  honor; 
that  name  is  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois. 

The  analysis  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character 
is  diflicult  on  account  of  its  symmetry. 

In  this  age  we  look  with  admiration  at 
his  uncompromising  honesty.  And  well 
we  may,  for  this  saved  us.  Thousands 
throughout  tiie  length  and  breadth  of  our 
countr}',  wlio  knew  him  only  as  "  Honest 
Old  Abe,"  voted  for  him  on  that  account; 
and  wisely  did  they  choose,  for  no  other 
man  could  have  carried  ns  through  the 
fearful  night  of  the  war.  When  his  plans 
were  too  vast  for  our  comprehension,  and 
his  faith  in  the  cause  too  sublime  for  our 
participation;  when  it  was  all  uiglit  about 
us,  and  all  dread  before  us,  and  all  sad  and 
desolate  behind  us;  when  not  one  ray 
shone  upon  our  cause;  when  traitors  were 
haughty  and  exultant  at  the  South,  and 
fierce  and  blasphemous  at  the  North;  when 
the  loj'al  men  here  seemed  almost  in  the 
minority;  when  tlie  stoutest  heart  quailed, 
the  bravest  cheek  paled,  when  generals 
were  defeating  each  other  for  place,  and 
contractors  were  leeching  out  the  very 
heart's  blood  of  the  prostrate  republic; 
when  every  thing  else  had  failed  us,  we 
looked  at  this  calm,  patient  man,  standing 
like  a  rock  in  the  storm,  and  said :  "  Mr. 
Lincoln  is  honest,  and  we  can  trust  him 
still."  Holding  to  this  single  point  with 
the  energy  of  faith  and  despair  we  held 
together,  and,  under  God,  he  brought  us 
through  to  victory. 

His   practical    wisdom    made   him    the 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


87 


wonder  of  all  lands.  With  sucli  certainty 
did  Mr.  Lincoln  follow  causes  to  their 
ultimate  effects,  that  his  foresight  of  con- 
tingencies seemed  almost  prophetic. 

lie  is  radiant  with  all  the  great  virtues, 
and  his  memory  shall  shed  a  glory  upon 
this  age,  that  shall  fill  the  eyes  of  men  as 
they  look  into  history.  Other  men  have 
excelled  him  in  some  point,  but,  taken  at 
all  points,  all  in  all,  he  stands  head  and 
shoulders  above  every  other  man  of  G,000 
years.  An  administrator,  he  saved  the  na- 
tion in  the  perils  of  unparalleled  civil  war. 
A  statesman,  he  justified  his  measures  by 
their  success.  A  philanthropist,  he  gave 
liberty  to  one  race  and  salvation  to  another. 
A  moralist,  he  bowed  from  the  summit  of 
human  power  to  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  and 
became  a  Christian.  A  mediator,  he  exer- 
cised mercy  under  the  most  absolute  abey- 
ance to  law.  A  leader,  he  was  no  partisan. 
A  commander,  he  was  untainted  witli 
blood.  A  ruler  in  desperate  times,  he  was 
unsullied  with  crime.  A  man,  he  has  left 
no  word  of  passion,  no  thought  of  malice, 
no  trick  of  craft,  no  act  of  jealousy,  no  pur- 
pose of  selfish  ambition.  Thus  perfected, 
without  a  model  and  without  a  peer,  he 
was  dropped  into  these  troubled  years  to 
adorn  and  embellish  all  that  is  good  and 
all  that  is  great  in  our  humanity,  and  to 
present  to  all  coming  time  the  representa- 
tive of  the  divine  idea  of  free  govern  iiient. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  away 
down  in  the  future,  when  the  republic  has 
fallen  from  its  niche  in  the  wall  of  time; 
when  the  great  war  itself  shall  have  faded 
out  in  the  distance  like  a  mist  on  the  hori- 
zon; when  the  Anglo  Saxim  language  sjiall 
be  spoken  only  by  the  tongue  of  the  stran- 
ger; then  the  generations  looking  this  way 


shall  see  the  great  president  as  the  suj^reme 
figure  in  this  vortex  of  history. 

CHICAGO. 

It  is  impossible  in  our  brief  space  to  give 
more  than  a  meager  sketch  of  such  a  city 
as  Chicago,  which  is  in  itself  the  greatest 
marvel  of  the  Prairie  State.  This  mysteri- 
ous, majestic,  mighty  city,  born  first  of 
water,  and  next  of  fire;  sown  in  weakness, 
and  raised  in  power;  planted  among  the 
willows  of  the  marsh,  and  crowned  with 
the  glory  of  the  mountains,  sleeping  on  the 
bosom  of  the  prairie,  and  rocked  on  the 
bosom  of  the  sea;  the  youngest  citj'  of  the 
world,  and  still  the  eye  of  the  prairie,  as 
Damascus,  the  oldest  city  of  the  world,  is 
the  eye  of  the  desert.  With  a  commerce 
far  exceeding  that  of  Corintli  on  her 
isthmus,  in  the  highway  to  the  East;  with 
the  defenses  of  a  continent  piled  around  her 
by  the  thousand  miles,  making  her  far  safer 
than  Home  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber;  with 
schools  eclipsing  Alexandria  and  Athens; 
witii  liberties  more  conspicuous  tiian  those 
of  the  old  republics;  with  a  heroism  equal 
to  the  first  Carthage,  and  with  a  sanctity 
scarcely  second  to  that  of  Jerusalem — set 
your  thoughts  on  all  this,  lifted  into  the 
eyes  of  all  men  by  the  miracle  of  its  growth, 
illuminated  by  the  flame  of  its  fall,  and 
transfigured  by  the  divinity  of  its  resurrec- 
tion, and  you  will  feel,  as  I  do,  the  utter 
impossibility  of  compassing  this  subject  as 
it  deserves.  Some  impression  of  her  im- 
portance is  received  from  the  shock  her 
burning  gave  to  the  civilized  world. 

When  the  doubt  of  her  calamity  was 
removed,  and  the  horrid  fact  was  accepted, 
there  went  a  shudder  over  all  cities,  and  a 
quiver  over  all  lands.     There  was  scarcely 


88 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLIXOIS. 


a  town  in  the  civilized  world  tliat  did  not 
shake  on  tlie  brink  of  this  opening  cliasm. 
Tlie  flames  of  our  Iiomes  reddened  all  skies. 
The  city  was  set  upon  a  hill,  and  could  not 
be  hid.  All  eyes  were  turned  upon  it.  To 
have  struggled  and  suffered  amid  the  scenes 
of  its  fall  is  as  distinguisliing  as  to  have 
fought  at  Thcrniopylaj,  or  Salamis,  or 
Hastings,  or  AV'aterloo,  or  Bunker  Hill. 

Its  calamity  ama/.ed  the  world,  because 
it  was  felt  to  be  the  common  property  of 
mankind. 

The  early  history  of  the  city  is  full  of 
interest,  just  as  the  early  history  of  such  a 
Tnan  as  Washington  or  Lincoln  becomes 
public  property,  and  is  cherished  by  every 
patriot. 

Starting  with  560  acres  in  1833,  it  em- 
braced  and  occupied  23,000  acres  in  lS6i), 
and  having  now  a  population  of  more  than 
600,000,  it  commands  general  attention. 

The  first  settler — Jean  Baptiste  Pointe 
au  Sable,  a  mulatto  from  the  West  Indies 
— came  and  began  trade  with  the  Indians 
in  1796.  John  Kmzie  became  his  success- 
or in  ISOl,  in  which  year  Fort  Dearborn 
was  erected. 

A  mere  trading-post  was  kept  here  from 
that  time  till  about  the  time  of  the  Black- 
hawk  war,  in  1S32.  It  was  not  the  cit}'. 
It  was  merely  a  cock  crowinij  at  midnight. 
The  morning  was  not  yet.  In  1S33  the 
settlement  about  the  fort  was  incorporated 
as  a  town.  The  voters  were  divided  on  the 
propriety  of  such  corporation,  twelve  voting 
for  it  and  one  against  it.  Four  years  later 
it  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  and  embraced 
560  acres. 

The  produce  handled  in  this  city  is  an 
indication  of  its  power.  Grain  and  flour 
were  imported  from  tlie  East  till  as  late  as 


1837.  The  first  exportation  by  way  of 
experiment  was  in  1839.  Exports  exceeded 
imports  first  in  181:2.  The  Board  of  Trade 
was  organized  in  1818,  but  it  was  so  weak 
that  it  needed  nursing  till  1855.  Grain 
was  purchased  by  the  wagon-load  in  the 
street. 

I  remember  sitting  with  my  father  on  a 
load  of  wheat,  in  the  long  line  of  wagons 
along  Lake  street,  while  the  buyers  came 
and  untied  the  bags,  and  examined  the 
grain,  and  made  their  bids.  That  manner 
of  busitiess  had  to  cease  with  the  day  of 
small  thinofs.  One  tenth  of  all  the  wheat 
in  the  United  States  is  handled  in  Chicago. 
Even  as  long  ago  as  1853  the  receipts  of 
jjrain  in  Chicago  exceeded  those  of  the 
goodly  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  in  1851  the 
exports  of  grain  from  Chicago  exceeded 
those  of  New  York  and  doubled  those  of 
St.  Petersburg,  Archangel,  or  Odessa,  the 
largest  grain  markets  in  Euroj^e. 

The  manufacturing  interests  of  the  city 
are  not  contemptible.  In  1873  manufixc- 
tories  employed  i5,000  operatives;  in  1876, 
60,000.  The  manufactured  product  in 
1875  was  worth  $177,000,000. 

Xo  estimate  of  the  size  and  power  of 
Chicago  would  be  adequate  that  did  not 
put  large  emphasis  on  the  railroads.  Be- 
fore they  came  thundering  along  our 
streets,  canals  were  the  hope  of  our  coun- 
try. But  who  ever  thinks  now  of  traveling 
by  canal  packets?  In  June,  1852,  there 
were  only  forty  miles  of  railroad  connected 
with  the  city.  The  old  Galena  division  of 
the  Northwestern  ran  out  to  Elgin.  But 
now,  who  can  count  the  trains  and  measure 
the  roads  that  seek  a  terminus  or  connection 
in  this  city?  The  lake  stretches  away  to 
the  north,  gathering  into   this  center  all 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


89 


tlie  harvests  that  might  otlierwise  pass  to 
tlie  north  of  ns.  If  you  will  take  a  map 
and  look  at  the  adjustment  of  railroads, 
you  will  see,  first,  that  Ciiicago  is  the  great 
railroad  center  of  the  world,  as  New  York 
is  the  commercial  city  of  this  continent; 
and,  second,  that  the  railroad  lines  form 
the  iron  spokes  of  a  great  wheel  whose  hub 
is  this  city.  Tiie  lake  furnishes  the  only 
break  in  the  spokes,  and  this  seems  simply 
to  have  pushed  a  few  spokes  together  on 
each  shore.  See  the  eighteen  trunk  lines, 
exclusive  of  eastern  connections. 

Pass  round  the  circle,  and  view  their 
numbers  and  extent.  There  is  the  great 
Northwestern,  with  all  its  branches,  one 
branch  creeping  along  the  lake  siiore,  and 
so  reaching  to  the  north,  into  the  Lake 
Superior  regions,  away  to  the  right,  and  on 
to  the  Northern  Pacific  on  the  left,  swing- 
ing around  Green  Bay  for  iron  and  copper 
and  silver,  twelve  months  in  the  year,  and 
reaeiiing  out  for  tiie  wealth  of  the  great 
agricultural  belt  and  isothermal  line  trav- 
ersed by  the  Nortliern  Pacific.  Another 
branch,  not  so  far  north,  feeling  for  the 
heart  of  the  Badger  State.  Another  push- 
ing lower  down  the  Mississippi — all  these 
make  many  connections,  and  tap]iing  all 
the  vast  wheat  regions  of  Minnesota,  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  and  all  the  regions  this  side 
of  sunset.  There  is  that  elegant  road,  the 
Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy,  running 
out  a  goodly  number  of  branches,  and 
reaping  the  great  fields  this  side  of  the 
Missouri  River.  I  can  only  mention  the 
Ciiiciig ),  Alton  &  St.  Louis,  ou7'  Illinois 
Central,  described  elsewliere,  and  tlie  Ciii- 
cago &  Pock  Island.  Further  around  we 
come  to  the  lines  connecting  us  with  all 
the  Eastern  cities.     The  Ciiicago,  Indian- 


apolis &  St.  Louis,  the  Pittsburg,  Fort 
Wayne  &  Chicago,  the  Lake  Shore  & 
Michigan  Southern,  and  the  Michigan 
Central  and  Great  Western,  give  us  many 
highways  to  the  seaboard.  Thus  we  reach 
the  Mississippi  at  five  points,  from  St.  Paul 
to  Cairo  and  the  Gulf  itself  by  two  routes. 
We  also  reach  Cincinnati  and  Baltimore, 
and  Pittsburg  and  Philadeipliia,  and  New 
York.  North  and  south  run  the  water 
courses  of  tlie  lakes  and  the  rivers,  broken 
just  enough  at  this  point  to  make  a  pass. 
Tiirough  this,  from  east  to  west,  run  the 
long  lines  that  stretch  from  ocean  to  ocean. 

This  is  the  neck  of  the  glass,  and  the 
golden  sands  of  commerce  must  pass  into 
our  hands.  Altogether  we  have  more  than 
10,000  miles  of  railroad,  directly  tributary 
to  this  city,  seeking  to  unload  their  wealth 
in  our  coflers.  All  tliese  roads  have  come 
themselves  by  the  infallible  instinct  of 
capital.  Not  a  dollar  was  ever  given  by 
tlie  city  to  secure  one  of  them,  and  only  a 
small  per  cent,  of  stock  taken  originally  by 
her  citizens,  and  that  taken  simply  as  an 
investment.  Coming  in  the  natural  order 
of  events,  they  will  not  be  easily  diverted. 

There  is  still  another  showing  to  all  this. 
The  connection  between  New  York  and 
San  Francisco  is  bj'  the  middle  route.  This 
])asses  inevitably  through  Chicago.  St. 
Louis  wants  the  Southern  Pacific  or  Kansas 
Pacific,  and  pushes  it  out  througli  Denver, 
and  so  on  up  to  Cheyenne.  But  before  the 
road  is  fairly  under  way,  the  Chicago  roads 
shove  out  to  Kansas  City,  making  even  the 
Kansas  Pacific  a  feeder,  and  actually  leav- 
ing St.  Louis  out  in  the  cold.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  expect  that  Dakota,  Montana,  and 
Washington  Territory  will  find  their  great 
market  in  Chicago. 


90 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


But  these  are  not  all.  Perhaps  I  had 
better  notice  here  the  ten  or  fifteen  new 
roads  that  have  jnst  entered,  or  are  just 
entering,  our  city.  Their  names  are  all 
that  is  necessary  to  give.  Chicago  &  St. 
Paul,  looking  up  the  Red  River  country  to 
the  British  possessions  ;  the  Chicago,  At- 
lantic &  Pacific  ;  the  Chicago,  Decatur  & 
State  line  ;  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  ;  tlie 
Chicago,  Danville  &  Yincennes  ;  the  Chi- 
cago &  La  Salle  Railroad  ;  the  Chicago, 
Pittsburgh  &  Cincinnati  ;  the  Chicago  and 
Canada  Southern  ;  the  Chicago  and  Illi- 
nois River  Railroad.  These,  with  their  con- 
nections, and  with  the  new  connections  of 
the  old  roads,  already  in  process  of  erection, 
give  to  Chicago  not  less  than  10,000  miles 
of  new  tributaries  from  the  richest  land  on 
the  continent.  Thus  there  will  be  added 
to  the  reserve  power,  to  the  capital  within 
reach  of  this  city,  not  less  than  $1,000,000,- 
000. 

Add  to  all  this  transporting  power  the 
ships  that  sail  one  every  nine  minutes  of 
the  business  hours  of  the  season  of  naviga- 
tion; add,  also,  the  canal  boats  that  leave 
one  every  five  minutes  during  the  same 
time — and  yon  will  see  something  of  the 
business  of  the  city. 

TUE  COMMERCE  OF  THIS  CITY 

has  been  leaping  along  to  keep  pace  with 
the  growth  of  the  country  around  us.  In 
1S52,  our  commerce  reached  the  hopeful 
sum  of  $20,000,000.  In  1870  it  reached 
$400,000,000.  In  1871  it  was  pushed  up 
above  $150,000,000,  and  in  1875  it  touched 
nearly  double  that. 

One  half  of  our  imported  goods  come  di- 
rectly to  Chicago.  Grain  enough  is  export- 
ed directly  from  our  docks  to  the  old  world 


to  employ  a  semi-weekly  line  of  steamers  of 
3,000  tons  capacity.  This  branch  is  not 
likely  to  be  greatly  developed.  Even  after 
the  great  Welland  Canal  is  completed  we 
shall  have  only  fourteen  feet  of  water.  The 
great  ocean  vessels  will  continue  to  control 
the  trade. 

The  schools  of  Chicago  are  unsurpassed 
in  America.  Out  of  a  population  of  300,- 
000,  there  were  only  186  persons  between 
the  ages  of  six  and  twenty-one  unable  to 
read.     This  is  the  best  known  record. 

In  1831  the  mail  system  was  condensed 
into  a  half-breed,  who  went  on  foot  to 
Niles,  Mich.,  once  in  two  weeks,  and 
brought  back  what  papers  and  news  he 
could  find.  As  late  as  181G  there  was 
often  only  one  mail  a  week.  A  post-oflaee 
was  established  in  Chicago  in  1833,  and 
the  post-master  nailed  up  old  boot-legs  on 
one  side  of  his  shop  to  serve  as  boxes  for 
the  nabobs  and  literary  men. 

The  improvements  that  have  character- 
ized the  city  are  as  startling  as  the  city 
itself  In  1831,  Mark  Beaubien  established 
a  ferry  over  the  river,  and  put  himself  un- 
der bonds  to  carry  all  the  citizens  free  for 
the  privilege  of  charging  strangers.  Now 
there  are  twenty-four  large  bridges  and  two 
tunnels. 

In  1833  the  government  expended  $30,- 
000  on  the  harbor.  Then  commenced  that 
series  of  maneuvers  with  the  river  that  has 
made  it  one  of  the  world's  curiosities.  It 
used  to  wind  around  in  the  lower  end  of 
the  town,  and  make  its  way  rippling  over 
the  sand  into  the  lake  at  the  foot  of  Madi- 
son street.  They  took  it  up  and  put  it 
down  where  it  now  is.  It  was  a  narrow 
stream,  so  narrow  that  even  moderately 
small  crafts  had  to  go  up  through  the  wil- 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


91 


lows  and  cat's  tails  to  the  point  near  Lake 
fctreet  bridge,  and  back  up  one  of  the 
branches  to  get  room  enough  in  which  to 
turn  around. 

In  1844  the  quagmires  in  the  streets 
were  first  pontooned  by  plank  roads,  which 
acted  in  wet  weather  as  public  squirt-guns. 
Keeping  yon  out  of  the  rand,  they  coni- 
]iroinised  by  squirting  the  mud  over  you. 
The  wooden-block  pavements  came  to  Chi- 
cago in  18.57.  In  1840  water  was  delivered 
by  peddlers  in  carts  or  by  hand.  Then  a 
twenty-five  horse-power  en'j;ine  pushed  it 
throuirh  hollow  or  bored  loffs  along  the 
streets  till  1854,  wlien  it  was  introduced 
into  the  houses  by  new  works.  The  first 
fire-engine  was  used  in  1835,  and  the  first 
steam  tire-engine  in  1859.  Gas  was  util- 
ized for  lighting  the  city  in  1850.  The 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was 
organized  in  1858,  and  horse  railroads 
carried  them  to  their  work  in  1859.  The 
alarm  telegraph  adopted  in  1864.  The 
opera-house  built  in  1805.  The  city  grew 
from  560  acres  in  1833  to  23,000  in  1869. 
In  1834,  the  taxes  amounted  to  $48.90,  and 
the  trustees  of  the  town  borrowed  $60  more 
for  opening  and  improving  streets.  In 
1835,  the  Legislature  authorized  a  loan  of 
§2,000,  and  the  treasurer  and  street  com- 
missioners resigned  rather  than  plunge  the 
town  into  such  a  gulf. 

One  third  of  the  city  has  been  raised  up 
an  average  of  eight  feet,  giving  good  pitch 
to  the  263  miles  of  sewerage.  The  water 
of  the  city  is  above  all  competition.  It  is 
received  through  two  tunnels  extending  to 
a  crib  in  the  lake  two  miles  from  shore. 
The  first  tunnel  is  five  feet  two  inches  in 
diameter  and  two  miles  long,  and  can 
deliver  50,000,000  of  gallons  per  day.    The 


second  tunnel  is  seven  feet  in  diameter  and 
six  miles  long,  running  four  miles  under 
the  city,  and  can  deliver  100,000,000  of 
gallons  per  day.  This  water  is  distribiited 
througli  410  miles  of  watermains. 

The  three  grand  engineering  exploits  of 
the  city  are  :  First,  lifting  the  city  up  on 
jack-screws,  whole  squares  at  a  time,  with- 
out interrupting  the  business,  thus  giving 
us  good  drainage  ;  second,  running  the 
tunnels  under  the  lake,  giving  us  the  best 
water  in  the  world  ;  and  third,  the  turning 
the  current  of  the  river  in  its  own  channel, 
delivering  us  from  the  old  abominations, 
and  making  decency  possible.  They  re- 
dound about  equally  to  the  credit  of  the 
engineering,  to  the  energy  of  the  people, 
and  to  the  health  of  the  city. 

That  which  really  constitutes  the  city,  its 
indescribable  spirit,  its  soul,  the  way  it 
lights  up  in  ever}'  feature  in  the  hour  of 
action,  has  not  been  touched.  In  meeting 
strangers,  one  is  often  surprised  how  some 
homely  women  marry  so  well.  Their  forms 
are  bad,  their  gait  uneven  and  awkward, 
their  complexion  is  dull,  their  features 
are  misshapen  and  mismatched,  and  when 
we  see  them  there  is  no  beauty  that  we 
should  desire  them.  But  when  once  they 
are  aroused  on  some  subject,  they  put  on 
new  proportions.  They  light  up  into  great 
power.  The  real  person  comes  out  from 
its  unseemly  ambush,  and  captures  us  at 
will.  They  have  power.  They  have  abil- 
ity to  cause  things  to  come  to  pass.  We 
no  longer  wonder  why  they  are  in  such 
high  demand.     So  it  is  with  our  city. 

There  is  no  grand  scenery  except  the 
two  seas,  one  of  water,  the  other  of  prairie. 
Nevertheless,  there  is  a  spirit  about  it,  a 
push,  a  breadth,  a  jjower,  that  soon  makes 


92 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


it  a  place  never  to  be  forsaken.  One  soon 
ceases  to  believe  in  impossibilities.  Ba- 
laams are  the  only  prophets  that  are  disap- 
pointed. The  bottom  that  has  been  on  the 
point  of  falling  out  has  been  there  so  long 
that  it  has  grown  fast.  It  can  not  fall  ont. 
It  has  all  the  capital  of  the  world  itching 
to  get  inside  the  corporation. 

The  two  great  laws  that  govern  the 
growth  and  size  of  cities  are,  lirst,  the 
amount  of  territory  for  which  they  are  the 
distributing  and  receiving  points  ;  second, 
the  number  of  medium  or  moderate  dealers 
that  do  this  distributing.  Monopolists 
build  up  themselves,  not  the  cities.  They 
neither  eat,  wear,  nor  live  in  proportion  to 
their  business.  Both  these  laws  help  Chi- 
cago. 

The  tide  of  trade  is  eastward — not  up  or 
down  the  map,  but  across  the  map.  The 
hike  runs  up  a  wingdam  for  500  miles  to 
sather  in  the  business.  Commerce  can 
not  ferry  np  there  for  seven  months  in  the 
year  and  the  facilities  for  seven  months  can 
do  the  work  for  twelve.  Then  the  great  re- 
gion west  of  us  is  nearly  all  good, productive 
land.  Dropping  south  into  the  trail  of 
St.  Louis,  you  fall  into  vast  deserts  and 
rocky  districts,  useful  in  holding  the  world 
together.  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati,  instead 
of  rivaling  and  hurting  Chicago,  are  her 
greatest  sureties  of  dominion.  They  are 
far  enough  away  to  give  sea-room — farther 
ofl'  than  Paris  is  from  London — and  yet 
they  are  near  enough  to  prevent  the  spring- 
ing up  of  any  other  great  city  between 
them. 

St.  Louis  will  be  helped  by  the  opening 
of  the  Missis5ip])i,  but  also  hurt.  That 
will  put  New  Orleans  on  her  feet,  and  with 
a  railroad  running  over  into  Texas  and  so 


West,  she  will  tap  the  streams  that  now 
crawl  np  the  Texas  and  Missouri  road.  The 
current  is  East,  not  North,  and  a  seajiort  at 
New  Orleans  can  not  permanently  help  St. 
Louis. 

Chicago  is  in  the  field  almost  alone,  to 
handle  the  wealth  of  one  fourth  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  this  great  republic.  This  strip  of 
seacoast  divides  its  margins  between  Port- 
land, Boston,  New  York,  Philadelpiiia, 
Baltimore  and  Savannah  or  some  other 
great  ])ort  to  be  created  for  the  South  in  the 
next  decade.  But  Chicago  has  a  dozen  em- 
pires casting  their  treasures  into  her  lap. 
On  a  bed  of  coal  that  can  run  ail  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  world  ibr  500  centuries;  in 
a  garden  feed  the  race  by  the  thousand 
years;  at  the  head  of  the  lakes  that  give 
her  a  temperature  as  a  summer  resort 
equaled  hy  no  great  city  in  the  land;  with 
a  climate  tliat  insures  the  health  of  her 
citizens;  surrounded  by  all  the  great  de- 
posits of  natural  wealth  in  mines  and  forests 
and  herds,  Chicago  is  the  wonder  of  to-day, 
and  will  be  t/ie  city  of  the  future. 

MASSACRE  AT  FOET  DEAKBOEN. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  Fort  Dearborn 
became  the  theater  of  stirring  events.  The 
garrison  consisted  of  fifty-four  men  under 
command  of  Captain  Nathan  Heald, 
assisted  by  Lieutenant  Helm  (son-in-law  of 
Mrs.  Kinzie)  and  Ensign  Ronan.  Di-. 
Voorhees  was  surgeon.  The  only  residents 
at  the  post  at  that  time  were  the  wives  of 
Captain  Heald  and  Lieutenant  Helm,  and 
a  few  of  the  soldiers,  Mr.  Kinzie  and  his 
family,  and  a  few  Canadian  voyageurs, 
with  their  wives  and  children.  The  sol- 
diers and  Mr.  Kinzie  wereon  most  friendly 
terms  with  the  Pottawatomies  and  AVin- 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


93 


ncbagoes,  the  principal  tribes  around  them, 
but  tliey  could  not  win  them  from  their 
attiic'hment  to  the  British. 

One  evening  in  April,  1812,  Mr.  Kinzie 
sat  playint^  on  his  violin  and  his  children 
were  dancing  to  the  music,  when  Mrs.  Kin- 
zie came  rusliiug  into  the  house  pale  with 
terror,  and  exclaiming:  "The  Indians!  the 
Indians!''  '' Wiiat?  where?"  eagerly  in- 
quired Mr.  Kinzie.  "  Up  at  Lee's,  killing 
and  scalping,"  answered  the  frightened 
mother,  who,  when  the  alarm  was  given, 
was  attending  Mrs.  Barnes  (just  conlined) 
living  not  far  off.  Mr.  Kinzie  and  his 
family  crossed  the  river  and  took  refuge  in 
the  fort,  to  which  place  Mrs.  Barnes  and 
her  infant  not  a  day  old,  were  safely  con- 
veyed. The  rest  of  the  inhabitants  took 
shelter  in  the  fort.  This  alarm  was  caused 
by  a  scalping  party  of  Winnebagoes,  who 
hovered  about  the  fort  several  days,  when 
tiipy  disappeared,  and  for  several  weeks 
tlie  inhabitants  were  undisturbed. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1812,  General 
Hull,  at  Detroit,  sent  orders  to  Captain 
lleald  to  evacuate  Fort  Dearborn,  and  to 
distribute  all  the  United  States  property  to 
the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood — a  most 
insane  order.  The  Pottawatomie  chief 
who  brought  the  dispatch  had  more  wisdom 
than  the  commanding  general.  He  ad- 
vised Captain  Heald  not  to  make  the 
distribution.  Said  he:  "Leave  tlie  fort 
and  stores  as  they  are,  and  let  the  Indians 
make  distribution  for  themselves;  and 
while  they  are  engaged  in  the  business, 
the  white  people  may  escape  to  Fort 
Wayne." 

Captain  Heald  held  a  council  with  the  In- 
dians on  the  afternoon  of  the  12tii,  in  whicli 
his  officers  refused  to  join,  for  they  had  been 


informed  that  treachery  was  designed — 
that  the  Indians  intended  to  murder  the 
white  people  in  the  council,  and  tlion 
destroy' those  in  the  fort.  Captain  Ileald, 
however,  took  the  precaution  to  open  a 
port-hole  disphxying  a  cannon  pointing  di- 
rectly upon  the  council,  and  b}'  that  means 
saved  his  life. 

Mr.  Kinzie,  wlio  knew  the  Indians  well, 
begged  Captain  Heald  not  to  confide  in 
their  promises,  nor  distribute  the  arms  and 
munitions  among  them,  for  it  would  only 
put  power  into  their  hands  to  destroy  the 
whites.  Acting  upon  this  advice,  Ileald 
resolved  to  withhold  the  munitions  of  war; 
and  on  the  night  of  the  13th  after  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  other  property  had  been 
made,  the  powder,  ball  and  liquors  were 
thrown  into  the  river,  the  muskets  broken 
up  and  destroyed. 

Black  Partridge,  a  friendly  chief,  came 
to  Captain  Ileald  and  said:  "Linden  birds 
have  been  singing  in  my  ears  to-day;  be 
careful  on  the  march  you  are  going  to 
take."  On  that  night  vigilant  Indians  had 
crept  near  the  fort  and  discovered  the 
destruction  of  their  promised  booty  going 
on  within.  The  next  morning  the  powder 
was  seen  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  river. 
The  savages  were  exasperated  and  made 
loud  complaints  and  threats. 

On  the  following  day  when  preparations 
were  making  to  leave  the  fort,  and  all  the 
inmates  were  deeply  impressed  witli  a  sense 
of  impending  danger,  Capt.  "Wells,  an 
uncle  of  Mrs.  Heald,  was  discovered  upon 
the  Indian  trail  among  the  sand  hills  on 
the  borders  of  the  lake,  not  far  distant, 
with  a  band  of  mounted  Miamis,  of  whose 
tribe  he  was  chief,  having  been  adopted  by 
the  famous  Miami  wai'rioi",  Little  Turtle. 


94 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


When  news  of  IIiill's  surrender  reached 
Fort  Wayne,  he  had  started  with  this  force 
to  assist  Heald  in  defending  Fort  Dearborn, 
lie  was  too  late.  Every  means  for  its 
defense  had  been  destroyed  the  night  be- 
fore, and  arrangements  were  made  for  leav- 
ing the  fort  on  the    morning  of  the   15th. 

It  was  a  warm,  briglit  morning  in  the 
middle  of  August.  Indications  were  posi- 
tive that  the  savages  intended  to  murder 
the  white  people;  and  when  they  moved 
out  of  the  southern  gate  of  the  fort,  the 
march  was  like  a  funeral  procession.  The 
baud,  feeling  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion, 
struck  up  the  Dead  March  in  Saul. 

Capt.  Wells,  wlio  had  blackened  his  face 
with  gun-powder  in  token  of  his  fate,  took 
the  lead  with  his  band  of  Miamis,  followed 
by  Captain  Heald  with  his  wife  by  his  side 
on  horseback.  Mr.  Kinzie  hoped  by  his 
personal  influence  to  avert  the  impending 
blow,  and  therefore  accompanied  them, 
leaving  his  family  in  a  boat  in  charge  of  a 
friendly  Indian,  to  be  taken  to  his  trading 
station  at  the  site  of  Niles,  Michigan,  in 
the  event  of  his  death. 

The  procession  moved  slowly  along  the 
lake  shore  till  they  reached  the  sand  hills 
between  the  prairie  and  the  beach,  when 
the  Pottawatomie  escort,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Blackbird,  tiled  to  the  right, 
placing  those  hills  between  them  and  the 
white  people.  Wells,  with  his  Miamis,  had 
kept  in  the  advance.  They  suddenly  came 
rushing  back,  Wells  exclaiming,  "They 
are  about  to  attack  us;  form  instantly." 
These  words  were  quickly  followed  by  a 
storm  of  bullets  which  came  whistling 
over  the  little  hills  which  the  treacherous 
savages  had  made  the  covert  for  their  mur- 
derous attack.     The  white  troops  charged 


upon  the  Indians,  drove  them  back  to  the 
prairie,  and  then  the  battle  was  waged  be- 
tween tifty-four  soldiers,  twelve  civilians 
and  three  or  four  women  (the  cowardly 
Miamis  having  fled  at  the  outset)  against 
five  hundred  Indian  warriors.  The  white 
people,  hopeless,  resolved  to  sell  their  lives 
as  dearly  as  possible.  Ensign  Ronan 
■wielded  his  weapon  vigorously,  even  after 
falling  upon  his  knees  weak  from  the  loss 
of  blood.  Capt.  Wells,  wlio  was  by  the 
side  of  his  niece,  Mrs.  Ileald,  when  the 
conflict  began,  behaved  with  the  greatest 
coolness  and  courage.  He  said  to  her, 
"We  have  not  the  slightest  chance  for  life. 
We  must  part  to  meet  no  more  in  this 
world.  God  bless  you."  And  then  he 
dashed  forward.  Seeing  a  J'oung  warrior, 
painted  like  a  demon,  climb  into  a  wagon 
in  which  were  twelve  children,  and  toma- 
hawk them  all,  he  cried  out,  unmindful  of 
his  personal  danger,  "If  that  is  jHiurgame, 
butchering  women  and  children,  I  will  kill 
too."  He  spurred  his  horse  towards  the 
Indian  camp,  where  they  had  left  their 
squaws  and  papooses,  hotly  pursued  by 
swift-footed  j'oung  warriors,  who  sent  bul- 
lets whistling  after  him.  One  of  these 
killed  his  horse  and  wounded  him  severely 
in  the  leg.  With  a  yell  the  young  braves 
rushed  to  make  him  their  prisoner  and  re- 
serve him  for  torture.  He  resolved  not  to 
be  made  a  captive,  and  by  the  use  of  the 
most  provoking  epithets  tried  to  induce 
them  to  kill  him  instantly.  He  called  a 
fiery  young  chief  a  squaw,  when  the  en- 
raged warrior  killed  AYells  instantly  with 
his  tomahawk,  jumped  upon  his  body,  cut 
out  his  heart,  and  ate  a  portion  of  the  warm 
morsel  with  savage  delight  ! 

In   this   feartul   combat  women   bore  a 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


05 


conspicuous  part.  Mrs.  lleald  was  an  ex- 
cellent equestrian  and  an  expert  in  the  use 
of  the  rifle.  She  fought  the  savai^es  i>r;ively, 
receiving  several  severe  wounds.  Though 
faint  from  the  loss  of  blood,  she  managed  to 
keep  her  saddle.  A  savage  raised  his  toma- 
hawk to  kill  her,  when  she  looked  hiui  full 
in  the  face,  and  with  a  sweet  smile  and  in  a 
gentle  voice  said,  in  his  own  language, 
"Surely  you  will  not  kill  a  squaw  !"  The 
arm  of  the  savage  fell,  and  the  life  of  the 
heroic  woman  was  saved. 

Mrs.  Helm,  the  step-daughter  of  Mr. 
Ivinzie,  had  an  encounter  with  a  stout  In- 
dian, who  attempted  to  tomahawk  her. 
Sjiringing  to  one  side,  she  received  the 
glancing  blow  on  her  shoulder,  and  at  the 
same  instant  seized  the  savage  round  the 
neck  with  her  arms  and  endeavored  to  get 
hold  of  his  scalping  knife,  which  hung  in  a 
sheath  at  his  breast.  While  she  was  thus 
struggling  she  was  dragged  from  her  antag- 
onist by  another  powerful  Indian,  who  bore 
her,  in  spite  of  her  struggles,  to  the  margin 
of  the  lake  and  plunged  her  in.  To  her 
astonishment  she  was  held  by  him  so  that 
she  would  not  drown,  and  she  soon  per- 
ceived that  she  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
friendly  Black  Partridge,  who  had  saved 
her  life. 

The  wife  of  Sergeant  Holt,  a  large  and 
jiowerful  woman,  behaved  as  bravelj'  as  an 
Amazon.  She  rode  a  fine,  high-spirited 
liorse,  which  the  Indians  coveted,  and 
several  of  them  attacked  her  with  the  butts 
of  their  guns,  for  the  purpose  of  dismount- 
ing her;  but  she  used  the  sword  which  she 
hiid  snatched  from  her  disabled  husband  so 
skillfully  that  she  foiled  them;  and,  sud- 
denly wheeling  her  horse,  she  dashed -over 
the  prairie,  followed  by  the  savages  shout- 


ing, "  The  brave  woman !  the  brave  woman ! 
Don't  hurt  her!"  They  finally  overtDi.k 
her,  and  while  she  was  fighting  tliein  in 
front,  a  ])owerful  savage  came  up  l)eliiiid 
hei',  seized  her  by  the  neck  and  dragged 
her  to  the  ground.  Horse  and  woman 
were  made  captive.  Mrs.  Holt  was  a  long 
time  a  captive  among  the  Indians,  but  was 
afterward  ransomed. 

In  this  sharp  conflict  two  thii'ds  of  the 
white  people  were  slain  and  wounded,  and 
all  their  horses,  baggage  and  provision 
were  lost.  Only  twentv-eijjht  strago-liuir 
men  now  remained  to  fight  five  hundred 
Indians  rendered  furious  by  the  sight  of 
blood.  They  succeeded  in  breaking  through 
the  ranks  of  the  murderers  and  firainiiiir  a 
slight  eminence  on  the  prairie  near  the 
Oak  Woods.  The  Indians  did  not  pursue, 
but  gathered  on  their  flanks,  while  the 
chiefs  held  a  consultation  on  the  sand-hills, 
and  showed  signs  of  willingness  to  parley. 
It  would  have  been  madness  on  the  part  of 
the  whites  to  renew  the  fight;  and  so  Capt. 
lleald  went  forward  and  met  Blackbird  on 
the  open  prairie,  where  terms  of  sur- 
render were  agreed  upon.  It  was  arranged 
that  the  white  peo])le  should  give  up  their 
arms  to  Blackbird,  and  that  the  survivors 
should  become  prisonei's  of  war,  to  be  ex- 
changed for  ransoms  as  soon  as  |U'acticable. 
With  this  understanding  captives  and  cap- 
tors started  for  the  Indian  camp  near  the 
fort,  to  which  Mrs.  Helm  had  been  taken 
bleeding  and  suffering  by  Black  Partridge, 
and  had  met  her  step-father  and  learned 
that  her  husband  was  safe. 

A  new  scene  of  horror  was  now  opened 
at  the  Indian  camp.  The  wounded,  not 
being  included  in  the  surrender,  as  it  was 
interpreted  by  the  Indians,  and  the  British 


96 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


general,  Proctor,  having  offered  a  liljeral 
boiint}'  for  American  scalps,  delivered  at 
Maiden,  nearly  all  the  wounded  men  were 
killed  and  scalped,  and  ])rice  of  the  trophies 
was  afterward  paid  by  the  British  govern- 
ment. 

This  celebrated  Indian  chief,  Shabbona, 
deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  Al- 
though be  was  not  so  conspicuous  as 
Tecumseli  or  Black  Hawk,  yet  in  point  of 
merit  he  was  superior  to  either  of  them. 

Siiabbona  was  born  at  an  Indian  village 
on  the  Kankakee  River,  now  in  Will  County 
about  the  year  1775.  "While  young  he  was 
made  chief  of  the  band,  and  went  to  Shab- 
bona Grove,  now  De  Kalb  County,  where 
they  were  found  in  the  early  settlement  of 
the  county. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  Shabbona,  witli  his 
warriors,  joined  Tecumseh,  was  aid  to  that 
great  chief,  and  stood  by  his  side  when  he 
fell  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  At  the 
time  of  the  Winnebago  war,  in  1S27,  he 
visited  almost  every  village  among  the  Pot- 
tawatomies,  and  by  his  persuasive  argu- 
ments prevented  them  from  taking  part  in 
the  war.  By  recpiest  of  tlie  citizens  of 
Chicago,  Shabbona,  accompanied  by  Billy 
Caldwell  (Sauganash),  visited  Big  Foot's 
village  at  Geneva  Lake,  in  order  to  pacify 
the  warriors,  as  fears  were  entertained  that 
they  were  about  to  raise  the  tomahawk 
against  the  whites.  Here  Shabbona  was 
taken  prisoner  by  Big  Foot,  and  his  life 
threatened,  but  on  the  following  day  was 
set  at  liberty.  From  that  time  the  Indians 
(through  reproach)  styled  him  "  the  white 
man's  friend,''  and  many  times  his  life  was 
endangered. 

Before  the  Black  Hawk  war,  Shabbona 
met  in  council  at  two  dilt'ereut  times,  and 


by  his  influence  prevented  his  people  from 
taking  part  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes. 
After  the  death  of  Black  Partridge  and 
Senachwine,  no  chief  among  the  Pottawat- 
oniies  exerted  so  much  influence  as  Shab- 
bona. Black  Hawk,  aware  of  this  influ- 
ence, visited  him  at  two  different  times,  in 
order  to  enlist  him  in  his  cause,  but  was 
unsuccessful.  While  Black  Hawk  was  a 
prisoner  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  he  said,  had 
U  not  been  for  Shabbona  the  whole  Potta- 
watomie nation  would  have  joined  his 
standard,  and  he  could  have  continued  the 
war  for  years. 

To  Shabbona  many  of  the  earlj'  settlers 
of  Illinois  owe  the  preservation  of  their 
lives,  for  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  had  he  not 
notifled  the  people  of  their  danger,  a  lai-ge 
portion  of  them  would  have  fallen  victims 
to  the  tomahawk  of  savages.  By  saving 
the  lives  of  whites  he  endangered  his  own, 
for  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  threatened  to  kill 
him,  anil  made  two  attempts  to  execute 
their  threats.  They  killed  P^'peogee,  his 
son,  and  Pyps,  bis  nephew,  and  hunted  him 
down  as  though  he  was  a  wild  beast. 

Shabbona  had  a  reservation  of  two  sec- 
tions of  land  at  his  Grove,  but  by  leaving 
it  and  going  West  for  a  short  time,  the 
Government  declared  the  reservation  for- 
feited, and  sold  it  the  same  as  other  vacant 
land.  On  Shabbona's  return,  and  finding 
his  possessions  gone,  he  was  very  sad  and 
broken  down  in  spirit,  and  left  the  Grove 
forever.  The  citizens  of  Ottawa  raised 
money  and  bought  him  a  tract  of  land  on 
the  Illinois  Itiver,  above  Seneca,  in  Grundy 
County,  on  which  the}'  built  a  house,  and 
supplied  him  with  means  to  live  on.  He 
lived  here  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
on  the  17th  of  July,  1859,  in  the  eighty- 


EAHLY  IIISTOUY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


'j7 


fuurth  year  of  liis  age,  and  was  buried  with 
irroat  poinp  in  the  cemetery  at  Morris. 
His  sqiiaw,  Pokanolca,  was  drowned  in 
^[azon  Creek,  Grundy  County,  on  the 
30th  of  November,  1864,  and  was  buried 
by  liis  side. 

In  1861  subscriptions  were  taken  up  in 


many  of  the  river  towns,  to  erect  a  monu- 
ment over  tlie  remains  of  Shabbona,  but 
the  war  breaking  out,  the  enterprise  was 
abandoned.  Only  a  plain  nnirblo  slab 
marks  tiie  resting-place  of  this  friend  of  the 
white  ujan. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    I.* 


TOPOGRAPHY— POST-TERTIARY  FORMATIONS- 
SI  LS—ECUNOM 

THE  relation  of  the  physical  features  of  a 
country  to  its  development  is  an  im- 
portant one,  and  he  who  would  learn  the  hid- 
den Causes  that  make  or  mar  a  nation  at  its 
birth  must  seek  in  these  "  the  divinity  that 
shapes  its  ends."  Here  is  found  the  elixir 
vitce  of  national  life  ;  the  sjn-ing  from 
whence  flow  those  forces  that  on  their 
broader  current  wreck  the  ship  of  state 
or  bear  it  safely  on  to  its  appointed  haven. 
It  is  in  these  physical  features  that  are 
stored  those  potent  industrial  possibilities 
that  make  the  master  and  the  slave  among 
the  nations.  From  the  fertile  soil  comes 
fruit-laden,  peace-loving  agriculture;  from 
the  rock-bound  stores  of  mineral  wealth 
springs  the  rude  early-time  civilization 
of  the  Pacific  slope,  or  the  half  savage 
clashing  of  undisciplined  capital  and  labor 
in  the  mining  regions  ;  from  the  rivers 
rises,  fairjdike,  the  commercial  metropolis, 
which  "  crowned  with  the  glory  of  the 
mountains,"  and  fed  with  the  bounty  of 
the  plains,  stands  the  chosen  arbiter  be- 
tween the  great  forces  that  join  to  make  a 
nation's  greatness.  The  intluence  of  this 
subtle  power  knows  no  bounds.     Here  it 

*ByJ.H.  Battle. 


-ROCK-FORMATIONS— CARBONIFEROUS  FOS- 
IC  GEOLOGY. 

spreads  the  lotus  plant  of  ease  and  binds 
the  nation  in  chains  of  indolent  eiieminacy; 
here,  among  the  bleak  peaks  of  a  sterile 
land, 

"  The  heather  on  the  mountain  height 
Begins  to  bloom  in  purple  light," 

type  of  a   hardy  and  unconc^uered   race  ; 

here  it  strews  the  sand  of  desert  wilds,  and 

man  without  resource,  becomes  a  savage. 

The  manifestations  of  this  potent  factor 
in  human  economy  are  scarcely  less  marked 
in  the  smaller  divisions  of  the  State,  and 
in  them  is  found  the  natural  introduction 
to  a  consideration  of  a  county's  social,  po- 
litical and  military  history. 

Grundy  County,  situated  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Kendall,  on  the 
east  by  Will  and  Kankakee,  on  the  south 
by  Livingston,  and  on  the  west  by  La 
Salle.  It  includes  twelve  townships,  or 
about  420  square  miles,  forming  a  rectangle 
of  twenty-four  miles  lotig  and  about  seven- 
teen and  a  half  miles  wide.  Of  this,  about 
two  thirds  is  slightly  rulling  prairie,  and 
the  balance  mostly  well  timbered  creek 
banks  and  river  bottoms. 

The  Illinois  River  divides  the  county  near 
the  middle  of  its   northern  half,  running 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


101 


a  W.  S.  W.  course,  with  but  little  variation. 
Its  principal  atlluent  on  the  south  is  Mazon 
Creek,  which  drains  fully  one  third  of 
Grundy,  and  portions  of  Livingston,  Kan- 
kakee and  "Will  Counties.  Its  principal 
water  supply  is  from  surface  drainage,  but 
few  springs  being  found  along  its  course. 
From  this  character,  one  would  readily 
predicate  the  truth  that  a  very  wet  season 
often  causes  it  to  overflow  its  banks,  though 
twenty  feet  or  more  in  height,  while  a  dry 
one  leaves  its  bed  bare,  except  where  deep 
pools  have  formed. 

A  few  miles  west  of  the  Mazon  is  the 
Waupecan,  draining  a  comparatively  small 
extent  of  country  ;  but  in  an  ordinary  sea- 
son, carrying  nearly  as  much  water,  the 
product  of  several  strong  springs  on  the 
lower  part  of  its  course — some  of  them 
from  the  drift,  others  from  the  sandstones 
and  shales  of  the  Coal  Measures,  which 
show  a  small  outcrop  here.  Still  farther 
to  the  westward,  are  Billy  Run,  Hog  Run, 
and  Armstrong  Run,  which  are  simply 
]irairie  drains,  and  show  no  outcrop  of  rocks. 
Nettle  Creek,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
is  principally  of  the  same  character  ;  but 
in  the  lower  part  of  its  course,  there  are  a 
few  springs,  and  two  or  three  outcrops  of 
the  shales  and  sandstones  which  overlie  the 
lower  coal.  Finally,  in  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  the  county  is  the  Au  Sable  Creek, 
with  a  comparatively  large  amount  of  water, 
partly  derived  from  springs  and  partly 
from  drainage  of  this  and  Kendall  County. 

Of  the  post-tertiary  formations,  the  beds 
of  the  alluvium  formation  are  very  largely 
developed  in  the  terraces  of  the  river  valley 
and  the  beds  of  the  smaller  streams.  From 
the  west  line  of  the  county  nearly  to  Au 
Sable  Creek,  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal 


follows  the  north  bank  of  the  present  river 
valley  pretty  closely,  while  the  second  ter- 
race varies  from  half  a  mile  to  two  miles  to 
the  northward.  On  the  south  side  of  the 
river  the  higli,  gravelly  banks  of  the  second 
terrace  hug  the  river  banks  very  closely,  as 
far  as  the  Waupecan  Creek.  Here  they 
lose  mucli  of  their  elevation,  and  have  as 
their  continuation  a  low  ridge  about  a  mile 
distant  from  the  present  bank.  East  of 
Mazon  Creek  this  declines  still  more  and 
becomes  the  heavy  sand  ridge  which  bears 
still  farther  southward  and  then  eastward, 
south  of  "Wilmington  into  Kankakee 
County.  This  sand  ridge  forms  the  water 
shed  between  Mazon  Creek  and  Kankakee 
River,  so  that,  where  it  strikes  the  bank  of 
the  latter  stream,  to  the  southward  of  "Wil- 
mington, the  water  flows  from  within  two 
hundred  yards  of  the  river,  through  swamps 
and  sloughs  and  finds  its  way  through  the 
Mazon,  into  the  Illinois,  opposite  Morris. 
The  flats  of  the  old  river  valley,  back  of 
the  present  banks,  show  in  many  places 
plain  evidence  of  the  comparatively  recent 
date  of  their  formation.  On  section  11, 
(in  Erienna)  town  33  north,  range  6  east, 
a  layer  of  thin  slabs  of  fissile  sandstone  of 
the  Coal  Measures  is  found  a  short  distance 
below  the  surface.  They  were  evidently 
distributed  here  by  the  current  of  the 
river,  not  long  before  it  became  so  con- 
tracted as  to  leave  this  level  dry.  "When 
this  old  channel  was  the  outlet  of  Lake, 
Michigan,  a  large  body  of  water  must  have 
flowed  through  here,  and  appearances  seem 
to  indicate  that  its  diversion  toward  Niag- 
ara must  have  been  sudden  rather  than 
gradual;  otherwise  thepresent  valley  would 
probably  have  been  wider,  and  the  descent 
to  it  less  abrupt. 


102 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


A  topographer  would  take  peculiar  pleas- 
ure in  studying  the  various  islands  of  the 
old  valley,  especially  at  the  contlucnces  with 
the  Illinois  of  the  Au  Sable  and  Nettle 
Creeks,  both  of  which  streams,  apparently, 
were  much  larger  than  at  present.  Upon 
one  of  these  islands  stands  Morris,  the 
county  seat.  Another,  and  far  the  largest 
in  the  county,  is  the  high  land  lying  be- 
tween the  head  of  the  Illinois,  the  lower 
part  of  the  Kankakee,  and  the  slough 
which  contains  Goose  Lake,  and  runs  thence 
to  Pine  Bluff,  near  the  embouchure  of  the 
Mazon,  upon  the  Illinois  valley. 

The  following  level  points  within  this 
county,  are  gathered  princi]>ally  from  the 
notes  of  the  Illinois  Hiver  Survey.  The 
figures  indicate  distances  below  the  estab- 
lished  "datum  of  six  feet  below  the  lowest 
registered  water  of  Lake  Michigan": 

Feet. 

Bluffs  at.Morris,  north  side  (level  of  town) 55.938 

"  "       south    "  59.48 

"  "  "         "    lower  terrace 78.00 

Level  of  river,  at  head  of  the  Illinois 87.809 

"  "      "  mouth  of  Au  Sable  cnek 92.664 

"  "      "  Morris,  under  roadbridge 95.13 

"      "  Marseilles,  La  Salle  Co.,  above  dam    99.808 
■'  "       "  '•  '■       ••       '•     below     "      11.3.256 

■'  "      "  Goose  Lake,  about 60. 

"  "      "  Minooka,  as  per  railroad    survey. 

above  datum 35. 

These  levels  show  that  the  elevation  of 
first  terrace  above  the  river,  opposite  Mor- 
ris, is  a  little  over  seventeen  feet,  and  that 
the  elevation  of  the  second  bluff  or  gravel 
ridge  above  the  first  terrace  is  about  eight- 
een  and  one  half  feet. 

The  coarser  portion  of  the  beds  of  river 
gravel  consists  mostly  of  fragments  of  the 
Niagara  group  limestone,  which  forms  so 
heavy  beds,  from  below  Joliet  to  Chicago 
and  beyond.  Much  of  the  sand  is  probably 
due  to  the  disintegration  of  the  Coal 
Measure  sandstones,  while  some  of  it  may 


have  come  from  the  northward.  There  is, 
however,  in  these  beds,  but  a  very  small 
proportion  of  the  metaraorphic  material 
from  Canada,  which  forms  so  large  a  part 
of  the  true  drift,  but  upon, the  surface  of  the 
soil,  and  often  partially  buried,  are  great 
numbers  of  small  boulders  of  quartzite, 
gneiss,  granite  and  trap,  unquestionably  of 
northern  origin.  These  are  especially 
abundant  south  of  Goose  Lake,  over  the 
surface  of  the  valley  which  starts  from  the 
Kankakee,  near  the  county  line,  includes 
Goose  Lake,  and  joins  the  Illinois  valley 
near  where  the  Mazon  first  strikes  the  bot- 
toms. This  was  probably  a  shallow  chan- 
nel, in  which  floating  fields  of  ice  lodged, 
melted  and  dropped  the  loads  of  stone 
which  they  had  brought  from  the  north- 
ward. Similar  aggregations  of  boulders 
occur  in  the  adjacent  parts  of  Will  County, 
at  points  where  eddies  would  have  been 
likely  to  detain  the  ice  floes.  It  is  sus- 
pected that  this  Goose  Lake  channel  was 
formerly  the  main  channel  of  the  Kankakee, 
which  there  met  the  Des  Plaines  only  four 
miles  above  Morris. 

The  bed  of  "  potter's  clay,"  worked  near 
the  southwest  bank  of  Goose  Lake,  and  ly- 
ing "  near  the  level  of  the  fire  clay,"  owes 
its  origin  and  deposition  to  river  action, 
though  principally  consisting  of  the  decom- 
posed shales  and  fire  clays  of  the  Coal  Meas- 
ures. 

During  the  autumn  of  1868  the  remains 
of  a  Mastodon  were  found  at  Turners 
strippings,  about  three  miles  eastof  Morris, 
under  eighteen  inches  of  black  mucky  soil, 
and  about  four  feet  of  yellowish  loam,  and 
resting  on  about  a  foot  of  hard  blue  clay, 
which  covered  the  coal.  The  bones  were 
badly    decayed,   and    most    of  them    were 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


103 


broken  up  and  thrown  away  by  the  miners; 
a  portion  were  saved,  however,  of  which  a 
fra^jineiit  of  a  lower  jaw,  apart  of  a  thigh 
bone,  three  teeth,  and  a  few  small  bones 
were  presented  to  the  State  Cabinet.  The 
locality  is  a  portion  of  the  old  river  bottom, 
but  it  is  uncertain,  from  the  lack  of  scien- 
tific investigation  at  the  time,  whether  to 
believe  that  the  presence  of  the  bones  indi- 
cates that  the  animal  was  mired  and  died 
liere,  or  to  suppose  that  the  carcass  was  de- 
posited here  by  the  river. 

The  Coal  Measure  rocks  of  this  county 
are  too  soft  and  too  readily'  disintegrated  to 
allow  of  the  preservation  of  any  scratches 
that  may,  at  any  time,  have  been  impressed 
upon  their  surface;  so  that,  although  we 
find  in  the  gravel  very  numerous  scratched 
and  polished  pebbles  and  boulders,  it  is 
within  only  a  very  small  area  that  striated 
and  polished  rock  surfaces  have  been  notic- 
ed. In  the  S.  E.  quarter  of  Sec.  23,  town- 
ship 34:  north,  range  7  east,  (Saratoga)  at 
"Walter's  quarry  of  Trenton  limestone, 
smoothly  polished  surfaces  have  been  fre- 
quently met  with;  so  in  one  or  two  other  lo- 
calities. As  these  localities,  however,  are  all 
within  the  old  river  valley,  we  can  not,  with 
certainty, predicate  upon  these  facts  the  con- 
clusion that  those  scratchings  and  polishings 
are  attributable  to  glacial  action.  In  fact, 
these  and  some  other  circumstances  give 
some  reason  for  assuming  that  they  are  re- 
sults of  river  action  alone.  At  Petty 's 
shaft,  the  outer  portion  of  the  shale  next  to 
the  creek  banks,  is  found  broken  up  for  sev- 
eral feet,  and  thoroughly  mingled  with  the 
drifted  materials  which  here  form  an  over- 
lying bank  of  about  fifteen  feet.  This  dis- 
turbance, as  well  as  the  grinding  of  the  sur- 
face, may  fairly  be  attributed   to  the  action 


of  the  creek  while  at  its  former  level.  But, 
while  allowing  that,  in  these  particular 
cases,  river  agencies  are  sufficient  to  account 
for  all  observed  phenoinciia,  the  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  Drift  of  gravel  of  large 
and  small  boulders  unquestionably  plantd 
and  striated  by  glacial  action  must  also  be 
recorded.  These  are  especially  abundant 
along  the  Mazon. 

The  True  Drift,  in  the  western  part  of 
the  county  consists,  mainly,  of  the  tough 
blue  "  boulder  clay,"  with  pebbles  and 
boulders,  sometimes  also  including  frag- 
ments of  wood,  overlaid  but  slightly,  or  not 
at  all,  with  gravel,  and  underlaid,  so  far  as 
known,  with  a  bed  of  "  hard-pan,"  and  a 
water-bearing  quicksand  which  has  thus 
far  prevented  any  knowledge  of  the  under- 
lying materials.  The  eastern  part  of  the 
county,  on  the  contrary,  shows  but  little 
boulder  clay,  this  being  replaced  by  a  heavy 
layer  of  sand  and  gravel.  Township  34 
north,  range  6  east,  (Xettle  Creek)  has  no 
known  outcrop  of  rock,  and  wells  near  its 
south  line  have  reached  depths  of  forty- 
eight,  fifty  and  fifty-two  feet,  before  meet- 
ing the  quicksand.  Townships  31  and  32, 
(Highland  and  Vienna)  of  the  same  range, 
and  so  much  of  33  as  lies  south  of  the  river, 
(Norman)  together  with  townships  31  aiul 
32,  range  7  east,  (Goodfarm  and  Mazon) 
possess  no  outcrop  of  rock,  but  the  depth 
of  the  Drift  is  not  known.  At  Gardner,  in 
section  9,  township  31  north,  range  8  east, 
(Greenfield),  the  Drift  is  said  to  be  one  hun- 
dred feet  deep  at  the  coal  shaft.  At  Brace- 
ville,  section  25,  township  32  north,  range 
8  east,  it  was  found  to  be  forty-four  feet 
deep.  Going  northward  into  township  33, 
in  ranges  7  and  8,  (Wauponsee  and  Feli.\,) 
it    rapidly  thins  out,  owing   partly  to  the 


104 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


downward  slope  of  the  surface,  partly 
to  the  upward  slope  of  the  iinderl}'- 
ing  rocks,  "vvhieli  come  to  the  surface  in 
the  northern  part  of  these  townships.  Much 
of  the  "  coal  land  "  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
horhood  of  Morris  is  bare  of  drift,  having 
been  stripped  by  the  old  river.  To  the 
northward,  however,  through  township  34 
north,  range  7  east,  the  gravel  and  boulder 
clay  lie,  in  some  places,  forty  feet  deep. 
Township  3i  north,  range  8  east,  is  deeply 
buried  in  Drift;  at  Minooka,  on  the  line 
between  sections  1  and  2,  a  well-boring 
found  one  hundred  feet  of  gravel  overlying 
the  shaly  limestone  of  the  Cincinnati 
Group. 

Of  the  rock  formations,  tlie  beds  of  the 
coal  measures  occupy  far  the  larger  part  of 
tlie  surface  of  the  county.  The  outcrops, 
however,  are  so  disconnected,  and  the  beds 
so  irregular,  that  it  has  been  found  practi- 
cally impossible  to  construct  any  general 
section  to  represent  connectedly  all  the 
outcrop.  Apparently  tlie  higher  beds  ex- 
posed in  the  county  are  those  which  out- 
crop near  the  old  coal  openings  on  the 
Waupecan,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 20,  township  33  north,  range  7  east, 
(Wauponsee).  No  outcrop  of  beds  above 
the  coal  has  been  discovered,  nor  has  any 
been  seen  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the  mine. 
Near  the  outcrop  a  foot  of  coal  was  left  as 
a  working  roof.  The  seam  is  now  five  feet 
thick,  resting  on  a  bed  of  lire  clay.  It  is 
coal  No.  4  of  the  Illinois  section.  The 
connection  below  is  not  exposed,  but  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  floor  of  the  seam, 
not  over  ten  feet,  there  is  a  coarse,  ferrugi- 
nous, shaly  sandstone,  filled  with  fragments 
of  Lepidodendron,  Calamites,  Neuropte- 
rls  hirsida^  etc.,  with  an   occasional  streak 


of  coaly  matter.  Of  this  bed,  there  is  a 
low,  nearly  continuous  outcrop  for  a  mile 
up  the  stream,  the  last  spot  observed  being 
at  "  Hog-grove  quarry,"  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  28.  At  the  road  cross- 
ing, about  half  a  mile  down  the  creek  from 
the  coal  mine,  tlie  sandstone  rises  a  little, 
and  exposes  about  six  feet  of  bine  and  black 
shales  filled  with  a  variety  of  small  mol- 
lusca.  The  lower  part  of  the  blue  shale 
holds  two  thin  layers  of  rusty  brown  nodules 
of  carbonate  of  iron,  which  often,  partially 
or  wholl}',  include  shells  of  these  mollusca. 
Tiie  upper  part  of  the  black  shale  also  con- 
tains nodules  of  the  same  material  (with 
probably  some  phosphate  of  lime)  but  small- 
er and  less  evenly  distributed;  the  smaller  of 
these  contain  comminuted  scales  and  bones 
of  fishes,  and  judging  from  both  form  and 
contents,  are  probably  the  fossil  excrement 
of  larger  fishes.  These  beds,  with  others, 
outcrop  at  intervals  for  about' a  mile  along 
the  right  bank  of  the  stream ;  and  the  fol- 
lowing section  will  fairly  represent  the 
whole : 

Feet. 

1.  Sandy  shale 5 

2.  Blue  clay 3 

3.  Fissile  sandstone 15 

4.  Blue  clay  shale,  with  iron  nodules 2  to  5 

5.  Black  shale,  top  slaty,  with  small  nodules,  bottom 

very  fragile 2  to  3 

6.  Cone-in-cone,  locally  becoming  solid  sandstone...   %  to  V/i 

7.  Soft  olive  shale 1% 

8.  Solid  gritty  sandstone 1 

Another  outcrop,  on  nearly  the  same 
horizon,  occurs  on  Mazon  creek  from  the 
center  of  the  south  line  of  southwest  quarter 
of  section  6,  township  32  north,  range  8 
east  (Braceville),  to  near  the  center  of  the 
south  line  of  section  2.5,  (Wauponsee).  The 
strata  are  here  very  irregular  in  tliickness, 
but  the  following  section  gives  an  average 
representation  of  the  exposed  outcrop: 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


10.: 


Feet.    Inches. 

1.  Ironstone  conglomerate,  (local) 6 

2.  Sandstone 8 

3.  Black  shale,  some  slaty,  with  large  ironstones  3  to  4 

4.  Cone-in-cone  running  into  massive  limestone        2         to  6 

5.  Olive  shales,  changing   into  concretionary 

argillaceous  limestone..^ 5  to  7 

6.  Soft  biack  shale 2  tq  3 

7.  Blue  Clay  shale 9 

8.  Coal  No.  3 2 

9.  White  fire-clay 7 

Small  quantities  of  coal  have  been  mined 
at  this  seam  at  several  points  along  the 
limited  outcrop.  The  coal  is  said  to  be 
good  liouse-fuel,  but  rather  soft.  The  argil- 
laceous limestone  of  No.  5,  of  this  section 
generally  contains  numerous  shells  of  the 
genera  Productus,  Athyris,  Terebratula, 
etc.,  and  some  fragments  of  criniods.  The 
coal  apparently  holds  the  position  of  the 
thin  coal  which  locally  underlies  No.  56 
of  the  La  Salle  County  section. 

The  outcrop  along  the  Mazon  appears 
nearly  continuous,  but  still  I  have  not  been 
able  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  the  connection 
of  the  above  beds  with  those  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  stream.  The  strata,  there  de- 
veloped, consist  of  very  variable  sandy  clay 
shales  and  sandstones,  in  some  places  be- 
coming nearly  pure  clay  shales,  but  con- 
taining many  nodules  of  carbonate  of  iron. 
Pine  Elufi',  at  the  lowermost  crossing  of 
the  Mazon,  is  composed  of  about  forty  feet 
of  heavily  bedded,  but  rather  fissile  sand- 
stone, partly  nearly  white,  partly  highly 
ferruginous.  Less  than  a  mile  up  the  creek 
the  lower  part  of  this  bed  changes  to  highly 
argillaceous  sandy  shales  with  occasional 
streaks  and  nodules  of  sandstone.  The 
section  is  not  quite  continuous,  but  there  is 
no  distinct  line  of  demarcation  to  separate 
these  latter  beds  from  the  ferruginous  sandy 
shales,  twenty  to  thirty  feet  thick,  of  sec- 
tion 24,  of  township  33  north,  range  7  east 
(Wauponsee),  which  contain  large  numbers 


of  fossiliferons  nodules  of  carbonate  of  iron, 
for  which  this  locality  has  become  famous. 
Besides  a  large  variety  of  ferns  mentioned 
in  the  State  Geological  report,  these  nodules 
also  contain  a  large  numberof  fossil  insects, 
marking  this  as  one  of  the  richest  deposits 
of  Carboniferous  Articulates  ever  discov- 
ered, if  not  the  richest.  These  nodules 
range  from  about  two  to  about  ten  feet 
above  the  main  coal  seam  of  all  this  region, 
the  intervening  space  being  occupied  by  the 
soft,  blue  clay  shales,  filled  with  fossil  plants, 
which,  at  most  points,  overlie  this  seam. 

About  a  mile  farther  up  this  stream  coal 
has  been  dug  in  the  beds  and  banks  of  the 
stream,  bnt  is  now  abandoned.  Still  further 
south,  near  the  soutlieast  corner  of  section 
19,  township  33  nortli,  range  8  east  (Felix), 
a  shaft  was  sunk  upon  the  creek  bottom, 
starting  at  about  twenty-five  feet  below  the 
general  level  of  the  prairie.  The  section  is 
as  follows: 

Feet.       Inches.. 

1.  Blue  clay  and  sandy  shale,  with  ferns 20 

2.  Coal 20 

3.  Soft  black  shale 6  to  8 

4.  Fireclay  with  rootlets 6  to  8 

5.  Hard,  sandy  clay g 

6.  Fire  clay 2                   6 

At  this  place  the  coal  is  about  eight  feet 
below  the  bed  of  the  creek.  Near  the 
water  level,  an  offshoot  from  the  main  seam, 
about  seven  inches  thick,  is  exposed  in  the 
bank;  the  shales  immediately  over  it  af- 
forded a  few  plants. 

Near  the  center  of  section  IS,  township 
33  north,  range  8  east  (Felix),  Mr.  John 
Ilolderman's  artesian  well  furnishes  the 
following  section: 

—  Feet. 

1.  Gravel 16 

2.  Sandstone J4 

3.  Coal 8 

4.  Sandy  shale 88 

B.  Limestone 105 


108 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


It  will  be  noticed  that  this  section  gives 
the  sandstone  as  iininediately  overlying 
the  coal.  This  condition  of  the  seam  has 
been  elsewhere  noticed,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
only  in  a  shaft  snnk  near  the  southeast 
corner  of  section  9  of  the  same  township, 
and  in  one  shaft  in  the  adjoining  part  of 
Will  Connty. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Illinois  Kiver,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Morris,  the  coal  out- 
crops in  the  bank  of  the  canal,  and  in  the 
Btre'ch  of  low  land,  about  one  mile  to  the 
northward.  The  overlying  beds  are  here 
mostly  bine  clay  shales,  with  occasional  ii-- 
regular  layers  of  sandstone.  The  iron 
nodnles,  above  mentioned,  occur  here  at  the 
■same  level,  but  not  in  so  great  numbers  as  at 
the  Mazon  locality.  The  shales  immediately 
above  the  coal  frequently  yield  magnificent 
specimens  of  fossil  ferns  and  other  plants. 
In  the  north  part  of  township  33  north, 
range  6  east  (Erienna),  the  shaly  sandstones 
overlying  this  seam  are  exposed  in  the 
bottom  of  every  little  rnn  which  cuts  away 
the  soil  from  the  edge  of  the  second  terrace, 
and  fragments  of  them  are  found  scattered 
just  below  the  surface  over  the  ^^•hole 
lower  flat. 

It  has  long  been  a  favorite  theory  with 
minors  that  another  seam  of  coal  could  be 
found  by  sinking  shafts  in  the  bottom  of 
the  present  working.  This  is  not  impossible, 
at  points  distant  from  the  outcrop;  but  at 
Morris,  and  to  the  eastward,  the  coal  lies 
directly  upon  lower  Silurian  rocks,  with 
only  four  or  five  feet  of  firm  clay  to  sepa- 
rate them.     Tliisis  shown  at  several  points. 

It  was  supposed  that  the  coal  seam  ex- 
tended, in  its  full  thickness,  much  further 
northward;  but  two  wells,  one  in  section 
27,  and  the  other  in    section    13,  township 


31  north,  range  7  east,  (Saratoga)  after 
passing  through  fossiliferons  shales  which 
overlie  the  coal,  met  with  only  about  ten 
inches  of  soft  coaly  shale,  underlaid  by  a 
few  inches  of  greenish  clay  shale,  with  small 
rounded  grains  of  calcareous  (?)  matter, 
(probably  belonging  to  the  Cincinnati  group) 
which  rested  upon  the  solid  limestones  of 
the  Trenton.  From  these  and  similar  facts 
is  derived  the  conclusion  that  the  present 
line  of  workings  corresponds  very  nearly 
with  the  original  outline  of  deposit  of  the 
true  coal  seam,  while  beyond  this  line,  only 
occasional  small  outlying  patches  will  ever 
be  found,  though  thin  layers  of  coaly  shale 
may  be  met  with  some  miles  further  north- 
ward. On  the  Au  Sable  Creek,  a  few  miles 
north  of  the  county  line,  small  quantities 
of  coaly  shale  and  cannel-coal  have  been 
found,  bat  they  are  probably  of  no  practical 
value,  and  have  no  direct  connection  with 
the  Morris  seam. 

Upon  the  lower  part  of  the  Au  Sable, 
however,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
19,  township  31  north,  range  8  east  (An 
Sable),  there  is  a  peculiar  outcrop  of  prob- 
ably the  lower  seam.  We  have  here  a 
seam  of  coal  twenty-eight  inches  thick, 
with  a  floor  of  fire  clay  at  least  six  feet 
thick,  and  a  roof  of  black  shale,  which  is, 
at  the  outcrop,  quite  solid  and  a  foot  thick, 
but  at  the  shaft,  perhaps  fifty  yards  distant, 
it  thickens  to  between  five  and  six  feet  and 
becomes  quite  soft.  This  shale  has  yielded 
a  few  small  Discince  Lingulw,  and  a  few 
fragments  of  fish  scales;  but  these  are  not 
sufiicient  to  determine  its  position  in  the 
series.  The  bed  seems  to  be  but  a  small 
outlier,  covering  only  a  few  acres,  as  borings 
to  the  southward  and  westward  have  failed 
to  find  any  continuation  of  the  bed  in  these 


IIISTOKY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


:07 


directions,  while  to  the  northward  and  east- 
ward tlie  sliales  and  limestone  of  the  lower 
Silurian  outcrop  within  a  few  hundred 
yards.  It  seems  to  be  still  uncertain 
whether  this  is  a  locally  peculiar  condition 
of  the  main  seam,  or  lies  above  or  below  it. 
If  it  be  the  main  seam,  the  black  roof  sliales 
are  probably  tlie  equivalent  of  the  bed 
mentioned  in  the  La  Salle  County  section, 
as  lying  tliere  about  eighteen  feet  above 
the  coal ;  but  no  other  outcrop  of  it  has 
been  seen  in  this  part  of  Grundy,  though" 
it  appears  in  a  shaft  in  the  southeastern 
corner  of  the  county. 

Another  peculiar  outcrop  of  uncertain 
connections  is  along  the  Kankakee,  from 
the  east  line  of  the  county  to  the  "  Head  of 
the  Illinois,"  in  section  36,  township  34 
north,  range  8  east  (Au  Sable),  where  the 
river  has  cut  through  some  fifty  feet  of 
shales  and  sandstones  of  the  coal  measures, 
including  a  thin  seam  of  coal,  and  has 
reached  the  underlying  shaly  limestone 
of  the  Cincinnati  group.  A  few  in- 
distinct plants  have  been  met  with  in 
the  sandstone,  but  in  too  poor  condition 
for  specific  determination.  In  conclusion, 
the  outline  of  the  Coal  Measure  in  Grundy 
County  may  be  roughly  stated  a:i  a  line 
running  from  near  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  county,  with  some  variations  in  an 
east-southeast  course  to  the  mine  on  Au 
Sable  Creek,  just  above  the  railroad; 
thence  southeasterly  to  the  Goose  Lake 
slough,  and  easterly  to  the  east  end  of  the 
lake;  thence  northerly  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Kankakee. 

Tlie  shales  and  shaly  limestones  of  the 
Cincinnati  group  outcrop  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  county,  showing  most 
prominently  upon  the  high  ground  between 


Goose  Lake  and  the  head  of  the  Illinois. 
This  outcrop  consists  of  coarse  granular, 
highly  fossiliferous,  ferrnginous  limestones, 
readily  disintegrated  by  the  weather,  which 
have  been  used,  to  some  extent,  for  fences. 
This  outcrop  continues  southward  for  about 
a  mile,  and  forms  the  bottom  of  the  north 
half  of  Goose  Lake,  the  south  half  being 
underlaid  with  coal.  At  the  ford  of  the 
Kankakee,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 36,  in  Au  Sable  township,  beds  of  soft 
blue  shal}'  limestone, which  probably  lie  near 
the  base  of  this  group,  outcrop  in  the  bed 
of  the  river,  but  show  little  upon  the  bank, 
and  contain  but  few  and  indistinct  fossils. 

From  the  bed  of  the  canal,  a  half  mile 
west  of  Dresden,  there  were  thrown  out 
considerable  quantities  of  a  heavy,  but  rath- 
er cellular  ferruginous  limestone,  in  heavy 
layers,  probably  belonging  below  tlie  beds 
mentioned.  The  outcro])  at  this  jjoiut  did 
not  quite  reach  the  surface.  Over  most  of 
the  country,  north  of  the  Illinois,  the  al- 
luvial and  drift  deposits  cover  the  country 
so  as  to  allow  of  outcrops  only  along  the 
streams.  In  ascending  the  Au  Sable  Creek 
from  the  railroad,  the  scattered  fragments 
of  the  shal}'  limestones  of  this  group  are 
frequently  seen,  but  no  outcrop  is  met 
until  the  middle  of  section  3  in  Au  Sable 
township  is  reached,  where  small  quanti- 
ties of  stone  have  been  quarried  for  wells 
and  foundations.  From  this  point  there  is 
a  nearly  continuous  outcrop  to  some  dis- 
tance above  the  county  line. 

A  small  outcrop  of  rock  of  this  age  is 
exposed  in  the  bed  of  Collins'  run,  a  branch 
of  the  Au  Sable,  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  IS,  of  the  same  township.  The 
rock  here  is  a  rather  more  solid  limestone, 
breaking  irregularly,  and  containing   but 


108 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


few  fossils.  It  is  reported  that  similar 
small  outcrops  occur  further  up  this  run, 
but  they  have  not  been  0])ened,  so  as  to 
kuow  whether  stoue  of  any  value cau  be 
obtained.  Similar  outcrops  were  observed 
in  the  bottoms  of  ditches  near  the  middle 
of  the  north  line  of  Saratoga  township.  In 
the  borings  about  Morris,  only  a  few  feet  of 
beds  which  can  be  referred  to  this  group 
are  found  between  the  Coal  Measures  and 
the  underlying  Trenton  limestone,  and  to 
the  northward  of  that  place  no  such  beds 
have  been  found. 

The  two  remaining  outcrops  of  rock  in 
this  county  are  limestones  of  the  Trenton 
group,  prob:il)ly  near  its  top.  The  principal 
one  is  near  the  center  of  section  2i,  township 
3-t  north,  range  7  cast  (Saratoga);  this  rock 
has  been  quarried  for  building  purposes  and 
for making'lime.  Thetoplayersof theqnaiiy 
are  thin,  and  somewhat  stained  with  iron. 
Below  these,  the  rock  is  lieavily  bedded, 
gray  or  light  drab,  tine  grained,  clinking 
limestone,  not  very  rich  in  fossils,  butyield- 
ing  some  good  specimens  of  several  varie- 
ties. This  rock  iias  been  penetrated  to  the 
depth  of  twenty  feet  without  e.xposing  any 
other  layers;  but  it  is  said  thatat  onepoint 
the  drill  passed  into  a  pocket  of  a  softer 
black  material.  Possibly  this  may  have 
been  a  small  deposit  of  carbonaceous  mate- 
rial analagous  to  the  petroleum  which  this 
rock  has  yielded  in  small  quantities  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  La  Salle.  These  beds 
contain  small  portions  of  pj'rite  [sulphide 
of  iron)  disseminated  through  the  whole 
mass.  There  were  also  occasional  streaks 
of  soft  clay.  Tiie  quarry  has  exposed  two 
sets  of  crevices,  one  trending  south  45°  west, 
and  the  other  south  35"  east.  These  crevices 
are  tilled  with  a  fine  clay  of  very  nearly  the 


same  color  as  the  limestone,  through  which 
are  sparsely  disseminated  small  crystals  of 
blende  {stdjj/iide  of  zinc)  with  occasional 
pyramidal  crystals  of  pyrite;  no  galenite 
has  been  observed.  The  remaining  out- 
crops of  this  rock  are  in  the  bed  of  the  Au 
Sable,  on  the  two  sides  of  the  yoke-like 
bend  of  the  stream,  in  the  east  half  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  19,  in  Au  Sable 
township,  and  consists  of  small  patches  of 
a  thin  bedded,  fine  grained  limestone,  con- 
taining but  few  fossils.  In  the  Morris  bor- 
ing, the  Trenton  limestone  is  two  hundred 
feet  thick. 

St.  Peter's  sandstone  has  been  struck  at 
the  railroad  station  in  Morris,  at  a  depth  of 
370  feet,  and  here,  as  elsewhere  in  this  re- 
gion, has  furnished  a  constant  and  abundant 
supply  of  artesian  water. 

The  economic  geology  of  this  county  is 
quite  an  important  feature,  coal,  brick  and 
potters'  clay,  building  stone  and  sand,  lime 
and  water  being  found  in  abundance,  be- 
side In-draulic  lime  and  iron  ore  in  smaller 
quantities.  Coal  underlies  fully  three 
fourths  of  the  county,  the  seam  averaging 
about  three  feet,  except  on  the  borders  of 
the  field.  It  has  been  very  largely  worked 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Morris,  upwards 
of  one  hundred  openings  having  been  made, 
though  a  larger  part  of  them  at  this  writing 
have  been  abandoned.  These  are  princi- 
pally shafts  from  thirty  to  sixty  feet  deep, 
though  there  are  several  extensive  strippings. 
Some  of  the  latter  uncover  coal  thirty  inches 
thick,  which  is  about  the  average  thickness 
in  this  neighborhood;  while  others  on  the 
borders  of  the  outcrop,  find  not  more  than 
eighteen  inches.  A  smaller  cluster  of  shafts 
and  strippings  is  found  to  the  south  and  west 
of  Goose  Lake,  with  average  thickness  of  full 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


109 


thirty  inches.  At  a  stripping  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  section  12,  in  Felix  town- 
ship, the  bed  is  locally  thickened  to  over 
four  feet,  but  contains,  near  its  center,  a 
heavy  band  of  crystalline  carbonate  of  iron 
and  lime,  with  much  disseminated  pyrite. 

This  seam  is  also  worked  at  Braceville,  by 
a  shaft  ninety-eight  feet  deep,  and  in  section 
26,  of  the  same  township,  by  a  shaft  of  110 
feet.  At  Gardner,  it  is  worked  by  a  shaft 
ICO  feet  deep.  In  the  southeast  corner  of 
this  township,  three  or  four  shafts,  of  about 
sixty  feet  each,  work  this  seam  in  its  usual 
condition;  but  one  in  the  northeast  corner 
of  section  25,  finds  a  roof  of  black  slaty 
shale,  with  heavy  ironstone  concretions  cov- 
ering about  three  feet  of  a  very  pure  "  block 
coal,"  with  much  mineral  charcoal  in  the 
partings.  Both  the  coal  and  the  accompany- 
ing beds,  at  the  mine  on  the  Au  Sable 
Creek,  closely  resemble  the  conditions  found 
here;  and  at  both  points  the  indications 
leave  it  uncertain  whether  they  represent  a 
local  change  of  the  main  seam,  or  are  por- 
tions of  a  lower  seam  which  is  only  occa- 
sionally present.  The  weight  of  opinion 
seems  to  favor  the  former  view. 

The  upper  seams,  which  have  been  worked 
Tipon  the  Waupecan  Creek,  and  upon  the 
Mazon,  near  the  mouth  of  Johnny  run,  ap- 
parently occur  over  only  small  areas  at 
either  locality;  and  elsewhere,  wherever  met 
with,  they  have  proved  to  be  irregular  seams, 
locally  quite  thick,  but  of  the  running  out 
to  a  mere  streak  of  coaly  matter,  and  even 
disappearing  altogether.  The  Mazon  seam 
is,  apparent!}',  the  equivalent  of  a  stream, 
which,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  coal  field, 
in  the  Wabash  valley,  is  usually  too  thin  to 
work,  except  at  a  single  point,  where  it 
reaches  twenty-two  inches. 


The  outcrops  are  not  sufficient  to  give 
any  exact  data  as  to  dips,  but  there  seems 
to  be  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  main 
seam  lies  at  a  greater  depth  than  2.50  feet 
in  any  part  of  the  county,  if  indeed  it  be 
anywhere  so  deep.  Whenever,  therefore, 
anj'  portion  of  the  southern  ]iart  of  the 
county  becomes  so  thickly  settled  as  to  cre- 
ate any  considerable  demand  for  coal,  it  can 
be  obtained  on  the  spot  without  much  diffi- 
culty. This  seam  is  of  pretty  constant 
thickness,  at  every  point  where  it  has  been 
opened,  and  the  miner  can  relv  upon  find- 
ing a  paying  thickness  of  coal  at  almost  any 
point  in  this  part  of  the  county.  At  many 
points,  also,  one  or  more  of  the  upper  seams 
would  be  found  much  nearer  the  surface, 
with  from  two  to  nine  feet  of  coal. 

In  the  openings  of  this  county,  as  else- 
where, the  miner  is  often  troubled  with 
"faults"  and  "rolls,"  which  interrupt  the 
regularity  and  even  the  continuity  of  the 
seam.  Upon  the  outer  edge  of  the  field, 
near  Morris,  and  to  the  eastward,  the  dip  of 
the  seam  is  very  variable  and  irregular, 
which  greatly  interferes  with  the  drainage 
of  the  mines  in  many  cases.  Much  of  this 
seems  to  have  resulted  from  the  irreeulari- 
ty  of  the  denuded  surface  of  the  Silurian 
rocks  upon  which  the  coal  was  deposited; 
but  in  one  or  two  cases,  the  indications 
seem  to  prove  that  these  contortions  are  the 
result  of  the  removal  of  the  subjacent 
limestone  by  solution  in  subterranean 
streams  after  the  deposition  of  the  coal. 
This  seems  to  be  the  only  explanation  of 
the  condition  of  the  seam,  in  a  shaft  a  short 
distance  east  of  the  Jugtown  pottery.  In 
this  neighborhood,  the  seam  is  generally 
about  twenty  feet  below  the  surface;  but 
in  the  shaft  referred  to,  it  was  found  forty 


110 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


feet  down,  and  after  vieldin<^  about  300 
bushels,  the  coal  ceased  abruptly,  on  all 
sides. 

So  far  as  known,  all  coal  rained  in  the 
county  contains  more  or  less  pj'rite — "sul- 
phur" of  the  miners — and  streaks  of  calcite; 
but  this  is  so  variable,  even  in  neighboring 
portions  of  the  same  mine,  that  it  would  be 
useless  to  attempt  to  disci'iminate  between 
the  products  of  the  various  localities.  As 
a  whole,  the  product  of  the  main  seam  is  a 
line  steam  and  grate  coal,  and  is  lar<rely 
shipped  to  the  Chicago  market,  the  distance 
being  only  sixty-two  miles. 

The  best  clay  for  brick  making  is  not 
found  here,  though  there  are  several  large 
brick  yards  in  the  county.  The  materials 
used  are  the  decomposed  shales  which  over- 
lie the  lower  coal.  As  these  beds  contain 
considerable  calcareous  matter,  the  brick  are 
not  very  firm  and  do  not  stand  the  weather 
well.  It  would  appear  prol)able  that  the 
fireclay  below  the  coal  would  make  a  better 
article.  This  has  been  tried  with  some  suc- 
cess at  Gardner.  The  fire  clay,  and  soft 
clay  shales  underlying  it,  are  said  to  be 
thirty-five  feet  deep  and  so  much  of  these 
beds  as  may  be  convenient,  in  mining  the 
coal,  is  dug  out  and  used  promiscuously. 
Without  thorough  grinding,  therefore,  in 
thepugmill,  the  briclisare  variable  in  char- 
acter and  irregular  in  burning. 

The  only  bed  of  Potter's  clay  known  and 
worked  is  that  near  the  west  end  of  Goose 
Lake,  and  extensively  used  at  Jugtown,  in 
the  manufacture  of  a  fair  grade  of  domestic 
earthernware,  together  with  drain  tile  and 
sewer  pipes.  The  bed  consists  of  more  or 
less  thoroughly  decomposed  clay  shale  and 
fire  clay  of  the  Coal  Measures,  containing 
many  fragments  of  coal,  thoroughly  mingled 


and  deposited  in  a  low  part  of  the  old  river 
channel,  which  contains  Goose  Lake,  by  the 
current  of  the  river  which  formerly  flowed 
there.  The  bed  has  been  worked  to  a  depth 
of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  but  the  mixed 
character  of  the  materials  has  given  much 
trouble  to  the  potters. 

The  principal  source  of  building  stone  in 
this  county  is  the  quarry  of  Trenton  lime- 
stone in  Saratoga  township,  about  four  miles 
northeast  of  Morris.  This  yields  an  abun- 
dance of  light  gray  or  drab  massive  lime- 
stone, which  has  been  extensively  used  for 
foundation  walls,  and  in  a  few  cases  also 
for  the  superstructures.  It  appears  fitted 
to  stand  the  weather  as  well  as  any  ordi- 
nary stone,  and  is  said  to  dress  well.  The 
Cincinnati  group  along  the  An  Sable  Creek 
near  the  county  line,  yields  small  quanti- 
ties of  stone  for  wells  and  foundations,  but 
nothing  suitable  for  superstructures.  Beds 
of  the  same  group  upon  the  northern  side 
of  Goose  Lake,  have  been  quarried  slightly, 
for  similar  purposes.  Upon  the  bank  of 
theWaupecan  Creek  in  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  IS,  in  Wauponsee  township, 
small  quantities  of  a  very  solid  limestone 
— No.  6,  of  the  "Waupecan  section — have 
been  quarried.  A  sandstone,  representing 
Nos.  1  and  3  of  the  same  section,  has  been 
quarried  to  some  extent  for  foundations  on 
the  upper  part  of  the  stream,  at  "Ilog 
Grove  Quarry,"  and  has  given  good  satis- 
faction; though  when  exposed  to  the 
weather  it  crumbles  rapidly.  The  same 
defect  exists  in  the  sandstone  of  Pine  Blufi". 

Lime  is  obtained  from  the  Saratoga 
quarry,  where  considerable  quantities  of 
the  stone  are  annually  burned,  though 
some  care  has  to  be  exercised  to  exclude 
from  the  kiln  the  ferruginous  layers.     The 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Ill 


only  hydraulic  .  limestone  found  in  the 
county  occurs  in  nodules  along  the  Kan- 
kakee Kiver,  and  in  email  quantity.  The 
abundant  supply  from  an  adjoining  county 
renders  these  deposits  of  no  commercial 
value. 

Builders'  sand  is  obtained  in  unlimited 
quantities  from  the  sand  ridges  of  the  river 
valley.  From  one  of  these  ridges,  about 
one  mile  south  of  Morris,  large  quantities 
of  road  gravel  are  also  obtained. 

Iron  ore  is  found  in  form  of  ironstone 
nodules  (carbonate  of  iron)  on  the  Mazon 
and  Waupecan  Creeks,  but  nut  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  supply  a  furnace.  Bog  ore 
is  found  near  the  quarries  in  Saratoga,  but 
its  quality  or  quantity  has  not  been  tested. 

The  natural  supply  of  water  through 
this  county  is  quite  variable.  In  a  dry 
season,  large  portions  are  very  scantily  sup- 
plied. In  oi'dinary  seasons,  however,  wells 
running  ten  or  fifteen  feet  into  the  top  of 
the  drift  in  the  eastern  part,  supply  all 
needs.  In  the  western  part  of  the  county, 
reliable  wells  can  be  obtained  only  by  pass- 
ing through  the  boulder  clay  to  the  under- 
lying quicksand.  The  lower  seam  of  coal 
is  everywhere  accompanied  by  an  abun- 
dance of  water,  which  is  pure  and  good, 
until  the  working  of  the  coal  exposes  the 
accompanying  pyrite  to  decomposition. 
A  well  bored  at  the  tile  factory  in  Jugtown 
some  years  ago,  struck  coal  at  about  thirty 
feet,  and  gave  exit  to  a  strong  stream  of 
water,  highly  charged  with  sulphurated 
liydrogen.  Small  springs  of  similar  char- 
acter are  said  to  accompany  the  supposed 
line  of  outcrop  of  this  coal  seam,  along  the 
foot  of  the  first  terrace,  from  Mazon  Creek, 
nearly  to  the  Morris  bridge.  A  very  strong 
s]jring  of  this  character  flows  from  beneatli 


the  drift  gravel,  over  the  black  shale,  No. 
3,  of  the  upper  Mazon  section,  in  the  south- 
M'est  quarter  of  section  C,  in  Braceville 
township,  leaving  a  heavy  white  deposit  of 
sulphur  on  the  surface  of  the  shale. 

The  artesian  boring  on  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  3,  in  Felix  town- 
ship, brings  to  the  surface  a  small 
but  constant  supply  of  slightly  sul- 
phurous water  from  the  upper  part  of 
the  Trenton  limestone,  at  a  de])th  of  about 
137  feet.  On  section  IS  of  the  same  town- 
ship, a  boring  of  325  feet  failed  to  secure 
flowing  water,  after  penetrating  1S5  feet  of 
the  Trenton  limestone.  The  boring  for  the 
railroad  well  at  Morris,  shows  this  lime- 
stone to  be  200  feet  thick,  and  that  in  tliis 
county  the  underlying  St.  Peter's  sandstone 
is  full  of  pure  water,  which  is  ready  to  flow 
to  the  surface  wherever  it  is  tapped.  This 
abundant  supply  can  be  reached  anywhere 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  at  about 
400  feet,  and  in  the  southern  part,  at  prob- 
ably nowhere  more  than  600  feet,  and  in 
part  of  it  much  less  than  that. 

"  Gas"  wells  in  the  boulder  clay  are 
known  at  two  localities.  Near  the  north- 
east corner  of  section  3,  in  Vienna  town- 
ship, a  well  at  twenty  feet,  gave  off"  so  much 
carbonic  acid  gas,  as  to  prevent  farther  ex- 
cavations. Probably  this  flowed  from  some 
ancient  soil,  like  the  muck  beds  encoun- 
tered in  Livingston  and  other  counties. 
On  section  35  in  Nettle  Creek  township,  a 
well  at  forty-seven  feet,  gave  oif  light  car- 
buretted  hydrogen  with  so  much  noise  as 
to  be  heard  at  a  considerable  distance,  and 
in  such  quantity  as  to  blaze  "  as  high  as 
the  house,"  for  some  minutes  after  being 
approached  with  a  lighted  c;indle.  The  gas 
still  flows  freelj',  though  it  is  several  years 


112 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


since  the  well  was  dug,  and  a  load  of  gravel 
has  been  thrown  in,  to  act  as  a  filter  for  the 
water,  which  was  at  first  filled  with  quick- 
sand, brought  up  by  the  ebullition  of  the 
gas.  Similar  phenomena  have  been  ob- 
served in  otiier  wells  in  this  vicinitj'.  A 
large  spring  on  section  22  of  the  same 
township,  constantly  gives  off  bubbles  of 


this  gas.  Springs  of  similar  character 
have  been  found  along  the  outcrop  of  the 
lower  coal  seam  in  the  adjoining  county  of 
La  Salle,  and  it  is  generally  accepted  as  a 
partial  indication  of  the  coal  outline,  when 
the  depth  of  drift  prevents  actual  observa- 
tion. 


CHAPTEE    II.* 


PREHISTORIC     RACES— EARLIEST     TRACES     OP    MAN— MOUND     BUILDERS    AND 
REMAINS- INDIAN  TRIBES— RELATIONS  WITH  THE  WHITES— 
WAUPONSEE— SHABBONA— NUCQUETTE. 


THEIR 


EOBINSO:X  CEUSOE'S  unexpected 
discovery  of  a  human  footprint  upon 
tlie  sands  of  his  solitary  island,  was  hardly 
more  startling  than  have  been  the  discover- 
ies of  antiquarians  in  Europe  within  tlie 
past  twenty-live  years.  Scientitic  followers 
of  Usher  and  Petarius,  had  placed  the  vari- 
ous migrations  of  men,  the  confusion  of 
tongues,  the  peopling  of  continents,  tlie  de- 
velopment of  types — the  whole  evolution  of 
human  society,  within  the  narrow  compass 
of  little  more  than  four  thousand  years, 
when  the  discoveries  of  the  geologist  and 
ethnologist  developed  the  trace  of  human 
existence  dating  back  to  a  possible  period, 
30,000  years  ago.  Nor  are  contirmatory 
evidences  to  tlie  truth  of  these  discoveries 
entirely  wanting  in  the  new  world.  The 
gold-drift  of  California  has  sup))lied  abun- 
dant testimony  to  tlie  high  antiquity  of  man, 
and  notably  the  "  Pliocene  Skull,"  the  pop- 
ular conception  of  which  is  derived  more 
widely,  perhaps,  from  a  characteristic 
poem  by  Bret  Harte  than  from  scientific 
publications.  Explorations  in  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri and  South  Carolina,  have  yielded  simi- 
lar testimony,  and  while  it  should  be  stated, 
that  in  many  cases  these  evidences  rest  upon 
the  testimony  of  single  observers,  and  that 
there   is   not   that   recurrence   of  "finds" 

*By  J.  H.  Battle. 


which  would  render  "  assurance  doubly 
sure,"  yet  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  in  thu 
minds  of  scientists  that  the  "elder  m;in  " 
was  also  an  inhabitant  of  this  nexo  world. 
Descending  to  a  later  time  and  one  prob- 
ably falling  within  tiie  historic  period,*  we 
find  the  more  tangible  traces  of  an  early 
race  of  men.  Of  this  race,  named  from 
the  character  of  their  remains,  the  Mound 
Builders,  we  find  the  evidences  vastly  mul- 
tiplied, and  of  such  character  as  to  aflbrd 
means  of  forming  a  reasonable  conjecture 
as  to  their  mode  of  life,  their  advancement 
in  civilization,  and  final  destiny.  These 
evidences,  though  first  accepted  with  great 
distrust,  have  been  so  amplified  and  con- 
firmed by  more  recent  researches,  as  to 
leave  no  room  for  reasonable  doubt  as  to 
the  former  existence  of  this  race.  Tlie 
remains  upon  which  this  conclusion  is 
based,  "  consists,"  says  Mr.  Foster,  "  of 
tumuli  symmetrically  raised  and  often  en- 
closed in  mathematical  figures,  such  as  the 
square,  the  octagon  and  circle,  with  long 
lines  of  circumvallation;  of  pits  in  the  solid 
rocks,  and  rubbish  heaps  formed  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  mining  operations,  and 
of  a  varietj'  of  utensils,  wrought  in  stone 
or  copper,  or  moulded  in  clay."-|-      To  the 

*  Fo  ter's  "Prehistoric  Races  of  the  United  States." 
t  "  Prehistoric  Races,  etc." 


114 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


uninstnicted  mind  these  mounds  doubtless 
seem  a  very  sliglit  foundation  upon  which 
to  construct  tlie  fabric  of  a  national  exist- 
ence, and  yet  to  the  archffiologist  they  fur- 
nish "  proofs  as  strong  as  II0I3'  AVrit;  "  in 
them  they  find  as  distinctive  characteristics 
as  mark  the  prehistoric  remains  of  the 
Pelasgi,  the  "  wall-builders  "  of  Europe,  a 
not  dissimilar  race  in  many  respects,  and 
one  vvlio  long  ago  found  a  place  in  the 
realities  of  history;  and  while  they  differ 
in  external  form  and  are  scattered  over  a 
wide  scope  of  territory,  —  characteristics 
in  marked  contrast  with  those  of  the  abo- 
riginal race  found  here  in  possession  of  the 
couiitrv,  yet  the  scientist  finds  in  each 
mound  the  never  failing  marks  of  a  race 
peculiarity. 

The  widest  divergence  from  the  typical 
mound  is  found  iu  Wisconsin.  Here  in- 
stead of  the  circular  or  pyramidal  structure 
are  found  forms,  for  the  most  part,  consist- 
ins  of  rude,  siijautic  imitations  of  various 
animals  of  the  region,  such  as  the  buffalo, 
bear,  fox,  wolf,  etc.;  of  the  eagle  and  night 
hawk,  the  lizard  and  turtle,  and  in  some 
instances  the  unmistakable  form  of  man. 
These,  though  not  raised  high  above  the 
surface,  and  even  iu  some  cases  represented 
intaglio,  attain  the  largest  dimensions; 
one  representing  a  serpent  extending  700 
feet  and  another  representing  a  turtle, 
had  a  body  56,  and  a  tail  250  feet  long. 
The  significance  of  these  peculiar  forms 
has  not  been  determined,  but  unmistakable 
evidences  have  been  discovered  which  mark 
tlieni  as  the  work  of  the  same  race  whose 
structures  are  found  elsewhere,  so  numer- 
ous throughout  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Typical  structures  are  sometimes  classi- 
fied   with  reference  to  tlieir   purpose    as 


"Enclosures — 1.  For  defense;  2.  Sacred;  3. 
Miscellaneous.  Mounds — 1.  Of  sacrifice; 
2.  For  tem])le  sites;  3.  Of  sepulture;  4. 
Of  observation."  Of  tiie  first  class,  the 
enclosures  for  defense  seem  to  have  been 
constructed  siin])ly  for  protection  against 
hostile  attack.  Tlie  locations  chosen  are 
those  best  adapted  naturally  to  repel  a 
military  attack.  The  only  ajiproach  is 
generally  by  a  steep  and  narrow  way,  re- 
quiring the  assailant  to  place  himself  at 
immense  disadvantage,  wliile  the  garrison 
provided  with  parapets  often  constructed 
of  rubble  stone,  could  fight  under  cover 
and  may  be  found  in  these  stones,  his  store 
of  ammunition.  The  "sacred"  enclosure 
included  within  its  lines,  the  mounds  of 
the  three  leading  classes,  as  the  uses  to 
which  they  were  put,  were  all  sacred  to 
this  people,  and  yet  in  the  "  American 
Bottom "  in  Illinois,  where  the  mound 
system  reaches,  perhaps  its  highest  devel- 
opment, the  mounds  of  these  classes  are 
not  enclosed.  The  mounds  of  sacrifice  or 
altars,  as  the}'  are  variously  termed,  are 
generally  characterized  by  the  fact  "  that 
they  occur  only  within  the  vicinity  of  the 
enclosures  or  sacred  places;  that  they  are 
stratified;  and  that  they  contain  symmet- 
rical altars  of  burned  clay  or  stone,  on 
which  were  deposited  various  remains, 
which  in  all  cases  have  been  more  or  less 
subjected  to  the  action  of  fire."  *  In  relation 
to  this  latter  characteristic  it  should  be 
said,  that  it  is  not  at  all  plain  that  the  use 
of  fire  was  intended  for  the  purpose  of  cre- 
mation. A  thin  coating  of  moist  clay' was 
applied  to  the  bodj'  nude,  or  wrapped  in 
cloth,  and  upon  this  a  fire  was  maintained 

*  Squier  and  Davis'    "Ancient  Monuments,"  etc. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


115 


for  a  more  or  less  prolonged  period,  but  in 
many  cases  the  heat  was  not  siitKcient  to 
destroy  the  cloth  sometimes  found  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation.  This  evidently 
did  not  result  from  a  lack  of  knowledge,  as 
cremation  and  urn  burial  was  also  practiced. 
Temple  mounds  are  described  by  Squier 
and  Davis  as  •'  distinguished  by  their  great 
i-egularity  of  form  and  genei-al  large  dimen- 
sions. They  consist  chiefly  of  pyramidal 
structures,  truncated  and  generally  having 
graded  avenues  to  their  tops.  In  some  in- 
stances they  are  terraced  or  have  successive 
stances.  But  whatever  their  form,  whether 
round,  oval,  octangular,  square,  or  oblong, 
tiiey  have  invariably  flat  or  level  tops,"  and 
upon  these  were  ]irobably  constructed  their 
temples,  but  which,  constructed  of  perisha- 
ble materials,  have  left  no  trace  of  their 
existence.  This  class  of  mounds  are  not 
found  along  the  lake  region  or  that  line 
which  seems  to  mark  the  farthest  advance 
of  this  people.  The  principal  structures 
of  this  class  are  found  at  Cahokia  in  Illi- 
nois, near  Florence  and  Claiborne  in  Ken- 
tucky, at  Seltzertown,  Mississippi,  at  Mari- 
etta, Newark  and  Ciiillicothe  in  Ohio,  and 
at  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  The  mound  at  Ca- 
hokia, "the  monarch  of  all  similar  struct- 
ures in  tlie  United  States,''  may  well  serve 
as  a  type.  AYhen  in  all  its  integrity,  this 
mound  formed  a  huge  jiarallelograin  with 
sides  at  the  base,  res])ectively  700  and  500 
ieet  in  length,  towering  to  the  height  of  90 
feet.  On  the  southwest  there  was  a  terrace 
160  by  300  feet,  which  was  reached  by  a 
graded  way,  and  the  summit  was  truncated, 
atfording  a  phitform  200  by  450  feet.  This 
structure,  ui)on  which  was  probably  reared 
a  spacious  temple,  jierhajM  the  principal 
one  in  the  euipire,  co\X'reJ  an  aroa  of  about 


six  acres,  while  in  close  proximity  were 
four  elevated  platforms,  varying  from  250 
to  300  feet  in  diameter.  The  great  mound 
of  St.  Louis  reached  a  height  of  thirty-five 
feet,  and  that  at  Marietta  to  about  the  same 
lieiglit. 

''  Sepulchral  mounds,"  says  Mr.  Foster  in 
his  volume  on  the  Prehistoric  Races,  "con- 
sist, often,  of  a  simple  knoll,  or  group  ot 
knoJls,  of  no  considerable  height,  without 
any  detinite  arrangement.  Exani]:)les  ot 
this  character  may  be  seen  at  I>ul)U(|uo, 
Meruni,  Chicago,  and  Lajiorte,  wliifh,  on 
explciration,  have  yielded  skulls  ditleriiig 
wiilel>  from  the  Indian  tyjie.  *  *  *  Tlie 
corpse  was  almost  invariaiily  ])lacud  near 
the  oi-iginal  surface  of  the  soil,  enveloped 
in  bark  or  coarse  matting,  and  in  a  few  in- 
stances fragments  of  cioth  have  been  ob- 
served in  tliis  connection.  Sometimes  a 
vault  of  timber  was  built  over  it,  and  in 
others  it  was  enclosed  in  long  and  broad 
flags  of  stone.  Sometimes  it  was  placed  in 
a  sitting  position,  again  it  was  extended, 
and  still  again  it  was  compressed  within 
contracted  limits.  Trinkets  were  often 
strung  about  the  neck,  and  water  jugs, 
drinking  cups,  and  vases,  which  probably 
contained  food,  were  placed  near  the  head. 
Over  the  corpse  thus  arrayed,  a  circular 
mound  was  often  raised,  but  sometimes 
nothing  more  than  a  hillock."  Other 
mounds  have  been  found  that  favoi'cd  the 
theory  that  many  of  these  structures  were 
used  for  miscellaneous  burial.  A  notable 
example  is  the  "  Grave  Creek  Mound,"  in 
West  Virginia,  twelve  miles  below  Wiieel- 
ing.  This  mound  is  something  over  7() 
i'eet  high,  of  circular  form,  with  a  circum- 
ference at  the  base  of  about  900  feet.  h\ 
the  center  of  this  mound,  on  a    level   with 


116 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


the  original  surface,  was  found  a  vault  with 
twelve  human  skeletons,  and  thirty-four 
feet  above  this  was  found  a  similar  vault, 
enclosing  a  skeleton  which  had  been  deco- 
rated with  a  profusion  of  shell-beads,  copper 
rings,  and  plates  of  mica.  In  a  mound  at 
Yincennes  "a  bed  of  human  bones,  arranged 
in  a  circle  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  closely 
packed  and  pressed  together."  In  anotlier 
at  Merom,  three  tiers  of  vaults  were  found, 
in  each  of  which  were  found  from  five  to 
seven  human  skeletons.  Mounds  of  obser- 
vation is  a  rather  fanciful  classification 
intended  to  mark  mounds  found  on  elevated 
points  of  land.  Tlie  authors  of  this  classi- 
fication think  that  these  may  have  been 
iised  as  platforms  on  which  to  build  signal 
fires,  and  such  is  their  elevation  and  out- 
look that  such  signals  could  liave  been  seen 
at  great  distance.  This  tlieory  of  a  special 
purpose,  however,  has  not  been  accepted,  as 
supported  by  any  special  evidence.  They 
may  have  been  so  used,  or  simply  as  an 
eligible  site  for  residence. 

There  is  in  addition  to  these  mounds  a 
large  number  which  are  'not  embraced  in 
this  classification,  which  following  Mr.  F. 
W.  Putnam,  whom  Mr.  Foster  quotes  at 
length,  ma}'  be  called  "Habitation  Mounds." 
A  large  number  of  these  are  described  as 
located  at  Merom,  Indiana,  and  "  a  group 
of  fifty-nine  mounds"  at  Hutsonville,  Illi- 
nois, a  few  miles  above  the  former  place 
and  across  the  Wabash  River.  These 
mounds  were  carefully  examined  "  to  ascer- 
tain if  they  were  places  of  burial,"  without 
discovering  a  single  bone  or  implement  of 
any  kind,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  excava- 
tions "  showed  that  the  mounds  had  been 
made  of  various  materials  at  hand,  arKl  in 
one  case  ashes  were  found  which  had  prob- 


ably been  scraped  up  with  other  material 
and  thrown  upon  the  heap."  In  the  an- 
cient fort  at  Merom,  in  depressions  found 
within  the  earthworks,  were  found  striking 
evidences  of  food  having  been  cooked  and 
eaten  there,  and  the  conclusion  drawn  by 
Mr.  Putnam  is,  "  that  these  pits  were  the 
houses  of  the  inhabitants  or  defenders  of 
the  fort,  who  were  probably  further  pro- 
tected from  the  elements  and  the  arrows  of 
assailants,  by  a  niof  of  logs  and  bark,  or 
boughs."  Anotlier  writer,*  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  American  Association  for  tiie 
Advancement  of  Science  at  their  Boston 
meeting,  August,  ISSO,  says:  "There  is  in 
tiiis  region  a  peculiar  class  of  mounds  that 
was  for  a  long  time  a  puzzle  to  me.  They 
are  usual!}'  found  in  groups  of  from  two  or 
three  to  twenty  or  thirty,  and  even  more, 
and  are  generally  on  some  pleasant  knoll 
or  rising  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  a  spring 
or  watercourse,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of 
our  j)rairies  or  level  areas  of  land.  These 
mounds  are  from  one  to  three,  and  in  a  few 
instances,  even  four  feet  in  heigiit,  and 
from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  diameter. 
One  mound  of  the  group  is  always 
larger  than  the  rest,  and  always  occupies 
the  commanding  position.  Sometimes  the 
group  is  arranged  in  a  circle;  other  groups 
have  no  apparent  design  in  arrangement. 
Numbers  of  these  mounds  can  be  seen  in 
the  cultivated  fields. 

"  Although  I  have  made  excavations  in 
them,  and  dug  trenches  entirely  through 
them,  I  have  found  nothing  but  ashes,  char- 
coal, decayed  portions  of  bones  of  fishes 
and  animals  partially  burned,  shells  from 
the  adjacent    streams,  flint  chippings,  and 

*  Hon.  Wm.  McAdams,  Jr.,  of  Otterville,  Ills. 


'^<LyTZ/^^-^^~-^^^^^c 


CKL^l^ 


HISrORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


119 


in  one  or  two  instances  a  flint  implement 
of  a  rude  cliaracter. 

"After  examining  many  of  these  structures 
I  am  induced  to  believe  that  ther  are  pos- 
sibly the  remains  of  ancient  dwellinfrs, 
made  by  placing  in  an  upright  position 
the  trunks  of  young  trees  in  a  circle,  or  in 
parallel  rows,  the  tops  of  the  poles  inclining 
inward  and  fastened  togetiier,  the  wliole 
being  covered  with  earth  and  sod  to 
form  a  roof,  or  in  tlie  same  manner  as  many 
Indian  tribes  make  tlieir  mud  lodges;  as 
for  instance,  the  Mandansand  the  Omahas. 
Such  a  structure,  after  being  repaired  from 
time  to  time  by  the  addition  of  more  earth 
on  top,  would  finally,  by  the  decay  of  the 
poles,  fall  inward  and  the  ruins  would  form 
a  sligiit  mound. 

"  Conant  and  Putnam  describe  such 
mounds  in  Missouri  and  Tennessee,  some 
of  the  largest  of  these  ancient  towns  being 
provided  with  streets  and  highways.  They 
are  also  found  in  Southern  Illinois,  Indiana 
and  Ohio.  Putnam  has  described  an  en- 
closed town  in  Tennessee,  in  whicli  were 
many  low  mounds,  or  rather,  as  he  calls 
them,  earth  circles,  tliat  he  has  pretty  con- 
clusively shown  to  be  sites  of  the  lodges  or 
houses  of  the  people." 

To  which  of  these  classes  tlie  mounds 
found  at  Morris  shall  be  referred,  is  difficult 
to  determine.  There  were  nineteen  of  these 
mounds,  circular  in  form,  from  two  to  four 
feet  high,  and  from  seventeen  to  thirty  in 
diameter  at  the  base.  These  were  superfi- 
cially explored  and  evidences  of  the  intru- 
sive  burials  of  Indians  found,  but  nothing 
bearing  upon  their  ancient  origin.  The 
growth  of  the  village  has  encroached  upon 
these  ancient  relics  and  their  site  so  oblit- 
erated as  to  ailord  little  inducement  fur  any 


scientific  investigation.  There  are  mounds 
along  the  southern  marg-in  of  the  river  that 
ofi'er  better  j^rospects  of  reward  to  a  proper- 
ly conducted  research,  but  at  best  such  ex- 
jiloration  is  likely  to  develop  little  more 
than  to  coimect  their  origin  with  this  an- 
cient people. 

These  mounds,  with  the  implements 
formed  in  stone,  metal  and  pottery  (of  whicli 
the  scope  of  this  work  allows  no  mention), 
form  the  data  upon  which  is  founded  the 
historical  speculation  concerning  this  peo- 
ple. Once  having  reasonably  established 
the  former  existence  of  this  extinct  race, 
the  absorbing  question  presents  itself — who 
were  the  Mound  Builders?  The  limited 
space  devoted  to  this  subject,  however,  for- 
bids any  extended  consideration  of  the  in- 
teresting scientific  deductions  made  from 
this  data,  though  the  conclusion  arrived  at 
may  be  briefly  stated  in  the  language  of 
Mr.  Foster,*  as  follows:  "Their  monu- 
ments indicate  that  they  had  entered  upon 
a  career  of  civilization;  they  lived  in  sta- 
tionary communities,  cultivating  the  soil 
and  relying  on  its  generous  yield  as  a 
means  of  support;  they  clotlied  themselves 
in  part  at  least,  in  garments  regularly  spun 
and  woven;  they  modeled  clay  and  carved 
stone,  even  of  the  most  obdurate  character, 
into  images  representing  animate  objects, 
even  the  human  face  and  form,  with  a  close 
adlierence  to  nature;  they  mined  and  cast 
copper  into  a  variety  of  useful  forms;  they 
quarried  mica,  steatite,  chert,  and  the  novac- 
ulite  slates,  which  they  wrought  into  arti- 
cles adapted  to  personal  ornament,  to  domes- 
tic use,  or  to  the  chase;  unlike  the  Indians 
who  were  ignorant  of  the  curative  proper- 

*"  Prehistoric  Races,"  etc.,  p.  350. 


120 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


ties  of  salt,  thej  collected  the  brine  of  the  sa- 
lines into  earthen  vessels  moulded  in  baskets 
which  they  evaporated  into  a  form  which 
admitted  of  transportation;  they  erected  an 
elaborate  line  of  defense,  stretching  for 
many  hundred  miles,  to  guard  against  the 
sudden  irruption  of  enemies;  they  had  a 
national  religion,  in  which  the  elements 
were  the  objects  of  supreme  adoration;  tem- 
ples were  erected  upon  the  platform 
mounds,  and  watchfires  lighted  upon  the 
highest  summits;  and  in  the  celebration  of 
the  mysteries  of  tlieir  faith,  human  sacrifices 
were  probably  ofiered  up.  The  magnitude 
of  their  structures,  involving  an  infinitude 
of  labor,  such  only  as  could  be  e.xpended 
except  in  a  community  where  cheap  food 
prevailed,  and  the  great  extent  of  their 
commercial  relations  reaching  to  widely 
separated  portions  of  the  continent,  imply 
the  existence  of  a  stable  and  eflicient  gov- 
ernment, based  on  the  subordination  of  the 
masses.  As  the  civilizations  of  the  old 
world  growing  out  of  the  peculiar  conditions 
of  soil  and  climate  developed  certain  forms 
of  art  which  are  original  and  unique,  so  on 
this  continent  we  see  the  crude  conception 
in  the  truncated  pyramid,  as  first  displayed 
in  Wisconsin,  Ohio  and  Illinois,  and  the 
accomplished  result  in  the  stonefaced  foun- 
dations of  the  temples  of  Uxraal  and  Palen- 
que.  And  finally,  the  distinctive  character 
of  the  Mound  Builder's  structures,  and  also 
the  traditions  which  have  been  preserved, 
would  indicate  that  this  people  were  ex- 
pelled from  the  Mississippi  Valley  by  a 
fierce  and  barbarous  race,  and  that  they 
found  refuge  in  the  more  genial  climate  of 
Central  America,  where  they  developed 
tiiose  germs  of  civilization,  originalJv 
planted  in   their   northern  homes,  into   a 


perfection  which  has  elicited  the  admiration 
of  every  modern  explorer." 

The  obvious  inquiry  suggested  by  these 
conclusions  is,  who  succeeded  this  extinct 
race  ?  To  this  question  science  offers  no  an- 
swer. Two  hypotheses  are  entertained  as 
to  the  origin  of  Mound  Builders  liere,  the 
one  supposes  them  to  be  of  autothionic 
origin,  and  that  semi-civilization  originat- 
ing here  flowed  southward  and  culminated 
in  the  wonderful  developments  of  the  Tol- 
tecs  of  Mexico  ;  the  other  supposes  to  have 
originated  in  the  South  American  continent 
or  in  Central  America,  and  to  have  emi- 
grated northward  from  natural  causes,  and 
later  to  have  returned  to  Mexico,  driven 
from  their  northern  empire  by  an  irresist- 
ible ibe  or  by  a  powerful  political  irruption 
among  themselves.  Upon  any  tlieory,  the 
line  of  their  most  nortiiward  advance  is 
pretty  clearly  define  1,  and  writers  upon 
this  subject  generally  agree  that  the  line  of 
defenses  "extending  from  sources  of  the 
Alleghanj'  and  Susquehanna,  in  New  York, 
diagonally  across  the  country,  through 
central  and  nortliern  Ohio,  to  the  Wa- 
bash," accurately  indicates  the  region  from 
whence  attacks  were  made  or  expected,  and 
marks  the  farthest  extent  of  the  Mound 
Builders'  empire.  But  what  was  the  char- 
acter of  the  foe,  what  his  action  on  the 
retreat  of  tlie  Mound  Builders,  and  what 
his  final  destiny,  is  an  unwritten  page  of 
science,  and  for  which  there  exists  no 
known  data.  It  is  a  late  suggestion,  that 
the  North  American  Indian  may  be  a 
degenerate  but  legitimate  descendant  of 
the  dominant  race,  but  tiiere  is  a  broad 
chasm  to  be  bridged  before  the  Mound 
Builder  or  his  successful  assailant  can  be 
linked  with  those  aboriginal  tribes.   With- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


121 


out  making  any  such  attempt,  however,  the 
Indian  naturally  succeeds  this  people  in  reg- 
ular historical  order,  and  passing  over  the 
vexed  question  of  his  origin,  it  is  sufficient 
I'ur  the  purposes  of  this  work  tiiat  tlie  whites 
found  him  everywhere  in  full  possession  of 
the  country. 

With  the  advent  of  the  white  man  in 
America,  hegan  an  "irrepressible  conflict" 
which  was  destined  never  to  cease  so  long 
as  the  red  man  retained  a  vestige  of  power. 
In  this  struggle,  the  absence  of  national 
organization  or  affiliations  on  the  part  ot 
the  Indians,  made  the  final  success  of  the 
whites  inevitable  from  the  beofinninsr. 
Taking  each  tribe  or  section  of  country  in 
succession,  the  little  band  of  adventurers 
conquered  this  vast  country  in  detail,  and 
planted  here  one  of  the  mighty  nations  of 
the  world.  It  was  due  to  this  lack  of  any 
bond  of  union  that  the  Illinois  tribes  were 
allowed  to  rest  so  long  undisturbed  in  their 
fiincied  security.  Euiiiors  of  the  conflict 
waging  on  the  Atlantic  border  were  borne 
to  their  ears  by  chance  visitors  from  other 
tribes,  and  later  by  remnants  of  vanquished 
tribes  who  sought  with  them  an  asylum 
from  their  foes,  but  still  no  apprehension 
of  impending  disaster  dawned  upon  their 
superstitious  ignorance,  while  the  reflection 
that  the  Iroquois,  the  enemy  which  tlieir 
experience  had  taught  them  most  to  fear, 
had  met  an  overpowering  foe,  gave  them 
no  little  satisfaction. 

The  great  family  to  which  these  tribes 
were  allied  by  language,  physical  and  men- 
tal peculiarities,  was  the  Algonquin.  Be- 
fore the  encroachments  of  the  whites  the 
numerous  tribes  of  this  family  occupied 
most  of  the  teri'itory  now  embraced  in  the 
United  States,  between  the  35th  and  GOth 


parallels  of  latitude,  and  the  60th  and  l(J5th 
meridians  of  longitude.  According  to 
Davidson,*  the  starting  point  in  the  wander- 
ings of  the  Algonquin  tribes  on  the  conti- 
nent as  determined  by  tradition  and  the  cul- 
tivation of  maize,  their  favorite  cereal,  was 
in  the  southwest.  Passing  up  the  western 
side  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  they  turned 
eastward  across  that  river,  the  southern 
margin  of  their  broad  tract  reaching  about 
to  the  3.5th  parallel,  while  the  center  prob- 
ably covered  tlie  present  territory  of  Illi- 
nois. On  reaching  tiie  Atlantic  coast  thov 
seem  to  have  moved  northeasterly  alon<i- 
the  seaboard  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence; thence  ascending  this  river  and  the 
shores  of  the  great  lakes,  they  spread  north- 
ward and  westward  to  Hudson  Bay,  the 
basin  of  Lake  "Winnipeg  and  the  valley  of 
the  upper  Mississippi;  and  thence  the 
head  of  the  migratory  column  circling 
around  the  source  of  the  great  river,  re- 
crossed  it  in  a  southeasterly  direction  above 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  passing  bv 
way  of  Green  Bay  and  Lake  Michigan  came 
into  the  present  limits  of  Illinois,  Indiana 
and  Ohio.  Thus  after  revolving  in  an  ir- 
regular ellipse  of  some  3,000  miles  in  diam- 
eter, they  fell  into  the  original  track  east- 
ward. This  extended  course  of  migration 
induced  by  a  varietvof  causes  and  circum- 
stances, continued  through  a  long  period, 
the  original  stock  probably  receiving  con- 
siderable accessions  from  the  nomadic 
tribes  of  the  Pacific  slope,  and  leaving  be- 
hind large  numbers  at  each  remove,  until 
the  head  of  the  column  came  to  rest  from 
sheer  lack  of  momentum  or  other  moving 
influences.     Thus   scattered   over   a   larae 

'Davidson  and  S: neve's  "History  of  Illinois." 


122 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


expanse  of  country,  and  broken  into  nnnier- 
ous  tribal  organizations,  they  lost  much  of 
their  family  affiliations  and  characteristics, 
and  the  early  whites  found  the  Algonquins 
everywhere  possessing  the  border  lands,  and 
wao'cd  with  them  their  first  and  bloodiest 
wars.  Situated  within  the  ellipse  above 
described,  were  the  nations  of  the  Iroquois 
family,  who  held  together  by  circumstances 
and  posted  advantageously  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  circle,  able  at  any  time  to  mass 
their  forces  upon  a  single  point  of  tlie  cir- 
cumference, soon  proved  a  devastating 
scourge  to  the  Indian  world,  and  especially 
so  to  the  Algonquins. 

Of  the  tribes  of  this  latter  family  this 
history  has  to  do  only  with  the  tribes  of  the 
"Illinois  Confederation."  This  was  made  up 
of  the  Taraaroas,  Michigaraies,  Kaskaskias, 
Cahokias  and  Peorias.  The  name  of  the 
confederation,  as  explained  by  Gallatin,  one 
of  the  ablest  writers  on  the  structure  of 
Indian  languages,  is  derived  from  the  Dela- 
ware word  Leno,  and  variously  written  Leni 
or  mini,  meaning  "  superior  men."  Its 
present  termination  is  of  French  origin. 
The  Algonquin  lamily,  so  far  as  cranial  in- 
dications, were  marked  by  a  larger  intellect- 
ual lobe  than  their  great  adversaries,  the 
Iroquois,  and  their  whole  history  adds  force 
to  these  indications.  While  not  so  ferocious 
or  fiendish  in  their  warfare,  they  exhibited 
no  less  bravery  and  skill  in  tlieir  savage  en- 
counters, and  were  rewarded  with  no  less 
success  when  circumstances  admitted  an 
equal  contest.  In  courageous  resistance  to 
the  superior  numbers  and  arms  of  the 
■whites  and  in  savage  strategy  and  diplo- 
macy, the  history  of  our  Indian  wars  bears 
ample  testimony  to  their  high  mental  and 
physical  qualities.     Of  the  Illinois  Confed- 


eration, however,  this  can  not  be  said  with- 
out qualification.  Exposed  like  the  rest  of 
the  Algonquin  family  to  the  powerful  at- 
tacks of  their  ferocious  enemy,  though  gain- 
ing some  notable  victories,  they  had  been 
forced  to  leave  their  earlier  location  near 
Lake  Michigan  and  settle  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissi]3pi,  from  whence,  aboi:t  1670-73,  they 
migrated  to  the  Illinois  Iliver.  Here  they 
seem  to  have  stood  in  great  fear  of  their 
hereditary  foe,  and  while  proving  their 
warlike  superiority  to  other  tribes,  their 
only  sure  defense  against  the  Iroquois  ap- 
])eared  to  be  in  flight.  The  early  association 
of  this  confederacy  with  the  whites  was  of 
an  unusually  peaceable  and  pleasant  nature 
and  did  much  to  confirm  their  un  warlike 
character.  As  early  as  1670,  the  Jesuit  Mis- 
sionary, Marquette,  stationed  at  the  western 
extremity  of  Lake  Superior,  mentions  the 
visit  of  members  of  these  tribes  who  ear- 
nestly requested  that  missionaries  might  be 
sent  among  them.  When,  therefore,  Joliet 
and  Marquette,  returning  from  their  explo- 
ration of  the  Mississippi,  found  the  tribes  on 
the  banks  of  the  Illinois  in  1673,  they  were 
hailed  with  joy  by  the  natives,  who  from 
that  day  never  wavered  in  their  allegiance 
to  the  French.  In  1675,  Marquette  re- 
turned and  established  the  "  Mission  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  "  at  their  village, 
located  near  the  present  site  of  Utica.  la 
December  of  1679,  La  Salle*  with  his  little 
band  of  adventurers  found  here  a  town  of 
460  lodges  temporarily  deserted,  and  passing 
on  to  where  the  city  of  Peoria  now  is,  found 
another  village  of  about  eighty  lodges, where 
he  landed  and  soon  established  amicable 
and  ]3er.nanent  relations.  With  theconsent 
of  the  tribes,  La  Salle  soon  built  the  fort  of 

*  R^n*;— Robert  Cav^'lier,  Sieur  cle  la  Salle. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


123 


Crevecoeiir,  a  half  a  league  below,  and  then 
early  In  March  of  1680,  set  out  fur  Fort 
Fronteuac  in  Western  Xew  York,  and 
thence  to  Montreal  to  repair  the  loss  of  his 
vessel,  the  Griffin. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Jesuit  faction, 
engaged  in  fierce  competition  with  him  in 
securing  the  peltry  trade  of  the  Indians, 
and  jealous  of  La  Salle's  success,  and  the 
English  of  the  Atlantic  border,  striving  to 
overreach  the  French  in  securing  both 
territory  and  trade,united  in  stirring  up  the 
Iroquois  to  assault  La  Salle's  Illinois  allies 
in  his  absence.  "Suddenly,"  saysParkman, 
"  the  village  was  awakened  from  its  lethargy 
as  by  the  crash  of  a  thunderbolt.  A 
Shawanoe,  lately  here  on  a  visit,  had  left  his 
Illinois  friends  to  return  home.  He  now 
reajipeared,  crossing  the  river  in  hot  haste 
with  the  announcement  that  he  had  met  on 
his  way  an  army  of  Iroquois  apjiroaching 
to  attack  them.  All  was  jianic  and  con- 
fnsion.  The  lodges  disgorged  their  fright- 
ened inmates;  women  and  children 
screamed;  startled  warriors  snatched  their 
weapons.  There  were  less  than  five  hun- 
dred of  them,  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
voung  men  had  gone  to  war."  Here  Tonti, 
La  Salle's  able  lieutenant,  left  in  charge  of 
the  fort,  found  himself  weakened  by  the 
early  desertion  of  most  of  his  force,  and 
now  an  object  of  suspicion  to  his  allies,  in 
an  awkward  and  dangerous  ])redicameut. 
Undaunted  by  the  untoward  circumstances, 
he  joined  the  Illinois,  and  when  the  Iroquois 
came  upon  the  scene,  in  the  midst  of  the 
savage  melee,  faced  the  5S0  warriors  and 
declared  that  the  Illinois  were  under  the 
protection  of  the  French  King  and  the 
Governor  of  Canada,  and  demanded  that 
they  should  be  left   iu   peace,    backing  his 


words  with  the  statement  that  there  were 
1,200  of  the  Illinois  and  00  Frenchmen 
across  the  river.  These  representations  had 
the  eil'ect  of  checking  the  ardor  of  the 
attacking  savages,  and  a  teni|)orar3'  truce 
was  effected.  It  was  evident  that  the  truce 
was  but  a  ruse  on  the  part  of  the  Iroquois 
to  gain  an  opportunity  to  test  the  truth  of 
Tonti's  statements,  and  no  sooner  liad  the 
Illinois  retired  to  their  village  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  than  numbers  of  the  invad- 
ing tribes,  on  the  pretext  of  seeking  food, 
crossed  the  river  and  gathered  in  increasitia: 
numbers  about  the  village.  The  Illinois 
knew  the  design  of  their  foe  too  well,  and, 
hastily  embarking,  they  set  fire  to  their 
lodges,  and  retired  down  tiie  river,  when 
the  whole  band  of  Iroquois  crossed  over, 
and  finished  their  work  of  havoc  at  their 
leisure.  The  Illinois,  in  the  meanwhile, 
lulled  into  a  false  security,  divided  into 
small  bands  in  search  of  food.  One  of  their 
ti'ibes,  the  Tamoroas,  "had  the  fatuity  to 
remain  near  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois, 
where  they  were  assailed  by  all  the  force  of 
the  Iroquois.  The  men  fled,  and  very  few 
of  them  were  killed;  but  the  women  and 
children  were  captured  to  the  number,  it  is 
said,  of  seven  hundred,"  many  of  whom 
were  put  to  death  with  hori-ible  tortures. 
Soon  after  the  retreat  of  the  Illinois,  the 
Iroquois  discovered  the  deception  of  the 
Frenchmen,  and  only  the  wholesome  fear 
they  had  of  the  French  Governor's  jiower 
restrained  their  venting  their  rage  upon 
Tonti  and  his  two  or  three  companions.  As 
it  was,  they  were  dismissed,  and  bidden  to 
return  to  Canada. 

It  was  in  the  wake  of  these  events  that 
La  Salle  returned  in  the  winter  of  1680  and 
found  this  once  populous  village  devastated 


124 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


and  deserted,  surrounded  b}'  the  fViglitfnl 
evidences  of  savage  carnaoje.  Disheartened 
Lilt  not  cast  down,  lie  at  once  set  about  re- 
jKiiring  his  fortunes.  Discerning  at  once 
the  means  and  object  of  his  enemies  be  set 
about  building  wp  a  bulwark  to  stay  a  sec- 
ond assault.  Returnins'  to  Fort  Miami  on 
the  St.  Josepli,  by  tlie  borders  of  Lake 
Michigan,  he  sought  to  form  a  defensive 
league  among  tlie  Indians  whom  be  pro- 
jwsed  to  colonize  on  the  site  of  tlic  destroyed 
village  of  the  Illinois.  He  found  ready 
material  at  hand  in  remnants  of  tribes  fresh 
from  fields  of  King  Phillip's  war;  he 
visited  the  Miamis  and  by  bis  wondei-fiil 
power  won  them  over  to  bis  plans;  and 
then  in  the  interval,  before  the  tribes  could 
arrange  for  their  emigration,  be  launched 
out  with  a  few  followers  and  hurriedly  ex- 
plored the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf.  Re- 
turning  to  Michillimackinac  in  September, 
10S2,  where  he  had  found  Tonti  in  May  of 
the  previous  year.  La  Salle,  after  directing 
his  trusty  beutenant  to  repair  to  the  Illiiuiis, 
prepared  to  return  to  France  for  further 
supplies  for  bis  proposed  colony,  but  learn- 
ing that  the  Iroquois  were  planning  another 
incursion,  he  returned  to  the  site  of  the 
destroyed  Tillage  and  with  Tonti  began  in 
December,  IGS2,  to  build  the  Fort  of  St. 
Louis  on  the  eminence  which  is  now  known 
in  history  as  "starved  rock."  Thus  the 
winter  passed,  and  in  the  meanwhile,  La 
Salle  found  emplo^'ment  for  bis  active  mind 
in  conducting  the  negotiations  which  should 
result  in  reconciling  the  Illinois  and  the  Mi- 
amis  and  in  cementing  the  various  tribes  into 
a  harmonious  colony.  The  spring  crowned 
his  efforts  with  complete  success.  "  La 
Salle  looked  down  from  bis  rocks  on  a  con- 
course of  wild  human  life.     Lodges  of  bark 


and  rushes,  or  cabins  of  logs,  were  clustered 
on  the  open  plain,  or  along  the  edges  of  the 
bordering  forests.  Squaws  labored,  war- 
riors lounged  in  the  sun,  naked  children 
who()]icd  and  gamboled  on  the  grass.  Be- 
yond the  river,  a  mile  and  a  half  on  the  left, 
the  banks  were  studded  once  more  with  the 
lodges  of  the  Illinois,  who,  to  the  number 
of  six  thousand,  had  returned,  since  their 
defeat,  to  this  their  favorite  dwelling-place. 
Scattered  along  the  valley,  among  the  ad- 
jacent hills,  or  over  the  neighboring  prairie, 
were  the  cantonments  of  a  lialf  score  of 
other  tribes,  and  fragments  of  tribes,  gath- 
ered under  the  protecting  aegis  of  the 
French, — Sbawanoes,  from  the  Ohio,  Abe- 
nakis  from  Maine,  and  Miamis  from  the 
sources  of  the  Kankakee."*  In  the  mean- 
while, a  party  was  sen  t  to  Montreal  to  secure 
supplies  and  munitions  to  put  the  colony  in 
a  state  of  defense,  which  to  the  disappoint- 
ment and  chagrin  of  the  sorely  beset  leader, 
he  learned  had  been  detained  by  his  enemies, 
who  by  a  change  of  Governors  had  come 
into  official    power.      Devolving  the   coin- 

*"  Discovery  of  the  Great  West."  Third  part. 
Franquelin's  map  finished  in  1684  and  reproduced  in 
part  in  this  work,  adds  some  further  particulars 
which  maybe  of  local  interest.  From  the  location  of 
thp  tribes  on  this  map,  it  is  ascertained  that  the  In- 
dian colony  of  La  Salle,  numbering,  according;  to 
his  representation  to  the  French  ministiy,  "about 
four  thousand  waiTiors  or  twenty  thousand  souls,'' 
occupied  the  country  bordering  both  sides  of  the  Illi- 
nois, from  the  present  site  of  Morris  to  the  junction 
of  the  Big  Bureau  Creek.  Of  the  tribes  represented, 
the  Illinois  proper  numbered  1,200  warriors;  the 
Miamis,  1,300;  the  Sliawanoes,  200;  the  Weas,  .500; 
the  Pepikokia,  160;  the  Kilatica,  300;  Ouabona,  70; 
the  Piankishaws,  150;  in  all,  3,880  warriors.  This 
latter  tribe  occupied  the  present  site  of  Morris  village, 
while  northeastwardly  to  the  margin  of  the  lake,  the 
country  was  occupied  by  the  Kickapoos,  and  other 
friendly  tribes. 


H  [STORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


12) 


in  and  of  the  enterprise  upon  Lis  faitliful 
lieutenant,  La  Salle  set  out  in  November, 
16S3,  for  Canada  and  France,  where  he 
hoped  to  tliwart  his  enemies  and  snatch  suc- 
cess from  the  very  jaws  of  defeat.  Trium- 
phant over  his  enemies,  lie  returned  to 
America  in  1G85,  and  after  wandering  inef- 
fectually for  two  years  in  the  inliospitable 
wilderness  of  Texas,  fell  dead,  pierced 
through  the  brain  by  the  bullet  of  a  treach- 
erous desperado  of  his  own  band.  It  was 
not  until  the  latter  part  of  1688,  that  Tonti 
with  grief  and  indignation  learned  of  the 
death  of  La  Salle.  In  1690,  Tonti  received 
from  the  French  government  the  proprie- 
torship of  Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  Illinois, 
M-here  he  continued  in  command  until  1702, 
when  by  royal  order  the  fort  was  abandoned 
and  Tonti  transferred  to  lower  Louisiana. 
This  fort  was  afterward  re-occupied  for  a 
short  time  in  1718,  by  a  party  of  traders, 
when  it  was  tinally  abandoned. 

Hitherto,  the  Indians,  faitliful  to  tlie 
French,  found  vent  for  tlieir  savage  nature 
in  warfare  upon  their  fellows,  but  events 
were  rapidly  hurrying  forward  the  time 
when  this  state  of  affairs  should  be  re- 
versed. In  turn  the  French  power  here 
gave  way  to  the  English,  and  they  to  the 
Americans;  these  momentous  changes 
manifesting  themselves  to  the  Indian  world 
in  little  more  than  the  change  of  the  na- 
tional ensign  on  Fort  Chartres.  Upon  the 
savages,  however,  a  subtle  change  had  been 
wrought.  Unwillingly  released  from  their 
fealty  to  the  French,  they  became  the  fatal 
cats-paw  of  the  warring  whites.  Incited 
by  the  French  to  hostilities  against  the 
English,  they  easily  turned  against  the 
Americans  under  the  influence  of  British 
goods   and    gold.     Other  influences    were 


powerfully  moving  them  to  fulfill  their  des- 
tiny. The  success  of  the  American  colo- 
nies in  their  war  with  the  mother  country, 
brought  them  in  contact  with  the  natives 
of  tlie  "far  west."  The  whole  Indian 
world  viewed  their  conquests  witli  alarm, 
and  when  the  restless  tide  of  emigration 
reached  the  natural  boundary  of  the  Ohio, 
tribal  animosities  were  forgotten  in  the 
united  straggle  to  hold  the  insatiable  pale- 
faces at  bay.  In  the  meantime,  the 
abandonment  of  Fort  St.  Louis  followed  by 
the  removal  of  Kaskaskia  and  the  erection 
of  Fort  Chartres  had  drawn  the  remnant 
which  their  savage  enemies  had  left  of  the 
Illinois  Confederation,  to  the  southern 
part  of  the  State,  while  their  deserted  lands 
were  occupied  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Pot- 
tawattomies  and  other  tribes  which  the 
success  of  the  Americans  had  forced  to  find 
a  new  home. 

The  first  cession  of  territory  demanded 
of  the  tribes  here  was  made  by  the  treaty  of 
Greenville,  O.,  in  1795,  consisting  of  "  one 
piece  of  land,  six  miles  square,  at  the 
mouth  of  Chicago  River,  emptying  into  the 
southwest  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  a 
fort  formerly  stood;"  one  piece  12  miles 
square  near  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  Riv- 
er; and  one  piece  6  miles  square,  at  the 
old  Peoria  Fort  and  Village,  near  the  south 
end  of  the  Illinois  Lake,  on  the  said  Illinois 
River."*  In  1803  by  a  treaty  at  Vincennes 
the  greater  part  of  southern  Illinois  was 
ceded  by  the  Illinois  Confederation  and 
other  tribes;  and  by  a  treaty  in  the  follow- 
ing year  signed  at  St.  Louis,  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes   ceded  a  great  tract  of  country  on 

*At  these  points  the  National  Goyemment  subse- 
quently erected  FoWs. 


126 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUXTY. 


both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  extending  on 
tlie  east  bank  from  the  niontli  of  the  Illi- 
nois River  to  the  head  of  that  river,  and 
thence  to  the  Wisconsin  River.  In  1S16  a 
treaty  was  concluded  with  the  "united 
tribes  of  Ottawas,  Cliippewas  and  Potta- 
wattomies,"  at  St.  Louis.  The  treaty 
recites:  "Whereas,  a  serious  dispute  has 
for  some  time  existed  between  the  contract- 
ing parties  relative  to  the  right  to  a  part  of 
the  lands  ceded  to  the  United  States  by 
the  tribes  of  Sacs  and  Foxes,  on  the  third 
of  November,  ISOi,  and  both  parties  being 
desirous  of  preserving  a  harmonious  and 
friendly  intercourse,  and  of  establishing 
permanent  peace  and  friendship,  have  for 
the  purpose  of  removing  all  difficulties, 
agreed  to  the  following  terms:"  etc.  Tiie 
boundaries  established  by  this  treaty  are 
the  only  ones  that  have  found  a  place  upon 
the  2:)ublished  county  maps  of  the  State. 
The  territory  ceded  is  marked  by  lines 
drawn  from  a  point  on  Luke  Michigan  ten 
miles  north,  and  south  of  the  mouth  of  Clii- 
cago  Creek,  and  following  the  general  di- 
rection of  the  Desplaines  to  a  point  north 
of  the  Illinois  on  the  Fox  River,  ten  miles 
from  its  mouth,  and  similarly  on  the  south 
on  the  Kankakee  River.  This  treaty,  it 
will  be  observed,  ceded  only  that  part  of 
Grundy  County  north  of  the  river.  In 
1818,  however,  the  Pottawatomies  ceded 
the  larger  part  of  their  remaining  posses- 
sions in  Illinois,  and  with  other  territory,  the 
balance  of  Grundy  County.  The  Indians 
did  not  at  once  abandon  the  territory  thus 
ceded,  but  under  a  provision  of  these  trea- 
ties lived  and  liunted  here  for  years, 
while  numerous  reservations  in  favor 
ot  individuals  and  families  made  these  rel- 
ics of  a  peculiar  race,  like  the  dying  embers 


of  a  great  fire,  a  familiar  sight  for  years  to 
many  of  the  present  generation. 

The  Indians  found  in  and  about  Grundy 
County  by  the  first  settlers,  were  bands  of 
the  Pottawatomie  tribe,  and  while  owninjv 
but  little  allegiance  to  any  chief,  recogtiized 
in  Shabbona  and  Wanponsee  the  represent- 
atives of  tribal  authority.  The  band  of 
the  latter  made  their  home  at  one  time  on 
the  Illinois  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Ma- 
zon  Creek,  in  Grundy  County,  but  in  1824 
they  moved  to  Paw  Paw  Grove.  Waupon- 
see  is  represented  as  a  large,  muscular  man, 
fully  six  feet  and  three  itiches  in  height. 
His  head  presented  an  unusual  feature  for 
an  Indian,  being  entirely  bald  s  ive  a  small 
scalp  lock  at  the  crown.  In  manner  he 
was  markedly  reserved  and  gave  frequent 
evidences  of  an  untamed  savage  disposition 
that  needed  only  an  opportunity  to  lapse, 
into  the  cruel   barbarity  of  earlier   years. 

He  was  a  war-chief  and  claimed  to  be  one 
hundred  years  old,  though  this  statement 
was  but  little  credited  by  the  whites.  With 
the  rest  of  his  nation  he  was  engaged  in 
the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  and  other  Indian 
demonstrations  in  the  following  years.  He 
is  credited  by  some  as  being  the  Wicicbaii- 
see  who  befriended  the  family  of  Kinzie 
after  the  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn,  but 
while  such  action,  inconsistent  as  it  is  with 
the  part  he  would  naturally  take  in  the 
attack  upon  the  retreating  garrison,  it  is 
not  without  parallel  in  Indian  history. 
However,  the  strong  impression  is  that 
these  are  two  individuals.  He  moved  with 
his  band  to  the  government  reservations  in 
the  "far  West  "in  1839,  signalizing  his 
departui-e  with  a  deed  of  barbarous  cruelty 
that  characterizes  his  memory  here.  This 
occurred  in  October,  1839,  and  is  described 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


127 


by  L.  W.  Claypool,  who  had  ample  facili- 
ties for  learning  tlie  truth,  as  follows: 
"James  MoKeen  residing  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Kankakee  River,  a  mile  above 
the  moutii,  with  a  hired  man,  John  Byei's, 
liad  been  burning  logs  in  the  afternoon. 
Some  Indians  asked  the  privilege  of  camp- 
ing there  for  the  night,  which  was  readily 
granted.  In  the  evening  they  gathered  in 
to  the  camp  to  the  numljcr  of  some  iii'ty, 
bringing  a  supply  of  whiskey.  Soon  Wau- 
ponsee  and  his  family  came,  having  camped 
the  night  before  near  our  place  (S.  W. 
i  Sec.  20,  33,  7).  My  father  and 
visited  his  camp,  as  he  was  leaving  in  the 
morning,  and  curiously  observed  their  prep- 
arations for  moving.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  one  wife,  of  middle  age — very 
attentive  to  his  wants,  adjusting  pillows  on 
his  pack-saddle  and  assisting  him  on  a 
stump  to  mouut  his  pony;  an  old  squaw — 
a  wife  evidently  not  iu  favor;  a  son,  sixteen 
or  eighteen  years  old;  son-in-law  with  wife 
and  two  or  three  children ;  and  two  slave 
squaws,  poor,  miserable,  forlorn-looking 
wretches  in  every  respect. 

"  After  supper  McKeen  and  Byers  went 
out  to  the  fires  where  the  Indians  were 
having  a  drunken  frolic.  On  approaching 
the  Indians,  they  found  a  crowd  of  savages 
about  a  log  heap,  with  one  of  the  slave 
squaws  lying  on  the  ground  near  the  fire, 
Wauponsee  stooping  over  her  and  talking 
in  a  low  voice.  Immediately  after  he  gave 
a  signal  when  the  other  slave  came  up,  and 
buried  a  squaw-ax  into  the  brains  of  the 
unfortunate  victim.  Tlie  body  was  re- 
moved to  a  pile  of  rails  lying  near,  and 
being  joined  by  other  Indians  the  orgie 
was  continued  far  into  the  nigiit.  In  the 
morning  the  Indiaus  broke  camp  and  went 


on  their  way,  when  McKeen  and  Eyers 
buried  the  unfortunate  squaw  on  the  bunks 
of  the  Kankakee. 

"  Tlie  prevailing  opinion  here  as  to  the 
reason  for  the  deed,  was  that  Wauponsee, 
realizing  the  truth  of  the  old  adage,  '  Dead 
men  tell  no  tales,'  and  that  as  their  new 
reservation  iu  the  west  joined  that  of  the 
Winnebairos,  to  which  tribe  the  squaw  orig- 
inally belonged,  fearing  that  her  relatives 
might  be  moved  to  avenge  her  ill  treatment 
received  at  his  hands,  ordered  her  execu- 
tion, and  tluis  '  took  a  bond  of  fate.'  "  AVau- 
bonsie  is  said  to  have  been  killed  by  a 
party  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  for  opposing 
them  in  the  "  Black  Hawk  War."  "  His 
scalp  was  taken  oif,  the  body  mutilated, 
and  left  on  the  prairie  to  be  devoured  by 
wolves."  * 

Shabbona,  who  shares  with  Shakespeare 
the  distinction  of  having  his  name  spelled 
in  an  endless  number  of  ways,  was  born  of 
Ottawa  parents,  on  the  Kankakee  river  in 
Will  County,  about  1775.  In  his  youth  he 
married  the  daughter  of  a  Pottawatomie 
chief,  who  had  his  village  on  the  Illinois  a 
short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Fox 
liiver.  Here  at  the  deatli  of  Spotka,  his 
father-in-law,  he  succeeded  to  the  chieftain- 
ship of  the  band,  which  soon  sought  a  more 
salubrious  spot,  and  settled  in  De  Kalb 
County,  where  he  was  found  by  the  early 
settlers.  Shabbona  seems  to  have  lacked 
none  of  those  qualities  which  were  required 
to  command  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
his  band  and  yet  he  was  possessed  of  rare  dis- 
cernment and  decision  of  character,  whioh 
led  him  early  to  see  that  war  with  the 
whites  was  hopeless,  and  that  the  only  hope 

*"  Memories  of  Shaubena,"  by  N.  Malson. 


128 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


of  the  savage  was  to  make  the  best  terms 
possible  with  the  inevitable.  To  this  pol- 
icy, he  was  one  of  the  lirst  of  his  people  to 
give  earnest  support,  and  once  |coinmitted 
to  this  line  of  action,  he  allowed  no  influ- 
ence, however  strong,  to  swerve  him  from 
it  for  a  moment. 

He  was  easily  influenced  by  the  elo- 
queu2e  of  Tecumseh,  and  became  an  ardent 
admirer  and  devoted  personal  attendant  of 
that  celebrated  warrior.  He  was  absent 
from  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  with  Tecum- 
seh, and  returned  only  to  hear  of  the  mas- 
sacre at  Fort  Dearborn,  and  to  assist  in  the 
defense  of  Kinzie  on  the  following  night. 
Believing  that  his  nation  would  join  the 
British  in  the  war  of  1812,  he  joined  his 
hero- warrior,  and  acted  as  aid  to  Tecuinseli 
until  the  latter  was  killed.  In  the  general 
pacification  of  the  tribes  after  this  war, 
Shabbona  seems  to  have  imbibed  his  peace 
policy,  to  which  he  ever  afterward  adhered- 
Whiie  not  gifted  as  an  orator,  his  reputa- 
tion for  honesty,  fidelity  to  his  nation,  and 
good  judgment,  gave  him  a  wide  influence 
among  the  more  warlike  of  his  people,  and 
in  1827,  he  rendered  valuable  service  to 
the  whites  in  dissuading  the  Pottawatomie 
nation  from  joining  the  Winnebago  war. 
In  1832,  when  Black  Hawk  strove  to  unite 
the  Indian  nations  in  a  combined  attack 
upon  the  whites,  he  met  a  fatal  obstacle  in 
the  influence  of  Shabbona  for  peace.  Not- 
withstanding every  influence  and  induce- 
ment brought  to  bear  upon  him,  the 
"  white  man's  friend  "  stood  firm,  and  was 
largely  influential  in  bringing  the  aid  of 
the  Pottawatomies  to  the  white  forces. 
Subsequently,  when  "  Black  Hawk  was  be- 
trayed into  hostilities,  and  the  news  of  the 
Indians'  first  blow  and  success  reached  him, 


he  sent  his  son  and  nephew  in  different 
directions,  while  he  went  in  still  another, 
to  warn  the  settlers  A'  the  impending  dan- 
ger, thus  saving  the  lives  of  many  in  the 
isolated  settlements,  a  service  for  which  he 
suffered  the  loss  of  his  son  and  nephew  at 
the  hand  of  the  enraged  Sacs  and  Foxes 
years  afterward.  In  the  military  opera- 
tions which  followed  with  Waubonsie, 
"Billy  Caldwell"  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  warriors,  he  enlisted  with  the  army 
under  Gen.  Atkinson,  who  at  once  placed 
him  in  command  of  the  Indian  contingent. 
After  performing  valued  service,  he  retired 
with  his  band  at  the  close  of  the  war,  to 
his  village  in  De  Kalb  County,  where  the^'' 
remained  to  the  date  .of  their  removal  to 
the  West  in  1836. 

In  consideration  of  his  services  the  nation- 
al government,  beside  many  other  tokens 
of  esteem,  reserved  a  tract  of  land  for  his 
use  at  Shabbona's  Grove,  and  granted  him 
a  pension  of  §200  per  annum.  In  the 
summer  of  1836,  however,  the  Indian  agent 
notified  him  tliat  his  band  must  go  to  the 
lands  assigned  them  in  the  West,  as  none 
but  himself  and  famil}-  could  remain  on 
the  reservation.  Much  as  he  regretted  to 
leave  the  scenes  of  his  manhood,  about 
which  gathered  his  dearest  memories,  he 
could  not  consent  to  a  separation  from  his 
band,  and  so  in  September,  the  whole  band 
came  to  Main  Bureau  Creek,  and  camping 
at  the  crossing  of  the  Peoria  and  Galena 
road,  they  remained  here  about  six  weeks 
hunting  and  fishing.  The  government  pro- 
posed to  bear  the  expense  of  their  removal 
as  in  the  case  of  other  tribes,  but  Shabbona 
rejecting  this  oflTer,  set  out  one  October 
day  with  his  band  of  about  one  hundred 
and  forty-two  souls  and  one  hundred  and  six- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


129 


tj  ponies,  for  their  lands  in  "Western  Kansas. 
Not  long  after  this  the  government 
moved  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  from  the  reser- 
vation in  Iowa  to  lands  adjoining  the  Pot- 
tawatomies.  These  tribes  entertained  tlie 
bitterest  hostility  against  Sluibbona  for 
the  part  he  took  in  the  Black  Hawk  War, 
and  Neopope,  a  chief  of  these  tribes,  had 
sworn  to  accomplish  the  destruction  of  the 
"white  man's  friend,"  together  with  his 
son  and  nephew.  In  the  fall  of  1S37, 
8!iabbona  with  liis  son  and  nepliew  and  a 
few  liunters  went  out  on  the  plains  to  liunt 
buffalo,  when  without  the  slightest  appre- 
hension of  danger  they  found  themselves 
attacked  by  a  band  of  the  Sacs.  Shabbona 
■with  liis  son  Smoke  and  four  hunters  es- 
caped, but  knowing  that  a  relentless 
Nemesis  was  on  his  track,  he  left  his 
baud  and  returned  with  liis  family  to 
his  reservation  in  De  Kalb  County;  this 
consisted  of  1,280  acres,  most  of  which 
was  fine  timbered  land.  A  clause  of  the 
treaty  conveyed  this,  and  other  reservations 
granted  them  in  fee  simple,  but  the 
Senate  struck  out  this  clause  making 
the  property  only  a  reservation.  This  fact 
escaped  tiie  notice  of  Shabbona,  and  in  1845 
he  sold  the  larger  part  of  his  land  and  re- 
turned to  Kansas  to  visit  his  band.  It  was 
soon  discovered  by  designing  persons  that 
this  transfer  was  illegal,  and  on  the  strength 
of  representations  made  at  Washington,  the 
authorities  declared  the  reservation  vacant 
and  the  transfer  void.  On  his  return  in 
1851,  he  found  his  whole  property  seques- 
tered and  himself  homeless.  This  grove 
had  been  his  home  for  nearly  fifty  years; 
here  he  had  made  the  grave  of  his  first 
squaw  and  two  papooses,  and  here  he  liad 
expected    to   lay  his   own   bones.     It   was 


natural  that  he  should  feel  a  deep  sense  of 
injury  at  this  ungrateful  requital  of  de- 
votion to  the  white  race;  but  this  was  a 
new  generation,  the  reservation  had  been 
technically  abandoned,  and  none  were 
greatly  wronged  save  the  Indian,  who  had 
not  yet  excited  the  romantic  or  humanita- 
rian interest  of  a  later  day,  and  broken- 
hearted he  went  out  to  a  retired  place  to 
implore  the  Great  Spirit,  after  the  fashion 
of  his  tribe. 

The  case  excited  the  interest  of  his  early 
friends,  who  purchased  a  small  tract  of  im- 
proved land,  with  house,  out-buildings  and 
fencing,  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Illi- 
nois near  Seneca  in  Grundy  County.  Here 
he  lived  in  a  wigwam,  his  family  occupy- 
ing the  house,  until  his  death,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four,  on  July  17,  1859.  His  re- 
mains were  laid  in  lot  59,  block  7,  in  the 
Morris  cemetery  with  elaborate  ceremony 
and  grateful  regard  of  the  whole  count3\ 
Here  rest  also  eight  of  his  familj',  five  of 
whom  were  his  children  or   grandchildren. 

Shortly  after  his  death  his  family  re- 
moved to  their  nation  in  the  West,  and 
while  his  land  is  held  by  the  County  Court 
in  trust  for  tlie  benefit  of  his  heirs,  there  is 
no  monument  to  mark  the  memory*  of  one 
whom  General  Cass  once  introduced  to 
a  distinguished  audience  at  Washington  as, 
"  Shabbona,  the  greatest   red   man    of  the 

*There  is  in  the  Court  House  at  Morris,  a  fine  life 
sized  oil  portrait  of  Shabbona,  representing  him  stand- 
ing and  arrayed  in  a  dress  coat,  presented  to  him  at 

Washington supplemented  by    Indian    finer}-, 

which  gives  him  a  picturesque  but  noble  appearance. 
This  picture  is  still  the  property  of  the  artist,  and  it 
is  to  be  regretted  that  the  State  or  N.itional  authori- 
ties do  not  see  fit  to  place  it  in  a  position  to  which  its 
artistic  merit  and  the  high  character  of  the  subject 
richly  entitle  it. 


130 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


West."  His  grandson,  Stnoke,  is  supposed 
to  be  acting  as  cliief  of  his  nation  at  this 
time. 

An  Indian  relic  which  has  given  rise  to 
many  conjectures,  is  a  cedar  pole  about  six 
inclies  in  diameter  at  the   base,  and   from 
twenty  to  twenty -five  feet  in  height  standing 
in  the  center  of  the  largest  of  the  ancient 
mounds  found   in    the    village  of  Morris. 
The  pole  stands  at  the  lower  end  of  Wau- 
ponsee  street,  its  base  protected  by  a  close 
fitting  piece  of  flagging,  and  surrounded  by 
an  iron  fence.     The  universal  respect  on 
the  part  of  the  citizens  for  this  monument 
of  tiie  past  is,  however,  its  surest  protection. 
None  of  the  Indians  with  whom  the  early 
settlers  came  in   contact  could   give  satis- 
factory accounts  of  its  erection  (indeed  they 
did  notchiini  to  know),  until  the  engineers 
who  surveyed  the  line  of  the   canal   made 
some  investigations  in  this  mound.     Some 
members  of  this    party   made  some  unau- 
thorized explorations,  and  were  rewarded  by 
the  discovery  of  some    interesting    Indian 
remains.     The  engineering  party  was  sub- 
sequently joined  by  an  Indian  named  Clark, 
who    evidently    belonged     to    the   extinct 
Illinois  nation,  and  of  him  Mr.  A.  J.  Mat- 
thewson,  the  engineer  in  charge,  obtained 
iniich  valuable  information,   wiiich  he  has 
embodied  in  a  letter  to  L.  W.  Claypool,  of 
Morris.     By  permission,  the  portion   bear- 
ing upon  matters  of  interest  to  tliis  county 
:s  given  as  follows:  Speaking  of  Clark,"  wlien 
asked,  he  said — '  Yes,  the  bones  dug  up  at 
the  cedar  pole  belonged   to   Nucqnette,   a 
celebrated  chief  who  was   killed  upon  the 
ground  and  buried  in   a  dug-out' — a  kind 
of  rude  trough  which  our  boys   found   in 
1837,  and  from  which  they  took  the  bones, 
a  bit  of  red  rust   which   had  once  been  a 


knife  blade,  and  circular  ornaments  in 
silver.  His  squaw,  who  died  years  after, 
lay  beside  liim,  her  blanket  intact,  with  a 
profusion  of  silver  brooches  and  silver  rings 
with  green  glass  sets,  upon  the  bones  of  two 
or  three  fingers  of  each  hand.  The  threads 
of  the  blanket  would  crumble  upon  touch, 
and  yet  the  teeth  and  hair  seemed  nearly 
perfect.  Tlie  pole,  a  red  cedar,  was  very 
old,  full  of  curious  cuts  and  marks,  giving 
in  a  rude  way,  as  Clark  said,  the  exploits  of 
Nucquette.  This  brute  had  a  story  of  his 
cruelties  noted  upon  that  pole,  but  the  poor 
slave  of  a  squaw  lay  there  without  a  word 
being  said  of  her.  She  was  laid  in  her 
blanket, — notliing  more. 

"I  had  found  a  curious  mound  at  the 
west  side  of  a  small  grove,  north  of  tiie 
old  river  stage  road  and  a  little  west  of 
south  from  Seneca,  and  upon  asking  Clark 
about  the  stones  carelessly  thrown  about  it 
he  said  :  '  Oh,  yes,  that  was  a  very  bad 
Indian !  Steal  horses,  etc.  They  killed  him ; 
put  him  in  this  old  mound  by  himself,' 
and  then  when  any  Indian  passed  the 
mound  he  felt  bound  to  show  his  contempt 
for  the  outcast  who  would  not,  or  did  not 
take  scalps — but  horses  (he  was  a  horse 
fancier),  and  before  reacliing  the  place  they 
would  ])ick  up  finger  stones  and  cast  them 
npon  the  mound  and  spit  upon  it,  showing 
their  utter  contempt  for  his  want  of  good 
taste  while  living. 

"Clark  said  jS'ucquette  was  killed  in 
battle — that  tiie  fight  began  at  Blue  Island. 
The  Illinois  tribe  retreated,  and  again  had 
a  fight  three  miles  east  of  Joliet,  at  a  vil- 
lage on  north  bank  of  Hickory  Creek,  where 
Oakwood  cemetery  now  is,  then  a  retreat 
and  a  hard  fight  at  Xettle  Creek  (Morris), 
the   Indian   name  for  which   has   escaped 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


131 


me  ;  tlien  a  retreat  and  pursuit  as  far  as 
Starve  Eock,  where  Clark  gave  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  siege  and  the  daring  conduct 
of  the  devoted  band,  rushing  up  to  the 
very  edge  of  the  cliff  to  challenge  the  foe 
to  combat.  Of  course,  these  were  the  acts 
of  a  few  men  in  a  desperate  situation,  but 
when  relating  these  things  the  eyes  of 
Clark,  usually  mild  enough,  would  assume 
a  ferocious  appearance  quite  shocking.  lie 
was  evidently  a  friend  of  the  weaker  party. 
He  gave  also  the  exploits  of  a  very  few 
who  escaped  down  the  Illinois  River  in  a 
skiff  and  were  pui'sued  for  days,  though 
finally  escaping.  Those  left  upon  Starve 
Eock  generally  perished.     *     *     * 

"In  regard  to  the  cedar  pole,  Clark  told 
me  the  tribe  or  some  of  them  came  at 
times,  as  late  as  1837-8,  to  replace  the 
white  flag  upon  the  pole,  when  the  winds 
had  blown  it  away.  Our  men  went  on  the 
sly  to  dig  about  the  cedar  pole  in  the 
mound,  and   upon    their   return    to  camp 


were  told  decidedly  to  go  back  and  fix  the 
mound  and  the  pole,  and  to  leave  every- 
thing as  they  found  it  or  there  would  be 
trouble  ;  that  the  savages  were  then  about, 
and  that  they  would  miss  their  top-knots  by 
delay.  I  went  back  with  them  to  see  the 
order  executed,  and  it  was.  We  had  no 
trouble  with  the  Indians  on  account  of  the 
act."* 


*  Mr.  Matthewson  adds  :  "  The  death  of  Nucquette 
was  pi'obably  between  1G80  and  1700,  and  the  cedar 
pole  may  have  been  placed  there  at  that  time."  This 
date  is  not  probably  derived  from  the  narrative  of 
Clark.  The  description  of  the  series  of  Indian  en- 
gagements and  the  incident  of  Starve  Rock  corre- 
sponds with  the  historical  account  of  the  exterminat- 
ing war  waged  by  the  Pottawatomies  and  their  allies 
against  the  Illinois  to  avenge  the  murder  of  Pontiac 
by  one  df  the  latter  nation  at  Cahokia  in  17G9.  It  is 
possible  that  Nucquette  fell  in  a  series  of  conflicts 
with  the  Iroquois,  and  that  Clark  confused  the  tra- 
ditions of  these  fights  with  those  which  terminated 
at  Starve  Rock.  Even  the  later  date  gives  the  pole  a 
respectable  antiquity. 


CHAPTER   III.* 


EARLY   FRENCH   SETTLEMENTS— FRONTIER 

COUNTIES— CIVILIZED  LIFE  IN  A  NE 

TION— FORMA'lION  OF  GRUNDY 

TX  southern  Illinois  near  the  Mississip- 
-'-  pi,  a  hundred  miles  or  more  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio,  is  situated  the  ancient 
village  of  Kaskaskia,  supposed  to  be  the 
oldest  permanent  European  settlement  in 
the  valley  of  the  Father  of  "Waters, "f  but 
while  thus  attaining  an  unparalleled  emi- 
nence in  one  particular,  it  must  not  be  sup- 
posed that  the  whole  State  permanentlj 
shared  in  this  distinction.  Though  thus 
promised  with  an  early  dawn  of  civilization 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  17th  century,  the 
promise  proved  illusive  before  the  naarch 
of  greater  events,  and  the  bright  flush  of  a 
hoped-for  day  paled  into  the  darker  obscu- 
rity of  a  more  savage  barbarism. 

In  1700,  the  settlement  of  the  French 
and  Indians  at  old  Kaskaskia  was  removed 
to  the  spot  where  the  village  of  that  name 
now  stands;  two  years  later  followed  the 
abandonment  of  Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  Illi- 
nois; and  in  171S,  the  erection  of  Fort 
Chartres  on  the  Mississippi,  sixteen  miles 
above  the  former  village,  confirmed  the 
tendency  of  the  white  population  to  con- 
centrate in  the  southern  part  of  the  State. 
About  the  fort,  rapidly  sprang  up  a  village 

*By  J.  H.  Battle. 

t  Paper  read  before  Chicago  Hist.  Soc,  by  Edward 
G.  Masou,  1S79. 


SETTLEMENTS   IN   LA  SALLE  AND    GRUNDY 
VV  COUNTRY— POLITICAL  ORGANIZA- 
COUNTY— COUNTY  BUILDINGS. 

wliich  was  subsequently  called  New  Char- 
tres ;  five  miles  away  the  village  of  Prairie 
du  Rocher  became  a  growing  settlement, 
wliile  all  along  the  river  between  K:iskaskia 
and  the  fort  a  strong  chain  of  settlements 
was  formed  within  a  year  after  the  fort  was 
finished.  The  erection  of  Fort  Chartres, 
at  this  point,  however,  was  dictated  by  na- 
tional considerations  rather  than  by  fear  of 
the  savages.  The  colonization  of  Louisiana 
consequent  upon  the  exploration  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  influx  of  colonists  who 
found  a  lionae  at  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia, 
made  this  section  the  key  to  the  French 
possessions  in  America,  the  connecting  link 
between  Canada  and  Louisiana.  Here  the 
French  settlers,  but  little  disturbed  by  the 
forays  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  pushed  their 
improvements  up  to  the  Illinois,  while 
lands  were  granted,  though  perhaps  never 
occupied,  some  distance  up  this  stream. 
The  military  force  found  occupation  in  sup- 
porting the  friendly  Illinois  tribes  against 
the  Iroquois  and  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and 
in  unsatisfactory  or  disastrous  campaigns 
against  the  Chickasaws.  In  the  meantime 
this  "  neck  of  the  woods"  was  rapidly  be- 
coming a  spot  of  national  importance. 
From  the  southwest  the  Spaniards  were 
jealously  watching  the  French  colonists, 
while  the  British  gradually  pushing  west- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


133 


ward  were  building  forts  near  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Kivei-s.  The  European  war  of 
1741-6,  in  which  France  and  England  were 
opposed,  was  eclioed  in  these  Western  wilds, 
and  it  was  found  that  the  fort  must  be 
strengthened  or  abandoned.  The  former 
coarse  prevailed,  and  in  1750  the  old  for- 
tress of  wood  was  transformed  into  one  of 
stone,  and  garrisoned  by  a  full  regiment  of 
French  grenadiers.  It  was  from  this  point 
that  an  important  contingent  went  out  to 
the  capture  of  George  Washington  and  his 
forces  at  Fort  Necessit}^  July  -4, 1754,  and 
thus  furnished  to  George  II  one  of  the 
causes  for  a  declaration  of  hostilities  and  a 
beofinning:  of  the  "  Old  French  War."  In 
the  ensuino-  war  a  detachment  burned  Fort 
Granville,  sixty  miles  from  Philadelphia  ; 
another  party  routed  Major  Grant  near 
Fort  Duquesne,  but  compelled  to  abandon 
that  fortress,  set  it  on  fire  and  floated  down 
the  river  in  the  light  of  its  destroying 
flames ;  again  a  large  detachment  aug- 
mented by  a  considerable  number  of  friend- 
ly Indians,  assisted  in  the  vain  attempt  to 
raise  the  British  siege  of  Niagara,  leaving 
dead  upon  the  field,  the  flower  of  tiie  gar- 
rison. The  fort  was  no  longer  in  condition 
to  maintain  the  oiFensive,  and  learning  that 
the  British  were  preparing  at  Pittsburgh 
to  make  a  hostile  descent  upon  him,  the 
commandant  writes  to  the  Governor-Gen- 
eral :  "  I  have  made  all  arrangements,  ac- 
cording to  my  strength,  to  receive  tlie 
iMiemy."  Tiie  victory  on  the  Plains  of 
Abraham  decided  the  contest,  but  the  little 
backwoods  citadel,  knowing  but  little  of 
the  nature  of  the  struggle,  dreamed  that  it 
might  bathe  means  of  regaining,  on  more 
successful  fields,  the  possessions  tlius  lost 
to  the  French  crown.     The  news  that  this 


fort,  with  all  territory  east  of  the  river,  had 
been  surrendered  without  so  much  as  a 
sight  of  the  enemy,  came  like  a  thnnder-clap 
upon  this  patriotic  colony.  Many  of  the 
settlers  with  Laclede,  who  had  just  arrived 
at  the  head  of  a  new  colony,  expressed 
tlieir  disgust  bv  going  to  the  site  of  St. 
Louis,  which  they  supposed  to  be  still 
French  ground. 

Though  transferred  by  treaty  to  the  Eng- 
lish in  J  763,  the  fort  was  the  last  place  in 
North  America  to  lower  the  white  ensign 
of  the  Bourbon  King,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  latter  part  ot  1765  that  the  British 
formally  accepted  the  surrender  of  Fort 
Chartres.  Pontiac,  the  unwavering  friend 
of  the  French,  took  upon  himself,  unaided 
by  his  former  allies,  to  hold  back  the  vic- 
torious English.  ]\[ajor  Loftus,  Captains 
Pitman  and  Morris,  Lieutenant  Frazer,  and 
George  Crogan,  some  with  force,  some  in 
disguise,  and  others  with  diplomacy,  sought 
to  reach  the  fort  to  accept  its  capitulation, 
but  each  one  was  foiled  and  turned  back 
with  his  mission  unaccomplished,  glad  to 
escape  the  fate  of  that  Englishman  for  which 
Pontiac  assured  them,  he  kept  a  "  kettle 
boiling  over  a  large  fire."  Wearied  out 
with  the  inactivity  of  the  French,  the  In- 
dian sought  an  audience  with  the  com- 
mandant, and  explained  his  attitude. 
"Father,"  said  the  chieftain,  "I  have  long 
wished  to  see  thee,  to  recall  the  battles 
which  we  fought  together  against  the  mis- 
guided Indians  and  the  English  dogs.  I 
love  the  French,  and  I  have  come  here  with 
my  warriors  to  avenge  their  wrongs."  But 
assured  by  St.  Auge  that  such  service 
could  no  longer  be  accepted,  lie  gave  up 
the  struggle,  and  the  flag  of  St.  George 
rose  in  the  place  of  the  fair  lilies  of  I'rance. 


134 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Tluis  another  nationality  was  projected  into 
this  restricted  arena,  a  situation  wiiich  was 
immediately  afterward  still  further  compli- 
cated by  the  secret  Franco-Spanish  f.reaty, 
which  made  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
the  boundary  of  the  Spanish  possessions. 
"  It  is  significant  of  the  different  races,  and 
the  varying  sovereignties  in  that  portion  of 
our  country,"  snja  a  writer,  "that  a  French 
soldier  from  the  Spanish  city  of  St.  Louis 
should  be  married  to  an  Englishwoman  by 
a  French  priest  in  the  British  colony  of 
Illinois." 

The  effect  of  this  political  change  upon 
the  growth  of  the  Illinois  settlements  was 
disastrous.  At  the  first  announcement  of 
the  treaty,  the  natural  hostility  of  the  peo- 
ple to  the  English  induced  large  numbers 
of  the  colonists  to  prepare  to  follow  tlie 
French  flag,  and  a  hegira  followed  which 
swept  out  of  the  colony  fully  one-third  of 
its  three  thousand  inliabitants.  There  was 
still  a  large  number  left,  forming  the  larg- 
est colony  in  the  west;  but  there  were 
forces  constantly  at  work  which  gradually 
depleted  its  numbers.  Under  the  British 
rule  an  abnormal  activity  among  traders 
and  land  speculators  was  developed.  The 
natives  were  constantly  overreached  in 
trade  by  unscrupulous  persons,  protected 
by  the  dominant  power,  and  representa- 
tives of  land  purchasing  organizations  were 
acquiring  vast  tracts  of  country  from  igno- 
rant savages,  who  had  little  comprehension 
of  the  meaning  or  consequences  of  these 
transactions.  These  schemes  and  practices, 
though  happily  brought  to  naught  by  the 
Eevolntion,  rendered  the  Indians,  for  a 
time,  savagely  hostile,  and  left  their  blight- 
in*  influence  long  after  their  remo\al. 
The  lack  of  proper  sympathy  between  the 


governing  race  and  the  governed,  the  hos- 
tility of  the  savages  in  which  they  were 
involved  with  the  British,  induced  many 
of  the  Old  French  colonists  to  leave  their 
old  homes  as  rapidly  as  they  could  make 
arrangements  to  do  so.  Unfortunately 
there  was  at  this  time  no  emigration  to 
repair  this  depletion  constantly  going  on; 
few  English  or  Americans  even  visited  this 
region,  much  less  settled  here. 

The  British  garrison  had  hitherto  occu- 
pied the  old  French  Fort  Chartres,  but  one 
day  in  1772,  the  river  having  overflowed 
its  banks,  and  swept  away  a  bastion  and 
the  river  wall,  the  occupants  fled  with  pre- 
cipitate haste  to  the  high  ground  above 
Kaskaskia,  where  they  erected  a  palisade 
fort.  This  was  the  principal  achievement 
of  the  British  forces,  up  to  the  beginning 
of  the  war  with  the  colonies.  In  this 
struggle,  removed  from  the  scene  of  active 
operations,  the  commandant,  resorting  to 
the  favorite  means  of  the  British  during 
the  entire  early  history  on  this  continent, 
furnished  supplies  and  munitions  of  war 
to  the  savages,  and  thus  equipped,  incited 
them  to  war  upon  the  unprotected  frontier 
settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky 
and  Virginia.  So  disastrous  in  their  con- 
sequences, and  distracting  in  their  influ- 
ence, were  these  attacks,  that  Col.  George 
Rogers  Clark  early  set  about  procuring 
tlie  means  to  effectually  check  them.  Rec- 
ognizing the  British  post  at  Kaskaskia  as 
the  source  of  the  Indians'  supplies  and 
inspiration,  he  directed  his  efforts  toward 
the  capture  of  this  point,  and  enlisting  tlie 
interest  of  Patrick  Henry,  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, securing  such  help  as  he  could  give, 
Clark  was  able  on  June  24,  177S,  to  start 
from    the    falls    of    the    Ohio    with    one 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


137 


hundred  and  fifty-three  men  for  lower 
Illinois.  So  skillfully  did  he  manage  his 
movements  that  he  cauj^ht  the  garrison 
napping,  and  captured  on  tiie  5th  of  July, 
both  force  and  fort  without  the  spilling  of 
a  drop  of  blood.  Cahokia  fell  in  like 
manner  without  a  blow,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing October,  the  Virginia  Assembly  erected 
the  whole  country  secured  by  Clark's  sev- 
eral victories,  into  the  county  of  Illinois; 
a  territory  now  divided  into  five  States. 

This  county  thus  erected  was  at  once 
placed  under  control  of  civil  authority, 
John  Todd  representing  tlie  sovereignty  of 
Virginia  as  Count}'  Lieutenant.  His  in- 
structions were  broad  enough  to  meet  the 
wliole  case;  he  was  to  conciliate  the  French 
and  Indians;  to  inculcate  on  the  people  the 
value  of  liberty,  and  to  remove  the  griev- 
ances that  obstruct  the  happiness,  increase 
and  prosperity  of  tliat  countrj'.  These  cer- 
tainly were  the  great  ends  to  be  aciiieved 
if  possible,  but  in  the  nature  of  things 
their  accomplishment  was  not  possible. 
The  French  population  were  easily  concili- 
ated, but  the  education  of  a  life-time,  and 
the  hereditary  characteristics  of  the  race 
rendered  thetn  incapable  of  appreciating 
the  value  of  liberty.  They  had  grown  up 
under  the  enervating  influence  of  the  must 
arbitrary  manifestations  of  nionarchial  gov- 
ernment, and  self-government  involved  too 
great  a  risk  for  this  simple  folk.  The  re- 
sult was  a  lack  of  sympathy  with  the  new 
order  of  things,  more  decided  perhaps  than 
under  Britisli  rule.  To  this  was  added  a 
business  competition,  to  which  they  were 
unaccustomed;  more  frequent  hostile  in- 
cursions of  the  Indians  in  which  the  sav- 
ages gradually  forgot  the  old-time  love  for 
the  French,  and  repeated  losses  by  the  in- 


undations of  the  river,  made  up  a  sum 
of  discouragement  which  gradually  deple- 
ted this  country  of  the  French  inhabitants. 
This  loss  was  but  imperfectly  repaired  by 
the  immigration  whicli  came  in  from  Vir- 
ginia and  Mai'yland.  Notwithstanding  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  had  been  widely  pub- 
lished, and  a  considerable  number  had  al- 
ready found  much  better  advantages  here 
than  the  older  colonies  afforded,  3'et  the 
Indian  depredations  that  followed  the  Rev- 
olutionary war,  deterred  others  from  fol- 
lowing until  the  general  pacitioation  at 
Greenville  in  1795. 

In  1787,  the  whole  country  northwest  of 
the  Ohio  was  erected  into  the  Northwest 
Territory,  and  in  February,  1789,  General 
Artiiur  St.  Clair  arrived  at  Kaskaskia  as 
first  Territorial  Governor.  Among  the 
earliest  acts  of  his  administration  was  the 
erection  of  the  first  county,  including  all 
of  the  present  State  extending  north  as  far 
as  the  mouth  of  Little  Mackinaw  Creek 
(now  in  Tazewell  County),  and  named  St. 
Clair  after  the  governor.  May  7,  1800, 
Ohio  was  set  off  and  the  balance  of  the  ter- 
ritory called  Indiana;  on  February  3, 1809, 
the  Illinois  territory  was  constituted,  in- 
cluding the  present  State  with  the  State  of 
Wisconsin,  and  on  April  18,  181S,  the 
present  State  of  Illinois  was  admitted  into 
the  union.  These  dates  are  ajiproximate 
indications  of  the  advance  of  settlements 
in  the  State.  The  population  in  1809  was 
estimated  at  9,000;  in  the  census  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  a  total  population  of  12,282 
was  returned.  The  frontiers  had  been 
steadily  advanced  by  the  adventurous  pio- 
neers. To  the  north,  the  settlement  had 
extended  to  tiie  Wood  River  country,  in 
the  present  Madison  County;  eastward  on 


]33 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Silver  Creek  and  up  the  Kaskaskia  River; 
south  and  east  from  Kaskaskia,  some  fif- 
teen miles  out  on  the  Fort  Massac  road;  a 
family  had  also  located  at  the  mouth  of  the 
0hio,  and  at  old  Massac  and  Shawneetown 
were  the  remains  of  old  colonies.  The  new 
settlements  were  very  sparse  and  all  feeble, 
and  from  ISIO  to  the  close  of  the  war,  four 
years  later,  immigration  was  almost  at  a 
standstill.*  With  the  close  of  hostilities, 
however,  and  the  cessation  of  Indian  ag- 
gressions, stimulated  by  the  passage  of  the 
act  granting  the  right  of  pre-emption  to 
settle  upon  the  public  lands,  the  tide  of 
emigration  set  in  toward  this  State  with 
unequaled  volume. 

At  the  time  of  the  admission  of  the  State, 
fifteen  counties  had  been  organized,  em- 
bracing about  one  fourth  of  the  territory 
of  the  State.  The  settled  portions  were  all 
south  of  a  line  drawn  from  Alton  via  Car- 
lyle  to  Palestine,  on  the  Wabash,  but 
within  this  area  were  large  tracts  of  unset- 
tled country,  several  day's  journey  in  ex- 
tent. At  this  time  there  were  some  iO,000 
inhabitants,  of  whom  scarcely  a  twentieth 
part  were  descendants  of  the  old  French 
colonists.  Nineteen-twentieths  of  the  bal- 
ance were  Americans  from  the  Southern 
states,  with  the  exception  of  some  from 
Pennsylvania.  In  1820,  the  population  was 
returned  at  157.447,  while  the  political 
organization  represented  fifty-six  counties, 
though  some  of  the  northern  ones  were 
large  and  thinly  settled.  The  territory 
Ij'ing  between  Galena  and  Chicago,  extend- 
ing southward  to  the  Kaskaskia,  the  head- 
waters of  the  Yermillion,  along  the  Eock 
Eiver,    and    tar   down  into  tlie   "  Military 

*Hist.  of  111..  Davidson  &  StuvC-,  pp.  '24-5-246. 


Tract,"  was  a  trackless  waste  occupied  by 
various  Indian  tribes.  The  results  of  emi- 
gration had  been  shown  in  the  interior  of 
the  southern  part  of  the  State,  and  the 
country  bordering  the  Embarrass,  the  San- 
gamon and  their  tributaries,  where  the 
hitherto  unoccupied  wilderness  had  been 
made  to  blossom  with  the  harvest  of  the 
frontier  farmer.  The  advanced  settlements 
still  clunof  to  the  eduje  of  the  timber  lands 
that  fringed  the  streams,  an^l  along  the 
Illinois  to  Chicago — which  was  just  then 
beffinnino  to  attract  attention — were  found 
at  this  time  a  few  scattered  settlements, 
weak  in  numbers  and  situated  long  dis- 
tances apart.  The  tide  of  emigration  which 
continued  to  sweep  into  the  State — some- 
what changed  in  character — coming  largely 
from  the  Eastern  States,  and  comprising  a 
considerable  percentage  of  foreigners,  fol- 
lowed the  old  channels,  and  gradually 
spread  over  the  northern  part  of  the  State 
until  it  met  the  tide  which  came  latterly 
by  way  of  the  lake  region.  The  rapidly 
increasing  demand  for  the  organization  of 
new  counties  at  this  period,  gave  sure  indi- 
cation of  this  rapid  development  of  the 
State. 

Up  to  1812,  St.  Clair  and  Randolph  Coun- 
ties had  sufficed,  but  for  the  purposes  of 
better  representation  in  the  territorial  coun- 
cil, three  more  counties  were  added  at  this 
time.  In  1815,  two  more  were  added;  in 
1816,  five;  in  ISIS,  three;  and  in  1821, 
seven.  Of  the  latter  were  Sangamon  and 
Pike,  the  latter  including  all  of  the  State 
north  and  west  of  the  Illinois,  and  what 
is  now  Cook  County.  Sangamon  included 
the  territory  east  of  the  river  to  the  boun- 
dary of  Pike  on  the  north.  In  1825,  the 
county  of  Peoria  was  formed  of  the  north- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


139 


ern  part  of  Sangamon,  and  in  1831,  Peoria 
was  divided  and  La  Salle  formed,  which 
then  included  what  is  now  Grundy  County, 
and  the  larger  part  of  Kendall. 

The  advancing  tide  of  emigration  coming 
up  airing  the  river  made  its  tirst  permanent 
settlement  on  the  territory  of  the  present 
county  of  La  Salle,  near  the  present  site  of 
South  Ottawa,  in  1823-4—5.  As  early  as 
1821,  Joel  Hodgson  came  in  the  interest  of 
several  families  resident  in  Clinton  County, 
Ohio,  to  seek  a  place  suitable  for  the  found- 
ing of  a  colony.  Crossing  Indiana,  he  en- 
tered the  State  of  Illinois  near  the  present 
site  of  Danville,  and  guided  only  by  his 
compass  and  an  occasional  Indian  trail,  he 
reached  the  Illinois,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Kankakee,  and  following  the  larger  stream 
down  to  the  mouth  of  tlie  Fox  River,  he,  for 
the  first  time  since  lie  entered  the  State,  rec- 
ognized his  position  on  the  map  with  which 
lie  was  provided.  He  carefully  explored 
the  land  along  the  Illinois  and  its  tributa- 
ries in  this  region,  making  his  way  finally 
to  the  settlement  at  Dillon's  Grove,  where 
he  met  the  first  white  men  after  leaving 
Danville.  It  is  not  a  flattering  considei-a- 
tion  to  those  who  now  rejoice  in  pleasant 
homes  and  fruitful  farms  in  this  section,  to 
recall  that  this  explorer  returned  to  his 
])rincipals  only  to  report  that  tliere  was  no 
hind  here  suitable  for  the  purposes  of  the 
proposed  colony.  But  there  were  not  lack- 
ing those  who  could  see  bej^ond  the  present 
forbidding  aspect,  and  who  had  the  courage 
to  dare  and  do.  In  1827,  there  were  some  fif- 
teen or  eighteen  families  within  the  present 
territory  of  La  Salle,  situated  some  distances 
apart  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  The  col- 
ony located  south  of  the  river,  included  a 
considerable  part  of  tliis  numbei',  and  when 


the  news  of  the  Winnebago  outbreak 
reached  them,  although  the  scene  of  action 
was  a  long  distance  off,  they  realized  that 
they  were  on  the  frontier,  and  at  the  mercy 
of  a  horde  of  savages  whose  motives  and 
impulses  could  not  safely  be  conjectured, 
and  they  at  once  set  about  building  a  fort 
which  served  as  a  rallying  point  for  the  pio- 
neers in  this  section.  The  speck  of  war, 
however,  soon  vanished,  and  emigration, 
temporarily  stayed,  began  again  to  push  its 
way  up  the  Illinois.  In  1828,  the  first  settler 
on  the  present  territory  of  Grundy  County 
made  his  appearance  in  the  person  of  Will- 
iam Marquis.  He  came  untrarameled  by 
contingencies,  and  upon  no  uncertain  mis- 
sion ;  he  came  here  to  stay,  and  settling  on 
the  banks  of  the  Illinois,  above  the  mouth 
of  Mazon  Creek,  he  reared  his  cabin  and 
was  found  here  by  those  who  reached  this 
country  after  the  Black  Hawk  War.  Dur- 
ing these  hostilities,  the  brunt  of  which 
fell  upon  the  settlements  of  La  Salle  County, 
Marquis,  although  a  trader  and  on  the 
best  of  terms  with  the  natives,  found 
greater  security  in  the  protection  of  the 
fort  at  Ottawa  than  in  the  friendly  dispo- 
sition of  his  patrons,  and  spent  the  interval 
at  the  settlement.  He  did  not  return  to 
his  place  on  the  Mazon,  but  settled  fur- 
ther north  in  the  county,  and  later  left  for 
the  more  unsettled  parts,  where  trading 
with  the  Indians  was  more  profitable. 

The  second  family  in  the  county  was  that 
of  AVilliam  Hoge,  who  settled  north  of  the 
river  in  what  is  now  Nettle  Creek  town- 
ship, in  the  fall  of  1831.  Here  the  lirs; 
white  child  of  the  county,  James  B.  Hoge, 
was  born.  May  6,  1S3L  In  1833  a  iiuml)er 
of  fixmilies  came  in  and  settled  on  both 
sides  of  the  river;  John  Beard,  Sr.,  and  his 


140 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


son-in-law,  James  McKeen,  settled  near  the 
Kankakee  north  of  the  river,  the  latter 
building  the  first  house  in  Morris,  a  log 
structure,  for  John  P.  Chapin,  in  May, 
1S34.  Col.  Sayers  built  a  cabin  in  AYau- 
ponsee,  wliich  was  occupied  in  tlie  following 
year  by  W.  A.  IloUoway;  W.  R.  Perkins 
built  his  cabin  in  Au  Sable;  Zachariah 
Walley  settled  iu  the  same  township,  and 
A.  K.  Owen  in  Mazon.  The  latter  in  a 
published  autobiography  sa^'s:  "At  the 
close  of  the  war  (Black  Hawk)  I  sold  my 
claim  on  Corille  Creek  to  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Moore,  and  in  the  following  spring 
Edwin  Shaw,  Dr.  S.  S.  Robbins,  Sheldon 
Bartholomew,  John  Hogoboom  and  myself 
litted  out  an  exploring  expedition,  and  on 
the  second  day  arrived  safe  and  sound  at 
the  celebrated  Sulphur  Spring  on  Mazon 
Creek,  and  proceeded  to  make  claims  as 
follows,  to  wit:  Dr.  Robbins  at  the  Sulphur 
Spring,  John  Hogoboom  at  John  Grove, 
Shaw  and  Bartholomew  at  Parers'  Groves, 
and  myself  on  the  south  branch  of  the 
Mazon,  one  mile  below  Mazon  Town. 

"While  we  were  exploring  we  made  head- 
quarters at  Johnny  Grove,  and  on  leaving 
we  organized  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  of 
naming  the  different  points  selected.  Dr. 
Robbins  proposed  that  from  its  location,  it 
should  be  called  Center  Grove,  but  I  pro- 
posed that  it  should  be  called  John  Grove, 
in  honor  of  John  Hogoboom,  the  wealthy 
proprietor,  and  my  name  was  adopted,  so 
the  name  is  John  Grove  in  place  of  Johnny 
Grove.  AVauponsee — tradition  had  it  that 
the  old  chief  had,  in  a  drunken  fit,  taken  his 
butcher  knife  and  killed  six  wives  in  one 
dav,  so  from  this  and  the  tact  that  he  had 
lived  here  during  the  Black  Hawk  War,  we 
gave  the  name  of  Wauponsee  Grove.     Pa- 


rer's  Grove  was  christened  Spring  Grove, 
in  honor  of  a  big  spring  I  found  just  at  the 
foot  of  the  grove,  but  as  these  claimants 
failed  to  put  in  an  appearance,  it  was  sub- 
sequently claimed  by  an  Englishman  by 
the  name  of  Parer,  hence  the  name.  Sul- 
phur Spring  was  called  Robbins'  Sulphur 
Spring,  and  my  claim  Owen's  Spring,  with 
reference  to  a  spring  at  the  top  of  the  bank 
and  a  small  point  of  timber  running  into 
the  prairie,  which  I  subsequently  cleared 
off.  I  think  this  was  in  the  spring  of  1833." 
In  the  following  year  Robbins  alone  moved 
onto  his  claim.  Early  in  the  same  spring 
also  came  James  McCartj',  an  old  bachelor, 
who  took  two  or  three  acres  in  Wauponsee 
Grove.  He  built  him  a  little  camp  and 
raised  a  crop  of  corn  which  he  put  in  with 
a  hoe.  In  the  fall  he  erected  a  shelter  out 
of  the  stalks,  in  which  he  passed  the  winter. 
About  this  time  came  also  the  families  of 
Claypool,  Collins,  Crydei',  Tabler,  Chapin, 
Cragg,  Hollands,  Kent,  Millers,  Griggs, 
Ewing,  Adkins,  Newport,  Taylor,  Robbs, 
Eubauks,  Snowhill,  Samuel  and  Isaac  Iloge 
and  others.  These  were  the  principal  fam- 
ilies here  before  the  government  land  sale 
of  June  15,  1835. 

The  early  settlers  here  found  the  public 
lands  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  sliape. 
Congress,  in  1827,  had  granted  to  the 
State  in  aid  of  a  proposed  canal,  the  alter- 
nate sections  found  in  the  space  of  five 
miles  on  each  side  of  the  proposed  line  of 
its  construction.  These  lands  were  resur- 
veyed  by  the  State  in  1829;  the  "odd 
sections"  selected,  Chicago  and  Ottawa 
laid  ofi',  and  in  1830,  some  lots  brought 
into  market.  Under  this  sale,  the  only 
property  bought  in  Grundy  County,  was 
the   purchase   of  'Mr.   William    Iloge   on 


HrSTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


141 


Nettle  Creek.  Up  to  lS34r,  the  Congress 
liuuis  were  subject  to  pre-eiii])tion,  and 
tliose  who  came  prior  to  that  date  found 
no  difficulty  in  securing  the  property  upon 
which  they  had  made  improvements. 
The  larger  number  of  Grundy  County's 
pioneers,  however,  came  subse(j\icnt  to  1833 
hoping  that  the  privilege  of  ])re-emption 
would  be  extended.  This,  the  government 
did  not  do,  but  ordered  a  sale  of  the  lands. 
In  the  meanwhile,  considerable  improve- 
ments had  been  made;  each  man  striving 
to  include  all  the  land  that  the  old  pre- 
emption law  would  allow.  In  February, 
1835,  tlie  lands  were  advertised  to  be  sold; 
Ranges  1,  2  and  3  east,  and  all  west  of 
them  from  tlie  southern  line  of  township 
13,  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State, 
at  Galena;  and  from  range  3,  to  the  eastern 
border  of  the  State,  at  Chicago.  The  sale 
began  at  Chicago,  on  June  15,  the  land 
being  ofi'ered  at  auction,  and  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder  above  $1.25  per  acre.  The 
sale  at  the  latter  place  was  the  one  in 
which  the  settlers  of  this  county  were 
interested,  and  they  soon  found  their  worst 
fears  realized.  The  town  of  Chicago  was 
full  of  land  speculators,  who  were  ready  to 
l)id  against  the  settlers  for  lands  npon 
which  they  had  "squatted  "  and  improved. 
The  sale  was  made  by  ranges,  and  matters 
went  quietly  forward  until  a  spirited  con- 
test arose  over  some  land  at  Marseilles,  on 
which  Ephraim  Sprague  had  erected  a  saw- 
mill. That  night  there  was  a  meeting  of 
settlers  and  speculators,  and  finding  that 
the  land- holders  were  bound  to  assert  their 
prior  claim  by  force  if  need  be,  the 
speculators  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and 
agreed  that  the  actual  settlers  should  have 
the    privilege    of    purchasing   a   quarter- 


section  without  competition.  To  carr^- out 
this  arrangement,  a  committee  of  three 
from  each  township  was  appointed,  who 
should  certify  to  the  actual  settlers,  and 
appoint  a  man  who  should  bid  off  the 
property.  Instead  of  several  persons.  Dr. 
Goddard  was  chosen  to  bid  off  the  property 
in  the  region  covering  La  Salle  County, 
as  then  constituted.  This  arranjjement 
greatly  discouraged  the  foreign  land 
speculators,  and  it  is  said  $500,000  left  thi 
town  on  the  followinij  morninff.  Thus 
weakened  and  discouraged,  the  speculators 
conceded  to  the  settlers  the  privilege  of 
peaceably  bidding  oflf  more  than  a  quarter- 
section,  provided  their  improvements  cov- 
ered more  land,  and  on  reaching  range  8, 
Salmon  Rntherford  claimed  the  right  to 
bid  off  in  this  way,  all  he  had  money  to 
buy,  and  this  being -conceded,  became  the 
rule  of  the  sale.  This  land  auction,  which 
continned  for  upwards  of  two  weeks,  was 
held  for  a  day  or  two  on  the  steps  of  a  store 
which  stood  where  121  Lake  street  now  is, 
this  spot  proving  to  be  too  muddy  for 
comfort,  the  sale  was  adjourned  to  Garrett's 
new  auction  rooms  near  South  Water  street, 
where  the  weight  of  the  crowd,  breaking 
down  some  part  of  the  structure,  the  sale 
was  finished  in  a  store  room  on  South 
Water  street.  On  the  second  of  August 
following,  the  books  were  opened  for  entries 
and  then  tlie  speculators,  having  little 
opposition,  bought  every  available  piece  of 
timber  in  the  northeast  part  of  'rie  State. 
As  this  section  of  the  country  gradually 
became  settled  and  less  dependent  upon  the 
older  settlements,  the  county  seat  at  Ottawa 
was  felt  to  be  at  too  great  distance  from  the 
northern  limits  of  the  count}'.  The  demands 
of  a   frontier   farm  rendered  the   loss  of 


142 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


several  days  on  the  occasion  of  every  nec- 
essary visit  to  the  county  capital  a  serious 
burden,  while  the  tedious  character  of 
traveling  facilities  aggravated  the  burden 
by  the  discomfort  of  the  journey.  In 
addition  to  this  it  was  felt  that  those  por- 
tions of  the  county  which  had  readier  access 
to  the  county  seat  had  an  undue  influence, 
which  acted  to  the  prejudice  of  the  less 
represented  limits.  These  motives,  what- 
ever else  may  have  entered  into  the 
movement,  were  sufficient  to  create  a  desire 
for  a  division  of  the  county.  Jacob  Clay- 
pool,  in  settling  in  Wauponsee,  with  shrewd 
forecast,  had  satisfied  his  mind  tliat  tlie 
distance  between  Ottawa  and  Joliet — the 
latter  not  then  a  county  seat,  but  of  such 
growing  importance  that  lie  believed  it 
could  not  be  ignored  in  the  formation  of  a 
county — left  space  for  another  county  with 
its  center  near  the  present  location  of  Mor- 
ris. The  natural  discontent  of  this  section 
of  the  county  was  therefore  first  crystallized 
by  the  eftbrts  of  Mr.  Claypool  and  G.  "W". 
Armstrong,  who,  thougli  not  so  far  distant 
trom  Ottawa,  became  interested  in  the 
movement.  It  was  a  year  or  two  before  the 
idea  secured  supporters  enough  to  challenge 
the  serious  attention  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
county,  but  when  it  did  tliere  was  consider- 
able opposition  manifested.  However,  the 
unwieldy  size  of  La  Salle  was  manifest,  and 
the  opposition  finally  addressed  itself  to  the 
eflTort  to  confine  the  surrender  to  as  small  a 
territory  as  possible.  The  supporters  of 
the  proposition  for  a  new  county,  while 
united  against  those  who  opposed  the  divis- 
ion, were  by  no  means  united  as  to  the 
line  of  division.  The  friends  of  the  Grundy 
County  plan  were  surrounded  by  those  who 
desired  a  diflerent  division  with  reference 


to  other  interests,  giving  rise  to  a  conflict 
of  interests  that  afforded  scope  for  diplo- 
matic management  and  rendered  the  issue  by 
no  means  certain.  The  supporters  of  the 
Kendall  County  division,  having  "  pooled 
their  issues "  with  those  of  Grundy,  the 
prospects  of  success  visibly  brightened.  In 
the  fall  of  1840,  Wm.  E.  Armstrong,  a  man 
of  energy  and  ability,  seeing  that  the  for- 
mation of  Grundy  might  be  turned  to 
speculative  account,  interested  himself  in 
the  project,  and  securing  in  addition  to 
others  a  numerously  signod  petition  for  tlie 
two  counties,  presented  it  to  the  General 
Assembly  in  the  winter  of  ISrW^l;  by 
which  bills  erecting  the  counties  of  Kendall 
and  Grundy  were  passed,  the  latter  being 
approved  by  the  Governor  Feb.  17,  1841, 
and  the  Kendall  bill  two  days  later. 

At  this  time  the  public  interest  was  cen- 
tered in  the  building  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal,  the  construction  of  which 
was  being  delayed  by  lack  of  funds,  aud  all 
public  measures  were  made  more  or  less 
subsidiary  to  this  object.  It  was  therefore 
required  in  the  act  erecting  Grundy  Count}', 
that  the  "  Seat  of  Justice''  should  be  locat- 
ed "  on  the  line  of  the  Illinois  and  Michi- 
gan Canal,  on  canal  lands,"  of  which  terri- 
tory, not  to  exceed  ten  acres,  was  to  be  laid 
off  "  as  a  town  site,  embracing  lots,  streets, 
alleys  and  a  public  S(piare;"  the  lots  thus 
formed  to  be  assigned  one  half  to  the  State 
aud  one  half  to  the  county,  "  in  alternate  lots 
of  equal  value."  For  the  lots  assigned  to 
the  State,  the  county  was  to  pay  ten  dol- 
lars an  acre,  and  this  revenue  devoted  by 
the  Canal  Commissioners  to  the  purposes 
of  the  canal.  A  board  to  carry  out  these 
provisions  of  the  act  was  constituted,  to  be 
composed  of  the    Canal    Commissioners, 


lUSTUUY  OF  GUUXDY  COUNTY. 


143 


lion.  Newton  Cloud  and  Gens.  Thornton 
and  Fry, and  William  E.  Arnistronnj,  K.  S. 
Diiryea  and  Gen.  W.  B.  Burnett,  the  latter 
an  enjjinccr  on  the  catial.  A  <^lance  at  the 
situation  demonstrated  the  fact  that  to  se- 
cure anj'tliinii;  near  a  central  location,  the 
county  seat  would  necessarily  be  placed  on 
section  7  or  9,  in  township  33,  range  7. 
Section  9,  was  objectionable  to  the  Canal 
Commissioners,  as  there  was  but  a  frac- 
tion of  its  northeast  corner  north  of  the 
river,  and  this  was  the  only  portion  suitable 
for  a  town  site.  Section  7  was  objection- 
able to  the  local  members  of  the  board, 
])rincipally  because  their  lands  were  locat- 
ed in  the  vicinity  of  the  other  position, 
and  that  the  approach  to  the  site  from  tlie 
south,  would  be  over  the  low  bottoms 
which  would  oblige  travel  to  make  a  con- 
siderable detour.  Such  a  conflict  of  inter- 
ests left  no  room  for  compromise,  and  the 
result  of  a  vote  was  a  dead-lock,"  Gen. 
Burnett  voting  with  the  local  members. 
Under  the  organizing  act  an  election  was 
held  at  the  cabin  of  Columbus  Pinney, 
May  24,  1841,  with  Perry  A.  Claypool, 
Robert  "Walker  and  John  Beard,  Sr.,  as 
judges  of  election.  One  hundred  and 
fortj'-eight  votes  were  cast,  which,  as  there 
was  a  spirited  contest  over  these  first  of- 
fices, represented  the  entire  population.  It 
should  be  noted,  however,  that  about  one 
third  of  these  votes  represented  an  Irish 
element  brought  here  by  the  work  on  the 
canal,  and  stayed  here  but  a  short  time.  In 
this  election,  Henry  Cryder,  Jacob  Chiy- 
])ool  and  James  McKeen  were  made  county 
commissioners;  James  Nagle,  clerk;  L.  W. 
Claypool,  recorder;    Isaac   Hoge,    sherifl^,* 

*AIr.  Hoge  refused  to  qualify,  and  at  a  special 
election  held  Sept.  25,  1841,  William  E.  Armstrong 
was  elected. 


Joshua  Collins,  probate  justice;  f  and  J.  L. 
Pickering,  treasurer.;):  On  June  14,  1841, 
the  commissioners  elect  with  James  Nagle  as 
clerk,  met  at  the  house  of  William  E.  Arm- 
strong, and  after  attending  to  the  prelim- 
inary duties  in  relation  to  oaths  and  bonds, 
proceeded  to  organize  the  county.  On  the 
organization  of  La  Salle  (Jounty  ranges  1  and 

2  constituted  VermilUon  Precinct;  ranges 

3  and  4  Ottawa  Precinct,  and  ranges  5,  6,  7 
and  8  the  Eastern  Precinct.  In  June,  1834, 
a  "Northern  Precinct"  was  erected  includ- 
ing An  Sable  Grove  and  vicinity,  and  a 
year  later,  in  June,  1835,  Wauponsce  was 
erected,  embracing  the  whole  of  what  is 
)iow  Grundy  County.  In  the  following 
December  that  part  of  Wauponsee  and  the 
county  north  of  the  river  was  divided  into 
two  precincts,  the  dividing  line  starting  at 
the  river  on  the  line  between  sections  3  and 
4,  township  33,  li.  7,  and  going  to  section 
21,  36,  7.  The  territory  east  of  this  line 
was  known  as  Franklin,  and  west  of  this 
line  as  Grafton.  The  newly  formed  county 
was  in  this  shape  when  the  first  Board  of 
Commissioners  sat  down  to  arrange  its 
political  divisions.  At  their  first  session 
they  formed  tlie  first  precinct,  composed 
of  all  of  township  34,  in  range  8,  north  of 
the  Illinois  and  Desplaines  Rivers,  and 
called  it  Dresden;  the  second,  comjiosed 
of  all  territory  north  of  the  river  in  ranges 
6  and  7,  they  called  Jefferson;  the  third 
composed  of  all  territory  comprised  in 
range  6,  and  the  west  half  of  range  7  south 
of  the  river,  they  called  Wauponsee;  and 
the  fourth,  composed  of  all  territory  south 
of  the  river,  and  east  of  the  middle  line  of 

fL.  S.  Robbins  was  elected  subsequently,  in  place 
of  Mr.  Collins  who  failed  to  qualify. 

tSidney  Dunton  was  elected  first  treasurer  but 
failed  to  qualify. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUXTY. 


range  7,  they  called  Kankakee.  Subse- 
quently, on  December  6,  ISil,  Grnndy 
Precinct  was  erected  out  of  the  east  side 
of  Jefferson,  and  comprised  all  of  7'an2;e  7, 
north  of  the  river.  On  September  8, 1847, 
Mazon  Precinct  was  erected  out  of  tlie 
Territory  of  Kankakee,  lying  south  of  an 
east  and  west  line  drawn  through  the  mid- 
dle of  sections  25  and  30,  in  township  33, 
range  8,  and  continued  through  sections  25 
and  27,  in  township  33,  range  7.  There 
were  no  further  changes  until  March  2, 
1850,  wlien  under  the  new  Constitution, 
the  Board  of  Supervisors  through  George 
II.  Kiersted,  Phillip  Collins  and  Robert 
Gibison  acting  as  commissioners,  made  the 
precinct  lines  to  coincide  with  the  townsliip 
lines,  save  where  the  rivers  made  a  devia- 
tion necessary.  Tlie  present  names  and 
lines  are  those  fixed  at  that  time  save  in 
the  case  of  the  boundaries  of  Felix  which 
was  attached  to  Wanponsee,  and  was 
named  and  given  a  separate  existence  Nov. 
22,  1854.  The  present  boundaries  between 
the  two  townships  were  arranged  on  peti- 
tion of  their  citizens,  September  9,  1856. 
The  original  names  of  Fairview,  Addison 
and  Dover  were  changed  by  the  request  of 
the  State  auditor,  respectively  to  "  Ari- 
anna,"  Braceville  and  Goodfarra. 

One  of  the  first  duties  imposed  upon 
the  County  Commissioners  by  the  act  cre- 
ating Grundy  County,  was  to  "  prepare  a 
place  for  holding  courts  in  said  county." 
The  county  at  this  time  possessed  neither 
buildings  nor  land,  and  it  was  ordered  that 
the  house  of  Wm.  E.  Armstrong  be  used 
for  the  court.  This  seemed  to  be  the  most 
available  place  for  the  purpose,  and  con- 
tinued to  be  so  used,  notwitiistanding  a 
formal   protest  by  Mr.    Cryder,  until  the 


May  term  in  1S43,  when  Mr.  Armstrong, 
having  erected  a  frame  wooden  building 
20  by  40  feet  and  two  stories  high,  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  present  court  house 
lot,  the  court  was  transferred  to  this  new 
temple  of  justice.  In  the  meanwiiile  the 
"dead-lock"  on  the  question  of  locating 
had  been  broken,  and  the  matter  decided 
in  favor  of  its  present  location.  The  com- 
missioners, therefore,  finding  this  building 
suitably  located,  bought  the  building  which, 
after  having  it  "lathed  and  plastered,"  cost 
a  total  of  $485.36.  The  county  ofiices  were 
in  the  upper  story,  the  east  room  being  as- 
signed to  the  Clerk,  and  tlie  southwest 
room  to  the  Recorder.  As  the  court  room 
was  the  most  available  hall  in  the  town,  it 
found  considerable  demand  for  this  object 
other  than  that  to  which  it  had  been  devot- 
ed, and  its  use  was  finally  restricted  to  re- 
ligious, political  and  court  purposes.  This 
modest  edifice  survived  until  the  erection 
of  the  present  courthouse  which  cost  $22,- 
760,  and  was  accepted  April  26,  1858.  The 
"  Commissioners'  Court,"  as  it  was  called, 
rivaled  the  Circuit  Court  in  importance. 
It  provided  for  court  and  jury,  for  prisoner 
and  pauper;  it  ordered  roads  and  licensed 
ferries,  regulated  the  early  tavern's  bill  of 
fare  and  laid  its  paternal  hand  on  trade;  it 
was  in  that  day  the  sole  arbiter  of  the  coun- 
ty's destiny.  The  difficulties  nnder  which 
this  executive  board  of  the  county  labored 
haAC  been  long  forgotten  and  now  find  ex- 
pression only  in  the  musty  records  of  that 
time.  The  oft  recurrence  of  the  same 
names  in  the  list  of  juries,  the  chiims  made 
for  "  guarding  prisoners,"  and  sums  paid 
for  the  care  of  paupers,  suggest  a  lack  of 
resources  in  both  means  and  men,  which 
was   characteristic   of    pioneer  days.     An 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


145 


incident,  published  by  Mr.  Perry  Arm- 
sfront^,  "  points  the  moral."  Michael  D. 
Prendegast,  a  man  of  fair  scholastic  acquire- 
ments, but  of  inordinate  self-esteem,  in 
August,  18-17,  was  elected  Probate  Justice 
of  the  Peace  by  the  large  Irish  vote  which 
was  then  an  important  element  in  county 
politics.  His  success  stimulated  his  vanitj', 
wliieli  he  betrayed  by  signing  his  name 
"  Michel  De  Prendegast,"  and  adorning 
his  person  with  a  Catalonian  cloak,  stove- 
pipe hat  and  a  fancy  ivory  headed  cane.  His 
wife  expressed  the  famil}'  pride  by  remark- 
ing to  a  friend:  "My husband  is  none  of 
your  common  justices  like  Pat  Hynds;  he 
is  the  reprobate  justice  of  the  peace." 

The  greatness  thus  thrust  upon  him 
could  not  satisfy  all  the  demands  of  his 
earlier  tastes,  and  the  "  De  Prendegast"  was 
found,  one  Sunday  evening,  wending  his 
way  to  one  of  the  saloons  with  his  judicial 
cloak  about  him.  His  entrance  was  greeted 
b}'  a  numerous  and  noisy  crowd,  and  as  he 
produced  a  bottle  from  the  folds  of  his 
cloak,  ordering  it  filled  with  port  wine, 
Owen  Lamb,  noted  no  less  for  his  strength 
and  size  than  for  his  love  of  fun  and  adven- 
ture, stepped  up  to  the  justice,  saying: 
"Judge,  we  will  all  drink  with  you,  and 
I'll  have  the  best  in  the  house;  give  me 
some  brandy."  This  was  too  much  for  the 
self-complacent  dignity  of  the  "judge," 
and  he  burst  out  with  :  "The  likes  of  you, 
Owen  Lamb,  insulting  me!  Why,  I'll 
blow  your  brains  out  on  the  spot;  "  and 
carried  away  with  his  anger,  he  instantly 
presented  an  old  horse  pistol  to  carry  out 
his  threat.  The  weapon  was  instantly 
knocked  to  the  other  side  of  the  room,  when 
the  jud  ;e  precipitately  left  the  field. 

The  wits  saw  fun  in  this  incident,  and  at 


the  suggestion  of  Wm.  Armstrong  and 
George  Kiersted,  Lamb  brought  action 
against  Prendegast  for  assault.  The  insti- 
gators of  the  action  represented  the  prose- 
cution, and  the  defendant,  aided  by  the  only 
lawyers  in  the  placs,  E.  H.  Little  and  C. 
M.  Lee,  apjieared  on  the  part  of  the  defense. 
The  proofs  in  behalf  of  the  prosecution 
were  positive,  clear  and  unquestioned,  hence 
the  defendant  confined  his  efforts  to  prove 
his  good  character.  Among  other  witnesses, 
L.  W.  Claypool,  deposed  substantially  that 
he  had  known  the  defendant  a  long  time; 
his  reputation  as  a  law  abiding  citizen  was 
good;  he  did  not  consider  him  a  willful  or 
malicious  man;  not  half  so  dangerous  as 
a  little  black  dog  the  judge  owned.  Dr. 
Curtis  testified  that  he  had  never  consid- 
ered the  judge  a  malicious  or  dangerous 
man,  but  rather  as  a  d — d  fool.  This  was 
the  tenor  of  the  testimony  for  the  defense. 

In  the  meanwhile,  news  of  the  trial  had 
come  to  the  ears  of  the  devoted  wife  as  she 
was  engaged  in  "  wiping  the  dishes."  Her 
impetuosity  knew  no  method,  but  rushino- 
out  with  a  cup  and  towel  in  her  hand,  she 
entered  the  court  room,  just  as  Kiersted  was 
addressing  the  court.  Without  a  word  of 
parley  or  protest  she  rushed  up  to  him  sav- 
ing: "  So  you  have  turned  lawyer,  Mr. 
Kiersted,  take  that!  "  at  the  same  time  ac- 
companying her  words  with  a  blow  of  the 
teacup  on  his  breast,  which  shivered  her 
missile  to  atoms.  Utterly  surprised  by  the 
attack  he  drew  back  his  fist  to  strike,  when 
he  recognized  his  assailant  and  gallantly 
apologized  for  threatening  a  woman. 

During  the  progress  of  the  trial,  the  de- 
fendant was  pelted  with  eggs  and  subjected 
to  other  personal  indignities.  As  he  rose  to 
"sum  up"  the  evidence,  an  egg  struck  him 


146 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


squra'ely  in  tlie  ear.  Throwing  liis  hand  up 
to  the  smitten  organ,  he  exclaimed:  "I'm 
kilt!  I'm  kilt!"  and  instantly  feeling  the 
soft  material  oozing  out  of  his  stunned  ear, 
he  displayed  his  hand  covered  with  the 
meat  of  the  egg,  and  with  a  horrified  ejac- 
ulation, "See  me  brains!"  broke  with  the 
speed  of  a  quarter  horse  for  his  residence, 
declaring  as  the  hope  of  a  longer  existence 
dawned  upon  his  mind,  "I'll  demand  pro- 
tection from  the  Governor  and  his  posse 
comitatus."  Esrpiire  Barber,  before  whom 
the  trial  was  had,  discovered  the  whole 
matter  was  intended  for  a  joke,  and  dis- 
charged the  defendant. 

The  first  jail  was  built  on  or  near  the  site 
of  the  old  brick  structure  south  of  the  court 
liouse.  There  is  no  record  of  this,  but  tradi- 
tion has  it  that  it  was  a  two-story  log  house 
with  a  square  excavation  in  the  ground, 
with  an  entrance  in  the  center  of  the  lower 
apartment.  The  prisoner  was  dro])ped  in 
and  secured  by  an  iron  grate  over  the  open- 
inir  and  shielded  from  the  bare  earth  walls 
by  hemlock  logs.  From  the  numerous 
"claims  for  guarding  prisoners"  it  is  sur- 
mised that  this  jail  was  not  much  used. 
Indeed  the  early  siierifi^'s  declared  it  unfit  for 
human  beings,  and  occasionally  emplo3^ed 
the  prisoners  in  the  business  affairs  of  the 
jailor.  It  is  said,  but  not  fully  credited, 
that  Wm.  Armstrong  fastened  one  Cottrell, 
arrested  for  numerous  thefts,  with  a  chain 
and  padlock  ,to  a  whisky  barrel.  At  any 
rate,  the  prisoner  served  the  sheriff  as  bar- 
tender and  ferryman  for  some  time,  and 
served  himself  so  good  a  turn  that  on  com- 
ing to  trial  the  jury  acquitted  him  in  the 
face  of  the  most  explicit  evidence  of  his 
guilt.  So  marked  was  this  action  of  the 
jury  that  it  was  for  some  time  afterward 


suflicient  to  show  that  a  man  had  been  on 
the  Cottrell  jury  to  exclude  liiai  from  the 
jury  box. 

The  old  jail  was  subsequently"-  sold  for 
fourteen  dollars,  when  the  brick  was  erect- 
ed. This  was  built  at  a  cost  of  §3,- 
237.13,  and  accepted  April  17,  1855.  On 
July  14r,  1875,  after  the  brick  jail  liad 
been  ofiiciallj'  and  repeatedly  called  a  nui- 
sance the  Board  of  Su])ervisors  decided 
to  build  a  new  one,  the  result  of  which 
decision  is  the  present  stone  structure, 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $16,19U.60,  and  accepted 
Sept.  14,  1876. 

The  last,  and  perhaps  the  least  satis- 
factory of  the  county  institutions  is  the 
"  Poor  Farm."  The  first  farm  consisted  of 
160  acres  (the  N.  E.  quarter  section  No. 
24,  33,  6),  in  Norman  township.  This  land 
cost  $2,400;  was  high  land,  and  while  not 
presenting  its  greatest  attractions  to  the 
road,  was  considered  well  adapted  to  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  bought.  It  was 
Jbund  to  be  too  large  for  practical  purposes, 
and  portions  of  the  farm  were  sold.  Later 
it  was  thought  a  smaller  farm  could  be 
made  nearer  self-supporting,  and  another 
farm  was  finally  bought  October  27,  1S79; 
eighty  acres  (the  south  half  of  S.  W.  quar- 
ter, section  No.  33,  7)  in  Wauponsee  were 
bought  at  fortj'-five  dollars  an  acre.  This 
selection  was  very  much  opposed,  and  a 
special  committee  appointed  by  the  Board 
after  examining  the  property  reported  as 
follows:  "  It  is  too  low  and  flat,  with  no 
building  place  above  level  of  prairie,  and  no 
drainage  suitable  for  such  a  cellar  as  the 
wants  of  a  poor-house  require — wholly  unfit 
for  the  erection  of  such  buildings  as  this 
county  will  require  in  after  years."  The 
purchase  was  persevered  in,   however,  and 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


147 


subsequently  a  brick  building  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $3,S00.  What  remained  of  the  old 
thrin  was  sold  for  $2,510. 

Under  the  statute  of  1S49  the  probate 
business  was  transferred  to  the  county 
iudge,  wliile  that  of  the  commissioners  was 
transferred  to  a  county  court  composed  of 


a  county  judge  and  two  associates.  At  the 
election  in  April  of  the  following  year  tlie 
township  organization  was  adopted  by  a 
vote  of  the  people,  and  under  this  arrange- 
ment the  first  Board  of  Supervisors  organ- 
ized June  12,  1S50. 


CHAPTEE    IV.* 


SOCIAL  DEVELOPMENT— EARLY  SOCIETY— RISE  OF  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL— INDIAN  TRAILS 
AND  EARLY  ROADS— RAILROADS  AND  THE  CANAL— THE  NEWSPAPERS. 

'PIIE  pioneers  of  Grnndy  County  came 
-»-  principally  from  southern  Ohio,  with  a 
number  from  the  southern  States,  and  later, 
a  few  from  Pennsylvania  and  other  more 
eastern  States.  Most  of  these  families  had 
been  pioneers  in  older  settlements  in  the 
States  from  which  they  came,  or  had  grown 
up  in  frontier  colonies  which  their  fathers 
had  founded,  and  had  been  trained  in  the 
stern  school  of  experience  to  meet  and 
conquer  the  difficulties  of  a  new  country. 
But  the  problem  here,  nevertheless,  pre- 
sented features  and  difficulties  entirely 
diflerent  from  that  with  which  their  earlier 
experience  had  acquainted  them.  The 
timber  that  skirted  the  mar<>;in  of  the  river 
and  sent  out  spurs  here  and  there  along 
the  banks  of  the  creeks  and  ravines,  divided 
the  vast  open  sea  of  grass  and  flowers  into 
two  great  divisions.  On  either  side  the 
broad  expanse  of  verdant  meadow,  marked 
here  and  there  by  a  stray  clump  of  under- 
sized trees,  stretched  away  from  the  river, 
unbounded  save  by  the  horizon,  and  the 
pioneer  with  his  little  retinue  of  wagons 
was  lost  in  this  luxuriant  wilderness  like  a 
convoy  of  sloops  in  mid  ocean. 

A  party  of  pioneers  came  on  foot  by  way 
of  Chicago,  in  May,  1S35,  and  one  of  them 
presents  tins  picture:!     "  There  had  been 

*By  J.  H.  Battle. 

fl^lnier  Baldwin's  Hist  of  La  Salle  County,  p.  124. 


heavy  showers  for  several  days,  and  the 
low  prairie  around  Chicago  was  more  like 
a  lake  than  dry  land.  For  seven  miles 
before  reaching  Berry's  Point,  the  water 
was  from  three  to  fifteen  inches  deep, 
through  which  we  worked  our  weary  way. 
When  within  about  two  miles  of  dry  land, 
one  of  our  companions  gave  out,  and  two 
of  us,  one  on  either  side,  placed  our  arras 
around  and  under  his  opposite  arm,  while 
he  placed  his  on  our  shoulders,  and  thus  we 
bore  him  t]irou£:h. 

"The  next  day  we  walked  about  forty 
miles  to  Plainfield.  It  gave  us  our  first 
view  of  a  rolling  Illinois  prairie.  We 
strained  our  eyes  to  take  in  its  extent,  till 
the  efibrt  became  painful.  We  descanted 
again  and  again  upon  its  beauty  and  rich- 
ness, and  wondered  why  such  a  country  had 
remained  so  long  in  the  hands  of  the  sav- 
age. It  was  a  wonderful  country.  All  was 
new.  S'range  sights  and  sounds  greeted 
us.  Tiie  piping  note  of  the  prairie-squirrel, 
as  he  dropped  from  his  erect  position,  and 
sought  the  protection  of  his  hole  close  by 
our  path;  the  shrill  notes  of  the  plover, 
scattered  in  countless  numbers,  fitfully 
starting  and  running  over  the  prairie;  the 
constant  roaring  of  the  prairie  cock;  the 
mad  scream  of  the  crooked-bill  curlew,  as 
we  approached  its  nest;  the  distant  whoop 
of  the  crane;  the  pump   sounding  note  of 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


U9 


the  bittern;  the  litlie  and  graceful  forms 
of  tlie  deer,  in  companies  of  tliree  to  five, 
lijrlitly  bounding  over  the  swells  of  the 
prairie; — it  seemed  a  new  creation  that  we 
had  entered." 

Every  immigrant  supplied  his  own  means 
of  reaching  his  destined  home.  Tiie  pioneer 
from  Pennsylvania,  Oiiio,  or  the  Southern 
States,  betrayed  his  nativity  and  prejudice 
in  the  schooner-shape  wagon  box,  the  stiff 
tongue,  the  hinder  wheels  doable  tiie  size 
of  the  forward  ones,  and  closely  coupled  to- 
gether, the  wliole  drawn  by  a  team  of  four 
or  six  horses  which  were  guided  by  a  single 
line  in  the  hands  of  a  teamster  riding  the 
"  nigh  wheeler."  His  harness  was  of  gi- 
gantic proportions.  What  between  the 
massive  leather  breeching,  the  heavy  hames 
and  collar,  the  immense  housing  of  bear  skin 
upon  the  hames,  the  heavy  iron  trace  chains, 
and  the  ponderous  double-tree  and  whittle- 
trees,  the  poor  beasts  seemed  like  humanity 
in  a  chain  gang,  or  some  terrible  monsters 
that  human  ingenuity  could  scarcely  fetter 
securely.  The  eastern  immigrant,  from 
New  York  or  farther  east,  was  marked  as 
far  as  his  caravan  could  be  seen,  by  a  long 
coupled,  low  boxed,  two  horse  wagon,  pro- 
vided with  a  seat,  from  which  with  double 
lines  the  driver  guided  his  lightly  harnessed 
pair  of  horses.  Tiiere  was  about  each  part 
of  tlie  outfit,  evidences  of  the  close  calcu- 
lation of  means  to  an  end,  and  an  air  of 
utility  which  left  no  room  for  doubt  as  to 
the  purpose  of  the  maker  in  every  part  of 
it.  This  strange  contrast  in  these  early 
outfits  suggests  that  they  may  not  unfitting- 
ly be  taken  as  tj'pes  of  two  civilizations 
that  met  here  on  this  middle  ground,  and 
in  many  a  sterner  contest  waged  an  "irre- 
pressible   conflict."      In    the    end,    these 


"wooden-nutmeg  Yankee  wagons,"  as  they 
were  called,  prevailed. 

This  prairie  country  undoubtedly  of- 
fered opportunities  to  the  pioneer  occu]iant, 
far  superior  to  those  of  a  timbered  country, 
but  the  early  settlers,  imbued  with  the  log- 
ical deductions  of  their  early  experiences, 
looked  with  distrust  upon  the  open  prairie. 
The  general  impression  was  that  only  the 
tiniber  belts  would  ever  be  inhabited;  the 
prairie  swept  by  the  fires  of  summer,  and 
by  the  piercing  blasts  of  winter,  seemed 
little  better  than  a  desert,  and  for  several 
years  there  was  not  a  cabin  in  Grundy 
County  built  more  than  one  hundred  yards 
from  the  timber.  The  necessity  of  tlie 
early  cabins  similar  in  size,  style  and  ma- 
terials, confirmed  this  impression,  and 
made  it  a  conviction. 

Tiie  pioneer  having  selected  a  site  on 
some  prospecting  tour,  or  being  attracted 
to  a  certain  region  by  the  report  of  friends, 
came  with  all  his  worldly  possessions  on 
wagons,  and  making  selection  of  a  farm, 
chose  a  site  for  his  cabin,  and  set  at  once 
to  build  it.  Trees  were  felled;  logs  of  the 
proper  length  chopped  ofl;'  and  drawn  to 
the  chosen  site,  and  willing  neighbors  for 
miles  about  invited  to  the  raising.  Rude 
as  these  structures  were  it  needed  no  little 
handicraft  to  rear  them,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  the  special  ability  of  each  mem- 
ber of  the  community,  entailed  upon  him 
his  special  duty  on  these  occasions.  The 
logs  trimmed,  "  saddled,"  and  properly  as- 
sorted, were  placed  in  the  pen  shape  of  the 
cabin;  the  gable  ends  were  run  up  with 
regularity',  shortening  logs  shaj)ed  at  the 
ends,  to  allow  for  the  slope  of  the  roof;  on 
these  the  long  roof  poles  two  feet  apart, 
stretched  from  end  to  end,  served  as  foun- 


150 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


dation  for  the  roof,  whicli  was  made  up  of 
clapboards,  riven  by  the  froe  from  bolts  of 
oak  laid  in  place  and  held  secure  by 
'•  weight  poles"  made  firm  by  pegs  or 
stones.  Then  followed  the  sawintr  out  of 
the  door-way  and  windows,  the  chinking 
of  the  cracks  with  pieces  of  riven  timber; 
the  caulking  with  a  mixture  of  mud  and 
chopped  hay;  the  construction  of  floors 
and  a  door  from  puncheons,  and  the  build- 
ing of  the  chimneys  of  "  cat  and  chi}'." 
Hinges  were  supplied  from  rawhide,  and 
the  wooden  latch,  reached  from  the  outside 
by  means  of  an  attached  leather  latch- 
string  passing  through  a  hole  in  the  door, 
was  often  the  only  ])rotection  against  for- 
cible entrance.  Later  experiences  intro- 
duced the  use  of  heavy  wooden  bars,  but 
the  jiroverbial  expression  of  early  hospital- 
ity was  the  lianging  out  of  the  latcli-striiig. 
The  local  characteristics  of  the  early  settlers 
found  their  expression  in  the  construction 
of  the  chimneys.  Few  early  cabins  were 
more  than  one  story  high,  and  the  chim- 
ney placed  on  one  side,  was  constructed  in 
the  case  of  the  southerner  or  the  Indianian 
on  the  outside  of  the  cabin,  while  the  rest 
built  inside,  the  top  in  all  cases  scarcely 
reaching   the  height  of  the  ridge. 

The  interior  of  the  cabin  i^as  marked  by 
the  same  general  similarity.  In  each  the 
wide  fire-place  shed  abroad  its  genial  warmth 
of  hospitality  or  aided  in  the  preparation 
of  the  table's  cheer.  The  "crane,"  hung 
with  iron  pots  and  kettles,  and  the  Dutch 
oven,  half  submerged  in  coals,  were  in  all 
cabins  the  "evidence  of  things  not  seen," 
and  furnished  forth,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  deft  housewife,  a  meal  which  is  still 
sighed  for  as  the  "grace  of  a  day  that  is 
dead."     The   "corn  pone,"  or   when   so  ex- 


ceptionally fortunate  as  to  be  able  to  use 
flour,  the  hop-yeast  or  salt-rising  bread,  the 
"chicken-fixings,"  the  game,  the  fresh,  lus- 
cious vegetables, — are  memories  that  more 
pretentious  days  liave  not  dimmed  in  the 
hearts  of  the  pioneers.  The  latter-day  in- 
ventions of  saleratus  and  baking  powder 
had  their  prototype  in  the  pearlash,  which 
was  prepared  by  burning  the  potash,  so 
common  then,  upon  the  lid  of  the  "  bake 
kettle;"  the  sputtering,  greenish  flame 
produced  by  the  process,  in  the  meaiiwiiile 
enforcing  njion  the  childish  minds  of  the 
household  the  stern  doctrines  of  the  here- 
after. The  frontier  cabin,  as  a  rule,  con- 
tained but  one  room,  which  served  all  the 
domestic  and  social  purposes  of  the  family 
alike,  unchanged.  Curtains  arranged  about 
the  beds  suggested  the  retirement  of  sleep- 
ing apartments,  while  the  cheerful  blaze  of 
the  fire-place  afforded  an  unstinted  glow  to 
the  whole  establishment. 

The  women  of  those  days  ate  not  the 
bread  of  idleness.  They  were  indeed  the 
helpmates  of  father,  brother  and  husband, 
and  nowhere  in  the  world  did  man  prove 
such  an  unbalanced,  useless  machine  as  the 
unmarried  pioneer  in  this  western  wild. 
While  the  man,  with  masterful  energy, 
conquered  the  difliculties  of  a  new  country 
and  asserted  his  sovereignty  over  an  unsub- 
dued wilderness,  it  was  woman's  hand  that 
turned  its  asperities  into  blessings,  and 
made  conquered  nature  the  handmaid  of 
civilization.  The  surplus  product  of  the 
frontier  farm  sufficed  to  supply  a  slender 
stock  of  tea,  coftee,  sugar  and  spices,  with 
an  occasional  hat  for  the  man  and  a  calico 
dress  for  the  woman; — all  else  must  be  de- 
rived from  the  soil.  How  this  was  accom- 
plished, the  occasional  i-elics  of  a  flax-wheel, 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


151 


brake,  spiiiniiiij;-wheel  or  loom,  suggest. 
To  card  and  sjiiii,  to  dye  and  weave,  were 
accomplishments  tliat  all  women  possessed. 
IIoiisekeejMng  was  crowded  into  tlie  small- 
est possible  space,  and  tiie  preparation  of 
linen,  of  "  linsey  woolsey,"  and  stocking 
yarn,  with  their  adajitation  to  the  wants  of 
tiie  family,  became,  to  vary  the  catechism, 
the  chief  end  of  woman.  About  tliese 
homely  industries  gathered  all  the  ])ride  of 
womanl}'  achievement,  the  mild  di.ssi|)ation3 
of  early  society,  and  the  ho])CS  of  a  future 
com])etence;  a  social  foundation,  of  which 
the  proud  structure  of  this  great  common- 
wealth bears  eloquent  testimony. 

But  with  all  this  heljjful  self-reliance 
indoors,  there  was  plenty  to  engage  the  vig- 
orous activity  of  the  male  portion  of  the 
famil}-  out  of  doors.  The  exigencies  of  the 
situation  allowed  no  second  e.xperiment,  and 
a  lifetime  success  or  failure  hung  upon  the 
efforts  of  the  pioneer.  The  labor  of  the 
farm  was  carried  on  under  the  most  dis- 
couraging circumstances.  The  rude  acrri- 
cultural  implements  and  the  too  often 
inadequate  supply  of  these,  allowed  of  no 
economical  expenditure  of  strength,  and 
for  years  rendered  the  frontier  farmer's  life 
a  hand  to  hand  struggle  of  sheer  muscle 
and  physical  endurance  with  the  stubborn 
difficulties  of  nature.  The  location  of  the 
cabins  along  the  lowlands  that  formed  the 
margin  of  the  streams,  exposed  the  early 
settlers  at  their  most  vulnerable  jioint. 
During  a  considerable  part  of  the  year  the 
almost  stagnant  water  of  the  sluirffish 
streams  tilled  the  air  with  a  miasmatic  poi- 
son that  hung  in  dense  fog  over  stream  and 
grove  like  a  destroying  spirit.  The  ditti- 
culty  experienced  in  securing  good  water 
often  rendei-ed  it  necessary  fur  the  farmers 


to  drink  from  stagnant  pools,  "  fre(iuently 
blowing  off  the  scum  and  straining  the 
wigglers  from  the  sickening,  almost  boiling, 
fluid  through  the  t.>eth."  That  the  "  fever 
and  ague"  should  stalk  through  the  land,  a 
veritable  Nemesis,  was  inevitable  under 
such  circumstances,  an_d  many  a  hardy 
pioneer  was  cowed  and  fairly  shaken  out  of 
the  country  in  the  chilly  grasp  of  this  grim 
monster.  But  having  withstood  these  dis- 
couragements and  secured  a  harvest,  the 
greatest  disappointment  came  in  the  utter 
lack  of  mai-kets.  After  a  year  of  labor, 
privation,  and  sickness,  the  moderate  crop 
Would  hanlly  bear  the  expense  of  gettinij 
it  to  mai'ket.  How  this  country  was  settled 
and  improved  under  such  circumstances 
can  be  explained  ujion  none  of  the  settled 
principles  of  political  economy.  Retreat 
there  was  none;  and  that  iiomely  phrase, 
"  root,  hog,  or  die,"  was  borne  in  upon  the 
pioneer  by  his  daily  experience  with  a  be- 
numbing iteratio;i  that  must  have  wrought 
ruin  to  any  class  of  people  of  less  hardv 
mental  and  ph3'sical  health. 

In  such  a  community  where  "  The  rich- 
est were  poor  and  the  poor  lived  in  abun- 
dance," there  was  no  chance  for  the  growth 
of  caste,  and  families  for  miles  around  were 
linked  together  as  one  neighborhood,  by 
the  social  customs  of  the  time,  which  in 
the  spirit  of  true  democracy,  drew  the  line 
at  moral  worth  alone.  The  amusements 
of  a  ]>eople  taking  their  charactei-  fuun  the 
natural  surroundings  of  the  commnnitv, 
were  here  chiefly  adapted  to  the  masculine 
taste.  Hunting  and  fishing  were  always 
liberally  rewarded,  while  log  cabin  raisings, 
the  opening  of  court  with  its  jury  duty, 
and  the  Saturday  attenmon  lioli(la\  with  its 
scrub  horse  I'ace,    its  wrestling  match,  its 


152 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


jumping  or  t[uoit  pitching,  and  jierliaps  a 
fight  or  two,  afforded  entertainments  that 
never  lost  their  zest.  It  was  a  common  re- 
mark, however,  tliat  "  Illinois  furnished  an 
easy  berth  for  men  and  oxen,  but  a  hard 
one  for  women  and  horses."*  Outside  of 
''  visiting"  and  camp  meetmgs,  the  diver- 
sions in  which  women  participated  at  that 
earl}'  daj'  were  very  few;  husking  and 
spinning  bees,  and  "  large"  weddings  where 
the  larger  part  of  the  nigiit  was  spent  in 
dancing,  did  not  have  the  frequent  occur- 
rence so  characteristic  of  the  Eastern  States, 
and  nothing  here  seemed  to  offer  any  substi- 
tute. So  long  as  the  commimity  gathered 
liere  lacked  easy  communication  with  the 
outside  world  this  state  of  things  contin- 
ued. There  was  a  market  at  Cliicago  at 
this  time,  where  a  fair  price  could  be  liad 
for  the  surplus  crop,  and  the  growth  of  the 
older  settlements  further  south  brought 
the  advantages  of  civilization  nearer  to 
t'lese  outlying  communities,  but  the  lack 
of  roads  prevented  the  early  enjoyment  of 
these  privileges. 

The  early  lines  of  travel  were  along  the 
Indian  trails.  These  were  clearly  defined 
paths  about  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches  wide, 
cut  into  the  sod  of  the  prairie,  sometimes 
to  the  depth  of  ten  or  twelve  inches.  A 
portion  of  one  of  these  trails  can  be  seen 
now  on  the  fsirm  formerly  belonging  to 
Jacob  Claypool,  where  it  has  been  carefully 
protected  by  a  furrow  plowed  up  on  eitlier 
side  of  it.  There  were  three  of  these  fol- 
lowing the  general  course  of  tlie  river 
through  the  county,  and  terminating  at 
Chicago,  which  was  atan  early  time  a  great 
resort  of  the  Indians.  One  of  these  ran 
along  tlie  north  side  of  the  river,  between 

'History  of  La  Salle  County 


it  and  the  present  site  of  the  canal  up  to 
near  the  five  mile  bridge  then  passing 
north  of  the  line  of  tlie  canal,  but  south  of 
the  Catholic  cemetery,  it  crossed  both 
branches  of  Xettle  Creek  near  where  the 
stone  bridges  now  stand,  thence  recrossing 
the  canal  line  near  the  Peacock  bridge,  and 
passing  on  the  ridge  throuirh  to  the  Protest- 
ant cemetery,  it  crossed  the  Au  Sable  be- 
low the  aqueduct,  and  thence  through 
Dresden  it  took  its  course  over  the  bluffs 
toward  Channahon.  Another  on  the  bot- 
toms soutli  of  the  river  crossed  the  Wau- 
pecan  Creek  at  the  quarter  corner,  of  the 
east  line  of  section  18,  in  Wauponsee 
township,  thence  nearlj'  in  a  straight  line, 
passing  twenty  rods  north  of  the  center  of 
section  17,  it  continued  to  Spring  Creek 
which  it  crossed  at  its  mouth,  and  thence 
it  led  across  the  Mazon  on  section  16,  and 
np  the  river,  crossing  the  Kankakee  one 
half  mile  above  its  mouth.  There  was  a 
second  trail  on  the  south  side  of  the  Illi- 
nois river,  which  skirted  the  points  of  tim- 
ber, pas.sed  a  little  north  of  the  present  res- 
idence of  Jonathan  Wilson  on  section  4, 
32,  6,  and  entered  Wauponsee  about  the 
center  of  the  west  line  of  the  southeast 
quarter  section  20,  continuing  thence  in  a 
direct  line  and  intersecting  the  first  trail  at 
the  crossing  of  the  Mazon  River.  There 
was  a  '•  high  prairie  trail"  through  Holder- 
man's  Grove  north  of  Grundy  County, 
which  came  to  be  an  important  line  of 
travel. 

There  were  of  course  no  fences  at  first  to 
interfere  with  the  choice  of  road  or  to  serve 
as  guides,  and  these  trails  were  followed 
until  a  wa^on  path,  pretty  clearly  defined, 
made  traveling  between  well  established 
points  no  very  difiicult  matter  in  the  day- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


155 


time,  or  on  moonlight  nights.  But  the 
belated  traveler  on  a  dark  night,  or  one  a 
little  unfamiliar  with  the  fords,  found  it 
advisahle  to  make  an  unexpected  bivouac 
on  the  open  prairie.  Even  some  of  the 
older  settlers,  when  near  at  home,  had  some 
experience  of  this,  as  an  incident  related  of 
Mr.  Jacob  Claypool,  very  forcibly  illus- 
trates: 

lie  and  his  boys,  Perry  A.  and  L.  "W., 
had  husked  corn  for  Iloldei-man,  for  one 
and  a  half  bushels  per  day.  Late  in  No- 
vember (1834)  they  set  out  from  home  with 
two  teams,  one  of  horses  and  the  other  of 
oxen,  to  bring  Imme  their  liard  earned  corn. 
On  their  return  they  reached  the  Indian 
trail  near  the  west  line  of  section  7,  33,  7, 
just  about  dark.  To  add  to  the  difficulties 
of  the  situation,  a  heavy  fog  arose  as  night 
set  in,  and  knowing  that  there  was  no 
escape  from  an  open  air  camp,  they  made 
the  best  of  their  situation  by  carefully 
feeling  their  way  along  the  trail  to  a  point 
near  the  present  residence  of  Isaac  Iloge, 
where  there  were  some  hay-stacks.  Here 
the  party  remained  until  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  when  the  fog  rising  and 
the  moon  coming  out,  they  started  for  the 
ford  of  the  Illinois  River,  on  the  west  line 
of  section  8.  Perry  Claypool  with  the 
horses  led,  and  fortunately  striking  the 
right  place  jiassed  over  safely,  but  the  ox 
team  failed  to  follow  closelj',  and  becoming 
unmanageable,  began  to  swim  out  of  the 
difficulty  with  the  wagon  and  passengers. 
By  daylight  the  party  reached  their  cabin 
home  wet,  cold  and  hungry,  and  worst  of 
all,  with  one  load  of  their  hard  earned  corn 
floating  down  the  river. 

Such  experiences  were   not    uncommon 
and  stimulated  the  pioneer  to  the  earliest 


possible  efforts  to  secure  roads  and  bridges. 
The  northern  part  of  the  State  had  set- 
tled uj)  60  slowly  that  there  was  no  thor- 
oughfare  through    Grundy    County  at  all 
until   about  1833.     About    this    time    the 
Bloomington  and  Chicago  road  began  to 
be  outlined    by  the   droves  of  live   stock 
going  to   market,    and    the   return    teams 
hauling  salt  and  supplies.     This  soon  be- 
came   the    principal    route    of  travel,   and 
crossed  the  county  through    the    northern 
part  of  Highland,  passed   old  Mazon  and 
crossed    the     Mazon     River    at    Sulphur 
Springs,   on   section   6,  Braceville.     From 
this  point  it  led  to  the  Kankakee  River  at 
"  Cousin    John    Beard's    ford,"    about    a 
mile    and    a   half  from    its    mouth.     This 
road  was  not  officially  laid  out  or  worked 
until    after    the    county   of  Grundy   was 
formed,  when  the  commissioners  at  one  of 
their  earliest  meetings  ordered  it  run  out 
from   "  Lone   tree   point   to   Cousin  John 
Beard's  ford    at  the  crossing  of  the  Kan- 
kakee."    It  was  subsequently'  worked,  and 
in    1843   a   bridge  was    erected   over   the 
Mazon,  where  the  road  crossed,  but  it  was 
soon  destroyed.     It  was  the   earliest  and 
greatest  thoroughfare  of  its   time,  but  it 
did  not  reach  the  dignity   of  a  mail  route, 
and  has  long  since   been   abandoned.     In 
December  of  1834,  the  commissioners  of 
La  Salle  County   appointed   Henry  Green, 
Benjamin  Bloomfield  and  Sam'l  S.  Bullock 
to  lay  out  a  road  from  Marseilles  toward 
Joliet.     This  was  laid  out  as  near  as  prac- 
ticable along  the  Indian   trail  nearest  the 
north  bank  of  the  river.     This  was  after- 
ward  divided    into    three    divisions,    and 
Wm.  Ruhey   appointed  supervisor  of  the 
western     division,    "Wm.     Iloge,     of    the 
middle  division,  and  Joshua  Collins  of  the 


156 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


eastern.  On  July  3,  1839,  the  "Shalcing 
Bridge  "  was  erected  near  where  the  pres- 
ent stone  bridge  spans  the  west  branch  of 
Nettle  Creek  on  Jeflerson  street  in  Morris. 
To  raise  this  early  bridge  required  the 
Tinited  energies  of  most  of  the  men  in  the 
country  about,  and  was  probably  the  first 
bridge  erected  in  the  county.  It  was  hoped 
that  this  road  would  prove  to  be  the  route 
for  the  north  and  soutli  travel  of  the  State, 
and  upon  such  expectations  Lovell  Kimball 
of  Marseilles  laid  out  the  village  of  Olark- 
son  on  the  southeast  quarter  12,  33,  6,  with 
a  double  log  cabin  hotel  as  a  nucleus  about 
which  to  gather  the  expected  city.  This 
village  aspired  to  county  honors,  until  the 
construction  of  Grundy  blighted  all  such 
hopes,  and  remained  even  then  the  princi- 
pal village  in  this  region  until  the  location 
of  the  county  seat  at  Morris,  when  it  rap- 
idly went  to  decay.  At  Dresden,  on  the 
other  end  of  this  road  in  Grundy  County, 
Salmon  Rutherford  erected  a  large 
"  framed  "  hotel,  where,  by  license  of  the 
court  he  was  allowed  to  charge  the  follow- 
ing scale  of  prices: 

"For  eacli  meal,  common 25  cents. 

extra 37J^  " 

"      "  lodging _ 12)4  " 

.  ;    "      "  hor=e  or  ox,  hay  over  night 12J4  " 

"      8  quarts  corn  or  oats 25  " 

"      each  glass  of  spirits 6'^  " 

*'         "         "    "  extra  spirits 121-^  " 

For  this  privilege  he  paid  $6  and  gave 
a  bond  of  $100  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  his  obligations.  Another  of  these  early 
hostelries  was  erected  about  this  time  on 
the  west  fork  of  the  Mazon,  and  was  kept 
by  James  McKean,  and  was  for  a  consider- 
able time  the  resort  of  drovers  on  their  way 
to  market  with  stock. 

The  division  of  the  large  northern  coiin- 
ties  and  the  demands  of  the  local  commu- 
nities led  to  great  changes  in   these  early 


highways.  Iloads  were  run  with  some 
reference  to  the  farmers  who  lived  along 
the  lines  of  these  "  through  routes,"  which 
led,  not  without  an  occasional  serious 
struggle,  to  their  abandonment.  The  result 
of  these  changes  was  to  establish  the  main 
line  of  through  travel  along  the  high  prai- 
rie trail  by  way  of  Ilolderman's  Grove,  etc., 
on  which  Frink  and  Walker  subsequently 
established  a  line  of  coaches  running  be- 
tween Chicago  and  Peru.  From  four  to 
eight  four-horse  coaches  left  each  terminal 
point  daily,  connecting  at  Peru  with  a 
steamboat  from  St.  Louis.  Neil,  Moor  & 
Co.,  an  Ohio  firm,  ran  a  line  of  coaches 
between  the  same  points  following  a  route 
south  of  tlie  river,  but  it  proved  but  a 
short-lived  competition,  though  vigorous 
while  it  existed.  The  latter  firm  failed  and 
withdrew  its  coaches  in  a  short  time.  But 
with  all  these  improvements,  Chicago, 
which  had  become  the  market  for  this 
section,  was  too  far  oft"  for  the  means  oi 
transportation  possessed  by  the  farmers. 
Everything  was  hauled  in  wagons  and  the 
roads  were  stern  autocrats  of  the  pioneer's 
destiny.  The  treacherous  sod  that  covered 
the  long  stretch  of  swamp  about  the  city 
would  bear  up  only  a  moderate  load,  and 
thus  restricted  the  amount  of  produce  to  be 
taken  by  a  single  wagon.  Add  to  this  the 
rude  construction  of  the  best  roads  and 
there  is  a  sense  of  discouragement  that 
might  have  worked  despair  if  it  had 
not  incited  to  improvement.  It  may  be 
noticed  here  that  the  civilization  of  the 
broad  tread  wagon  and  that  of  the  narrow- 
tread,  met  at  the  eastern  line  of  Grundy 
County.  With  all  the  other  inconven- 
iences, the  farmers  of  this  section  found 
that  their  wagons  had  a  hard  road  to  travel 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


157 


even  where  it  was  well  constructed,  one 
■wheel  being ^on  the  unbroken  or  unsettled 
roadway  all  the  time.  This  was  soon 
remedied  by  the  adoption  of  narrow  tread 
wagcMis,  but  the  other  difficulties  still  re- 
mained. 

The  jiroject  of  connecting  the  waters  of 
Lake  JVIichigan  with  the  navigable  waters 
of  the  Illinois  liiver  had  been  talked  of 
since  1S12,  and  urged  from  time  to  time  on 
the  ground  of  its  military  as  well  as  its 
commercial  importance,  but  it  was  not 
until  July  4,  ISoO,  that  ground  was  first 
broken  for  its  construction.  The  line  sur- 
veyed for  its  construction,  connecting  with 
the  eastern  arm  of  the  soutli  branch  of  the 
Chicago  River,  followed  the  general  line  of 
the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers  to  Peru, 
where  it  was  proposed  to  pass  by  locks  into 
the  river.  Tlie  estimate  of  its  cost  varied 
from  $6i0,000  to  $10,000,000,  the  latter 
being  neai'er  the  actual  cost  when  con- 
structed. There  M'as  an  urgent  demand 
for  greater  traiisportation  facilities,  and 
scarcely  a  year  passed  without  a  recommen- 
dation on  the  subject  by  State  or  national 
official,  but  here  the  matter  seemed  to  end 
until  1S25.  In  this  year  the  "Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal  Association"  was  formed 
witli  a  capital  of  $1,000,000,  which  received 
a  charter  granting  most  extraordinary  priv- 
ileges. At  this  time  Daniel  P.  Cook,  the 
only  Representative  of  the  State  in  the 
lower  House  of  Congress,  was  earnestly 
seeking  to  secure  a  grant  of  public  lands 
in  aid  of  the  canal,  and  he  felt  that  this 
charter  would  defeat  his  plans.  He  there- 
fore used  every  effort  to  have  it  annulled, 
publishing  an  able  argument  against  the 
association  scheme  and  sending  it  through- 
out the  State.     Tiie  "  Association"  did  not 


seem  to  prize  its  privileges  ;  no  stock  was 
ever  subscribed,  and  the  charter  was  volun- 
tarily surrendered  soon  after  its  receipt. 
In  1827,  came  the  grant  of  public  lands,  but 
this  was  not  easily  turned  into  money,  and 
in  1833  the  advisability  of  devoting  the 
grant  to  the  building  of  a  railroad  between 
the  terminal  i)oints  was  seriously  discussed. 
"Up  to  January  1, 1S39,  the  gross  expendi- 
ture on  the  canal,  derived  from  the  various 
Sources  of  loans,  lot  and  land,  amounted  to 
$1,400,000.  All  of  it,  but  about  twenty- 
three  miles  between  Dresden  and  Mar- 
seilles, was  contracted,  and  the  jobs  let 
were  roughly  estimated  at  $7,500,000,"*  In 
the  meanwhile  the  public  and  Legislature 
had  been  carried  away  with  a  vast  scheme 
of  public  improvement,  and  the  State 
involved  in  great  financial  embarrassment. 
After  negotiating  several  loans  on  account 
of  the  canal  which  involved  the  State's 
finances  without  proportionately  aiding  the 
canal,  there  was  a  general  collapse.  The 
breaking  of  the  State  bank  in  1842  added 
to  the  general  distress,  and  gave  rise  to  an 
agitation  in  favor  of  repudiating  the  State 
debt,  which  then  amounted  to  $14,000,000. 
It  was  about  this  time  that  the  unlet  section 
of  the  canal  was  contracted,  Jacob  Claypool 
taking  section  126  about  where  the  aque- 
duct is  placed.  The  failure  of  funds,  how- 
ever, brought  the  work  here  to  an  early 
close.  The  effort  to  secure  a  loan  of  $1,- 
600,000  to  finish  the  canal  was  protracted 
through  some  three  years,  in  which  the 
work  came  to  a  standstill,  but  in  1845  its 
construction  was  renewed,  and  "finally,  by 
the  opening  season  of  1848,  tlie  Illinois  and 
Michigan  canal,  a  stupendous  public  work, 

*  Hist,  of  Illmoi-i,  Davidson  and  Stuve. 


153 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY. COUNTY. 


urged  for  thirty  years,  and  in  course  of 
actual  construction  for  twelve,  after  many 
struggles  with  adverse  circumstances,  was 
completed." 

The  influence  upon  Grundy  County  was 
felt  at  once;  warehouses  were  erected,  and 
a  good  market  for  grain  of  all  kinds  was 
brought  within  easy  reach,  while  goods  and 
supplies  of  all  sorts  were  as  easily  secured. 
Its  effect  in  another  way  was  quite  as 
marked.  When  the  work  ceased  in  1843  a 
large  number  of  those  employed  on  the 
canal,  thrown  out  of  work,  took  up  land 
here,and,  industriously  engaging  in  farming, 
have  become  well-to-do,  and  are  still  here, 
or  represented  by  their  descendants.  Daring 
the  progress  of  the  work  the  transient  Irish 
element  outnumbered  the  residents  of  the 
county,  and  worked  their  will  for  a  year  or 
two  at  the  polls.  The  village  of  Morris 
suddenly  changed  from  a  rather  quiet  town 
to  a  place  "  where  whiskey  and  Irish  were 
plenty,"  together  with  what  such  a  combi- 
nation implies,  but  with  the  completion  of 
the  canal  this  element  passed  away,  leaving 
Morris  and  Gruiuiy  County  to  workout  its 
own  destiny  untrammeled  by  outside  in- 
fluences. 

Closely  related  with  the  canal  was  a 
scheme  for  tiie  construction  of  a  railroad 
from  Chicago  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois. 
But  the  completion  of  the  former  and  its 
being  placed  in  trust  with  all  its  property 
and  revenues  to  secure  the  piyiiiont  of  tlie 
Eiio'lish  capitalists  who  had  loaned  the 
$1,600,000,  discouraged  the  granting  of  a 
charter  for  the  upper  part  of  such  a  road. 
The  slight  dependence  to  be  placed  upon 
the  river  for  through  transportation  had 
been  demonstrated,  and  had  proved  very 
disappointing    to    the   great    expectations 


entertained  of  the  canal.  Tlirough  freight 
shipped  by  the  canal  was  occasionally 
seriously  delayed  because  of  the  inability 
of  boats  of  ordinary  draught  to  come  up  the 
river  far  enough  to  make  connections.  A 
charter  had  therefore  been  granted  for  a 
railroad  from  La  Salle  to  Rock  Island. 
The  country  through  which  it  was  proposed 
to  build  this  road  was  not  thickly  settled, 
and  capital  was  therefore  slow  in  taking  up 
this  enterprise.  In  the  meanwhile,  as  it 
languished.  Senator  Douglas,  impressed 
with  the  advantage  of  a  railroad  from  Chi- 
cago to  Rock  Island,  began  urging  his  views 
upon  others,  and  among  the  rest  upon  Nor- 
man C.  Judd,  who  then  represented  Cook 
County  in  the  State  Senate.  He  suggested 
that  the  charter  for  the  La  Salle  &  Rock 
Island  road  be  amended,  so  as  to  allow  an 
extension  of  the  road  to  Chicago.  Mr.  Judd 
entered  into  the  project  at  once,  and  had  no 
ditflculty  in  enlisting  the  interest  of  AVm. 
Reddick,  State  Senator  from  La  Salle,  Bu- 
rea,  Livingston  and  Grundy  Counties,  and 
the  late  Governor  Matteson,  Senator  from 
Will  County.  The  citizens  along  the  route 
of  the  proposed  extension  were  easily  en- 
listed in  the  cause,  and  frequent  consulta- 
tions were  had.  At  a  conference  of  the 
supporters  of  this  scheme,  held  in  the  old 
American  House  in  Springfield,  Senators 
Judd,  Reddick,  and  Matteson,  with  P.  A. 
Armstrong  as  clerk,  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  a  bill  for  the  purpose  of 
amending  the  charter.  This  was  imme- 
diately done,  Armstrong  drawing  up  the  bill 
at  Mr.  Judd's  dictation,  which  was  then  put 
upon  its  passage  on  the  next  day.  It  was 
obstinately  contested  by  the  English  inter- 
est, but  notwithstanding  the  apparent 
demands  of  equity,    the   bill   passed    bot'.i 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


159 


Louses,  and  went  to  the  Governor  for  liis 
approval.  Tliis  was  tlie  critical  point,  as  it 
was  understood  that  Governor  French  had 
assured  the  canal  trustees  that  lie  would 
veto  the  measure.  Mr.  lleddick,  wiio  had 
been  of  considerable  service  in  the  pa  sage 
of  a  bill  championed  by  a  brother  of  the 
Governor's  wife,  at  once  projiosed  to  see 
Mrs.  French,  who  had  the  reputation  of 
being  a  good  deal  of  a  jioliticiau.  and  no 
mean  power  behind  the  Governor's  throne. 
The  bill  was  already  in  the  hands  of  the 
Governor,  and  a  veto  was  feared  in  the 
morning.  So,  late  as  it  was  in  the  evening, 
Mr.  Reddick  proceeded  to  the  gubernato- 
rial mansion.  The  Governor's  salary  was 
then  $1,500  a  year,  and  Mrs.  French  was 
her  own  door-girl.  Recognizing  her  guest, 
she  congratulated  him  on  the  passage  of  his 
railroad  bill.  "  I  am  afraid  we  are  not  out 
of  the  woods  yet,"  he  responded.  "  Whj' 
sol"  said  Mrs.  French,  "I  read  in  the 
Jieg'iste)'  this  morning  that  your  bill  had 
passed  both  houses  and  gone  to  the  Gover- 
nor lor  his  approval."  "  True,"  replied  Mr. 
lleddick,  "but  we  are  informed  that  Gov- 
ernor French  will  veto  it."  Springing  to 
her  feet,  and  looking  Mr.  lleddick  straight 
in  the  face,  she  said,  stamping  her  foot  to 
enforce  her  words,  "  But  Governor  French 
shall  not  veto  this  bill!  "  The  next  morn- 
ing the  bill  was  returned  aj^jjroved. 

The  provisions  of  this  charter  which 
authorized  the  construction  of  a  railroad 
from  Rock  Island  "  by  way  of  Ottawa  and 
Joliet  to  Chicago,"  and  changed  the  name 
to  "  Chicago  «fe  Rock  Island  R.  R.  Com- 
pany," were  peculiar,  and  explain  its  success 
in  the  Assembly.  It  was  skillfully  drawn 
to  "catch  votes"  and  served  its  purpose. 
It  provided:    1.  That  the  road  should  pay 


toll  to  the  canal  board  upon  all  freights 
carried,  with  the  exception  of  (a)  all  live 
stock;  (b)  on  freight  carried  after  the  close 
of  canal  navigation;  (c)  on  freight  carried 
durinii:  the  cessation  of  canal  naviyfation 
caused  by  any  casualty  or  otherwise;  (d)  on 
freight  received  from  or  destined  to  a  point 
on  said  road  tweutj^  miles  west  of  the 
southern  termination  of  the  canal.  2.  These 
tolls  should  cease  when  the  interest  and 
payment  of  the  $1,600,000  should  be  paid. 
3.  That  the  canal  trustees  should  grant  the 
right  of  way  free  of  cost.  4.  If  the  trustees 
should  refuse  their  assent  to  this  pro- 
vision on  the  first  Monday  in  June  after 
the  passage  of  the  act,  the  tolls  imposed 
should  be  remitted,  and  the  company  have 
the  right  to  construct  the  road  untrammeled. 
It  was  further  required  that  the  road 
should  be  built  within  a  year.  It  is  needless 
to  add  that  the  canal  board  made  a  virtue  of 
necessity  and  yielded.  The  act  was  passed 
February  7,  1S51,  and  the  work  liegun  with 
energy.  The  route  was  surveyed  in  the 
early  summer  and  before  the  following 
January  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  was 
heard  in  Grundy  County.  At  the  time 
this  charter  was  granted,  there  were  only 
about  one  hundred  miles  of  railroad  in  the 
State,  and  the  "  Kingdom  of  Grundj',"  as 
it  was  jocosely  called,  considered  itself  on 
the  royal  road  to  prosperity  and  fame.  This 
road  follows  the  general  line  of  canal 
through  the  county,  and  has  100,747  feet 
of  main  track,  106,747  feet  of  second  main 
track,  and  8,015  feet  of  side  track  in  the 
county. 

The  Chicago  &  Alton  road  is  the  second 
railroad  of  the  county  in  importance  and 
in  the  order  of  construction.  It  was  built 
in  response  to  a  demand  for  a  closer  connec- 


160 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


tiou  between  Chicago  aud  St.  Louis.  It 
crosses  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county, 
and  affords  an  outlet  for  the  coal  found  in 
that  region,  wliich,  however,  was  discovered 
subsequent  to  the  construction  of  the  road. 
It  was  opened  in  lS5i,and  has  106,737  feet 
of  main  track,  03, Gil  feet  of  second  main 
track,  and  15,102  feet  of  side  track  in  the 
county.  In  1S71:  the  Chicago  &  Illinois 
Valley  Railroad  was  laid  to  within  a  few 
feet  of  the  Mazon  Creek  in  Braceville 
Township,  and  in  the  following  year  it  was 
continued  througli  the  county  by  the  Chi- 
cago, Pekin  &  Southwestern  Company. 
These  roads  are  separate  in  their  organiza- 
tion and  are  likely  to  become  the  prey  of 
more  important  roads.  The  former  has 
39,230  feet  of  track,  and  the  latter  76,992 
feet.  Tiie  Kankakee  &  Seneca  Railroad  is 
one  of  local  interest,  connecting  these  two 
points  and  crossing  the  county  diagonally 
through  the  southwestern  part  of  the  coun- 
ty, having  about  107,000  feet  of  track  in 
the  county.  The  Wabash,  St.  Louis  & 
Pacific  Railroad  appears  on  the  tax  dupli- 
cate as  having  26,710  feet  of  track  in  Green- 
field Township,  the  Wilmington  Mining 
&  Manufacturing  Company  some  0,000 
feet  of  track,  used  to  reach  the  mines  of  tliis 
company  in  Braceville  Township,  and  the 
Jlilwaukee  &  St.  Paul  about  a  mile  of  track 
for  the  same  purpose.  The  railroad  inter- 
est of  Grundy  County,  however,  centers 
in  the  two  leading  roads. 

Closely  following  the  advent  of  the  first 
railroad  in  Morris  came  the  pioneer  news- 
paper, the  harbinger  of  democratic  civiliza- 
tion. This  was  in  1852;  arriving  in  the 
village  on  the  verge  of  winter,  accompa- 
nied with  an  almost  helpless  wife,  and  pos- 
sessing barely  enough   material  to  answer 


the  requirements  of  his  modest  office,  J.  C. 
Walters  began  the  publication  of  an  anti- 
slavery  paper,  the  Jlon'is  Yeoman.  The 
citizens  recognizing  the  value  and  impor- 
tance of  having  an  "organ"  contributed 
snch  support  as  they  could,  and  about  Oct. 
1,  1852,  the  first  number  apj>eared.  It  was 
a  seven  column  folio,  printed  on  a  sheet  21 
by  36  inches  in  size,  and  dealt  in  general 
topics  of  news  and  politics.  The  "oflice" 
was  in  an  adobe  hut  (an  old  mud-house  is 
the  name  by  which  it  is  referred  to  now); 
the  stands  and  other  furniture  were  home 
made,  and  the  old  "  Franklin  press,"  shipped 
from  Ann  street, 'New  York,  struck  off  the 
edition.  The  editor  was  unique  in  appear- 
ance, surroundings,  and  in  his  literary  style. 
He  wore  longhair  and  a  cadaverous  counte- 
nance emphasized  by  a  pair  of  very  dark 
eyes;  his  old  fashioned  press  was  surmount- 
ed, it  is  said,  by  an  Indian's  skull,  the  eye 
socket  of  which  served  to  hold  a  tallow  can- 
dle; and  his  editorials — "philippics"  his 
friends  called  them — were  full  of  such  per- 
sonal attacks  as  only  tlie  untutored  taste  of 
that  day  could  admire.  In  1851,  the  paper 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Buffington  &  South- 
ard anl  the  name  changed  to  the  Herald. 
Subsequently,  Mr.  BufHngton  retired  and 
Mr.  Southard  continued  its  publication  un- 
til March  30,  1861,  when  he  was  called 
away  and  sold  the  paper  to  C.  G.  Perry,  who 
subsequently  took  Mr.  Turner  in  partner- 
ship. On  Southard's  return  after  about 
a  year's  absence,  the  proprietors  of  the  Her- 
ald., having  accomplished  some  political 
ends  in  which  they  were  interested,  offered 
to  sell  the  paper  to  him  again.  This  was 
agreed  upon,  but  when  the  transfer  was 
about  to  be  made,  a  political  consideration 
was  attached  to  the  bargain  which  defeated 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


lUl 


tlie  sale.  Angered  at  tliis  turn  of  affixirs, 
some  of  Mr.  Soutliard's  friends  insisted  on 
his  starting  up  a  new  paper,  and  the  Jlorris 
Adoertlner  was  started  with  Soutiiard  as 
editor  and  proprietor.  It  did  not  take 
long  to  demonstrate  wliicli  was  the  "  fit- 
test," and  in  accordance  witli  Darwin's 
forniulation  of  a  natural  law.  the  Herald  sold 
out,  and  tiie  two  consolidated  were  con- 
ducted hy  ^Ir.  Southard  under  the  name  of 
Herald  and  Advertiser.  It  had  in  the 
meanwhile  been  enlarged  to  a  nine  column 
folio,  and  its  name  sim]ilified  to  the  Herald 
alone.  In  (October,  ISl-i,  the  pajier  was 
purchased  by  General  P.  C.  Hays,  an  Ohio 
editor  of  ability,  but  a  native  of  an  adjoin- 
ing county,  who  conductc.l  it  alone  until 
July  1,  1S76,  when  Mr.  Fletcher  was  added 
to  the  firm.  It  is  now  a  seven  column 
quarto. 

The  Morris  Gazette  was  a  six  column 
folio  printed  on  a  sheet  21  by  29  in  size. 
It  was  begun  by  Andrew  J.  Ashton  in  July, 
1853.  It  was  Democratic  in  politics,  and 
of  a  sharply  personal  character  in  all  its  ef- 
fusions. The  projector  of  the  paper  had 
little  or  no  means,  and  depended  upon  party 
friends  to  establish  the  paper.  The  paper 
did  not  succeed,  but  in  185.5,  the  material 
was  sold  to  the  Herald,  leaving  a  deficit  to 
be  paid  by  those  who  had  aided  in  its  es- 
tablishment. Another  paper  of  the  same 
political  faith  was  established  about  1860 
by  Matt.  Parrott,  but  it  was  not  a  success, 
and  failed  in  a  few  months.  The  ne.xt  pa- 
per was  the  Reformer,  started  in  1ST2, 
by  ''  Joe  "  Simpson.  This  paper  was  anti- 
Eepublican,  principally  Democratic,  but 
considerably  tinctured  with  green backisni. 
In  1876,  this  paper  passed  into  the  hands 
of  A.  R.  Earlow,  but  soon  coming  back  to 


Mr.  Simpson  it  was  closed  out.  Again,  in 
March,  1880,  Col.  Blackmore  revived  Dem- 
ocratic journalism  in  Morris  by  issuing  the 
Morris  Democrat.  Tlie  paper  added  a  con- 
siderable vigor  to  the  campaign  of  that 
year,  bnt  its  energies  were  soon  spent  and 
it  died  before  the  issue  was  decided.  It 
seems  to  be  simply  a  question  of  demand 
and  supply,  and  there  being  no  demand,  any 
paper  of  pronounced  Democratic  tendencies 
gluts  the  market  and  necessarily  fails. 

The  IndepeiuJent  is  a  semi-weekly  pa- 
per, independent  in  matter  as  well  as  in 
name.  Its  first;  number  was  issued  March 
1,  1S7S.  It  was  established  by  Messrs. 
Perry,  Crawford  &  Kntz,  who  leased  the 
material  of  the  Edwards'  Directory  office, 
Morris.  It  started  as  a  seven  column  folio, 
bnt  was  increased  one  column  in  March, 
1881.  The  business  has  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  J.  A.  Kutz,  the  other  members 
having  dropped  out.  It  is  the  only  semi- 
weekly  paper  in  the  Congressional  district. 

The  other  papers  of  the  county  are  the 
Gardner  WeeTcly  News,  BraceviUe  Miner, 
and  IJie  Independent.  The  first  named  is 
a  weekly  paper  published  at  Gardner,  an 
S-column  folio,  printed  on  a  sheet  about 
26  by  40  inches.  It  was  established  Sep- 
tember 29th,  1881,  by  C.  M.  King,  when 
the  "  boom "  in  coal  promised  a  rapid 
growth  to  the  village.  Mr.  King,  the 
editor  and  proprietor,  is  a  busy,  energetic 
man,  and  publishes  editions  of  his  paper 
adapted  to  the  locality  where  issued,  for 
Essex,  Reddick  and  BraceviUe.  The 
BraceviUe  Miner  is  one  of  these  editions, 
and  was  begun  in  1882.  It  is  the  same 
size  of  The  News,  but  is  devoted  especially 
to  the  interests  of  the  miners,  who  form  the 
leading  part  of  the  paper's  patrons.      It  h 


162 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Republican  in  sentiment  upon  all  political 
matters,  but  aims  more  particular!}'  at  fur- 
nishing the  families  of  this  part  of  the 
county  with  the  county  news.  The  office 
of  these  publications  at  Gardner  is  well 
equipped  with  material  and  presses.  Tlie 
Independent,  a  6-colamn  folio,  printed  on 
a  sheet  about  22  by  32  inches,  is  published 
at  Gardner  by  J.  H.  "Warner.  It  was  es- 
tablished about  ISSO,  as  an  edition  of  the 
paper  at  Braidwood,  in  the  adjoining  coun- 
ty. It  aims  at  local  news,  and  serves  its 
purpose  with  success. 

r.nt  deeper  tban  all  these  elements,  more 
important  than  markets,  or  railroads,  or 
newspapers,  the  foundation  of  social  prog- 
ress, is  the  clmrch  and  school.  Whatever 
success  the  individual  lacking  these  iniln- 
ences,  may  achieve,  a  community  can  never 
prosper  without  them,  and  much  that 
Grundy  County  may  be  proud  of  is  due  to 
tiiese  benign  forces.  The  early  settlements 
were  considerably  scattered,  and  it  was  for 
years  a  difficult  matter  to  get  more  than 
two  families  together  for  religious  services. 
The  pioneer  preachers  were  men  of  slender 
education  and  homely  address,  but  were 
wonderfully  effective  in  their  self-denying 
earnestness.  They  visited  from  cabin  to 
cabin,  exhorting,  counseling,  reproving,  as 
the  occasion  miglit  demand;  they  became  in 
every  house  a  welcome  guest,  and  many  a 
weary  heart  and  feeble  hand  was  stayed  by 
these  simple  hearted  servants  of  the  cross. 
Among  the  earliest  names  familiar  to  this 
vicinity  were  those  of  Adam  and  Aaron 
Payne,  Stephen  Beggs,  "William  Eoyal  and 
Isaac  Scarrett.  These  were  all  of  the  Meth- 
odist church  which  established  an  early 
mission  at  the  mouth  of  Fox  Eiver,  in  La 
Salle  County.     It  was  from  this  point  that 


the  Rev.  Scarrett  was  brouoht  to  solemnize 
the  first  wedding  within  the  present  bound- 
aries of  Grundy  County — that  of  James 
Galloway  to  Martha  Matilda  Stype,  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Isaac  Iloge.  The  introduc- 
tion of  a  considerable  Irish  element  here 
brought  with  it  the  Catholic  church  and 
its  earliest  re])resentative,  Father  Dnponta- 
ris,  who  was  a  worthy  man  and  proved  him- 
self an  efficient  shepherd  of  a  wayward  flock. 
He  was  at  any  time  ready  to  administer 
"  extreme  unction"  or  quell  a  riot,  and  did 
either  with  equal  skill.  The  Mormons 
were  also  represented  by  their  itinerants, 
but  the  people  of  Grundy  did  not  seem  to 
take  kindly  to  their  peculiar  doctrines  and 
gave  them  little  encouragement  In  the 
meantime,  while  the  country  part  of  the 
county  was  being  molded  and  modified 
by  these  influences,  the  principal  vil- 
lage was  rapidly  gaining  an  unenviable 
notoriety  for  its  boisterous  incivility  and  it 
required  no  little  moral  and  physical  cour- 
ao-e  for  the  first  ministei-s  to  attempt  to 
hold  services  in  the  old  Court  House.  Sev- 
eral ministers  wei-e  broken  down  by  the 
rude  participation  of  the  audience  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  meeting  and  left  in  dis- 
gust. The  Rev.  James  Longhead,  who 
founded  the  first  Protestant  church  in  the 
county,  was  attracted  to  Morris,  principal- 
ly by  a  missionary  spirit.  On  his  first  en- 
trance into  town  his  vehicle  was  assailed  by 
a  huge  foot-ball  kicked  into  it  by  a  boister- 
ous crowd  of  men  and  boys  who  occupied 
the  main  street  for  their  game,  while  ruder 
oaths  from  every  side  assailed  his  ears.  It 
was  the  roughest  town  he  had  met  on  his 
travels  from  the  East,  and  most  in  need  of 
gospel  influence.  Thirty-five  years  of  such 
influence  have  wrought  great  changes ;  "this 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


163 


WHS  the  Lord's   doing,  and  it  is    marvelous 
in  ourej-es." 

Hand  in  Iiand  with  the  church  is  found 
tiie  school.  The  early  library  was  made 
up  of  the  Bible,  Pilgrim's  Progress,  tiie 
Columbian  Orator  and  Webster's  Speller. 
Out  of  these  tiie  members  of  the  family  too 
young  for  service  in  or  out  of  doors  drew 
mild  draughts  of  mental  exhilaration. 
Reading  came  by  the  devotion  iif  odd  mo- 
ments from  the  mother's  otherwise  crowd- 
ed life,  and  once  in  possession  of  this  magic 


power,  the  trials  and  triumphs  of  Christian 
with  the  eloquence  of  the  "Orator"  proved 
both  entertainment  and  instruction.  There 
were  very  few  private  schools  in  the  county 
before  the  establishment  in  this  county  of 
thn  "  District  S.;hools,"  about  1851.  Since 
then  there  has  been  a  rapid  developmeut 
of  school  facilities  and  Grundy  County  with 
the  rest  of  the  State  may  pride  itself  on  the 
possession  of  educational  advantages  second 
to  none. 


CHAPTER    Y* 


GRUNDY  COUNTY'S  SHARE  IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE   REBELLION— THE  LOYALTY  OF   HER 
MEN— THE  DEVOTION  OF  HER  WOMEN— THE  REPRESENTATIVES  IN  THE  FIELD. 


T 


HE  war  !     What   memories,    at   that 
magic  word,  crowd  the  mind  ! 


"  Of  most  disastrous  chances, 
Of  movingr  accidents  by  flood  and  field; 
Of  hair-breadth  'scapes  i'the  imminent  deadly  breach  ; 
Of  being  taken  by  the  insolent  foe!" 

of  woman's  demotion,  and  of  all  the  nation's 
sacrifice  during  those  woeful  years  !  And 
yet,  how  our  fancy  fails.  Time's  kindly 
touch  has  dulled  tlie  anguish  of  those  days  ; 
fame's  "ineffectual  fire"  is  but  a  misty  halo 
in  the  intervening  shadows,  and  children 
read  with  ]iroud  surprise  of  gallant  deeds 
on  unfamiliar  fields. 

The  Senatorial  campaign  of  1858,  with 
the  succeeding  Presidential  contest  in  1860, 
in  which  the  great  citizen  of  Illinois  had 
been  the  ]irominent  figure,  served  to  fix  the 
undivided  attention  of  this  county,  with 
the  rest  of  the  State,  upon  the  political 
storm  which  seemed  to  be  gathering  with 
portentious  mutterings  over  the  southern 
portions  of  the  country.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  hope  or  fear  predominated  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  as  the  d&y  approached 
wlien  Lincoln  was  to  be  inaugurated,  and 
the  universal  hope  and  expectation  was  that 
in  his  grasp  the  serpent  of  secession  would 
be  strangled,  as  Jackson  had  done  before  in 
tlie  case  of  the  "nullifiers."  It  was  in  this 
state  of  vacillation  between  hope  and  fear 

*  By  J.  H  Battle. 


tliat  the  reverberations  of  Fort  Sumpter's 
guns  assailed  the  ears  of  the  eager  North. 
It  was  this  explosion,  echoing  round  the 
world,  that  united  the  various  elements  and 
made  men  Union  or  non-Union.  Niceties 
of  political  distinctions  wore  lost  sight  of 
at  once,  and  to  the  credit  of  Grundy  County 
be  it  said,  there  was  but  one  party  here,  and 
that  for  the  support  of  the  Union.  Fort 
Sumpter  capitulated  on  Saturday,  April  13, 
1S61,  and  on  the  15th,  the  Secretary  of  War 
telegraphed  to  tlie  Governor  of  Illinois,  the 
apportionment  of  that  State  under  the  Pres- 
ident's call  for  75,000  men  to  |)Ut  down  the 
insurrection  at  Charleston.  The  call  was 
made  under  the  authoi-ity  granted  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  call  out 
the  militia  when  the  laws  of  the  general 
government  were  opposed  and  the  execution 
thereof  obstructed,  and  required  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Illinois  to  "  detach  from  the  mili- 
tia" 225  officers  and  4,458  men.  The  mili- 
tia thus  called  upon  had  no  actual  existence 
in  this  State.  Here  and  tliere  through  the 
State  were  half-filled  companies  of  holiday 
troops,  but  even  these  in  a  majority  of  cases 
had  no  efficient  organization  or  equipment. 
On  the  15th,  the  Legislature  was  called  to 
convene  on  the  23d  inst.,  and  an  order 
issued  from  the  Adjutant-General's  office  to 
the  various  militia  officers  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  for  actual  service.  On 
the  following  day  an  order  was  issued  for 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


1G5 


the  iiutnediate  organization  of  the  six  regi- 
ments called  for  by  the  general  government. 
The  response  from  every  part  of  the  State 
■was  prompt  and  nnaniinons,  and  in  ten 
days  over  ten  tliousand  men  tendered  their 
services  to  the  government  for  the  defense 
of  the  Union.  In  the  meanwhile  such 
companies  as  had  an  organization  and  par- 
tial eqnipinent  were  Jmrried  forward,  un- 
der General  Swift,  to  Cairo.  This  force 
amounted  to  90S  officers  and  men,  includ- 
ing among  others  the  Ottawa  Liglit  Artil- 
lery from  this  section  of  the  State.  Of  tlie 
ten  tliousand  men  tiiat  gathered  at  Spring- 
field in  response  to  the  Governor's  call,  the 
majority  were  in  company  organization, 
clotlied  and  equipped  by  tlie  communities 
which  sent  them  forth.  Of  tliese  Grundy 
County  sent  out  the  "  Grundy  Tigers,"  with 
W.  T.  Hopkins,  Capt.  ;  Sam'l  Elton,  1st 
Lieut. ;  G.  S.  Doane,  2d  Lieut.,  and  Capt. 
Hulburd's  Company  which  was  mustered 
in  June  as  Company  E.  of  the  Twenty- 
Tiiird  Regiment  of  Infantry. 

The  response  from  this  county  to  the 
governor's  call,  was  prompt  and  entluisias- 
tic.  On  the  20th  inst.,  the  Board  of  Su- 
pervisors voted  $5,000  for  the  equipment 
of  volunteers  and  the  aid  of  their  families, 
while  ladies  very  soon  after  organized  a 
"  Soldier's  Aid  Society  "  which  enlisted  for 
the  war.  The  record  of  the  disbursement 
of  the  fund  thus  provided  by  the  Supervis- 
ors, is  quite  amusing  in  the  light  of  sub- 
sequent events.  The  people  here,  as 
everywhere  else,  were  impressed  that  the 
war  would  be  over  in  sixty  days,  and  that 
the  business  in  hand  was  little  more  than 
a  squirrel  hunt  in  which  there  might  be 
accidents,  or  at  worst  not  more  serious  than 
putting  down  a  mob.     With  this  view  the 


country  and  town  was  scoured  for  guns, 
the  men  were  provided  with  boots,  and  the 
ladies  prepared  such  additions  to  a 
soldier's  bill  of  fare,  as  would  make  his 
temporary  absence  from  home  less  irksome. 
But  the  war  did  not  end  in  sixty  days,  and 
the  first  draft  came  and  found  the  people 
of  Grundy  County  relying  on  their  first 
effort.  This  was  a  rude  awakening,  and 
from  that  time  to  the  end  of  the  war,  the 
county  was  alive  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
occasion.  In  August,  1S62,  a  bounty  of 
$G0  was  offered,  of  which  one  hundred  and 
seventy-six  men  availed  themselves.  On 
December  30,  1863,  the  Board  offered  to 
pay  $110.00  ($100  with  interest  at  ten  per 
cent,  in  bonds  payable  in  one  year)  to  all 
soldiers  "  wlio  now,  have  been,  or  hereafter 
may  be  regularly  mustered  into  the  service 
of  the  United  States,  as  Grundy  County 
volunteers."  Under  this  resolution  eighty, 
five  men  were  paid  as  new  volunteers,  and 
in  1S81,  under  this  resolution,  $2,750  addi- 
tional was  paid  on  old  claims.  In  May, 
1861:,  under  the  call  for  "  one  hundred 
days"  men  a  bounty  of  twenty-five  dollars 
was  offered  and  paid  to  sixty-four  volun- 
teers. The  war  had  by  this  time  be- 
come a  very  serious  business,  and  while 
there  was  no  lack  of  loyal  regard  for  the 
cause  of  the  Union,  the  burden  began  seri- 
ously to  be  felt,  and  there  was  less  alacrity 
manifested  in  volunteering.  Those  who  had 
linfhter  claims  upon  them  at  home,  had  either 
felt  some  of  the  severities  of  soldier  life, 
or  were  disposed  to  take  their  chance  of  be- 
in<r  drafted,  while  those  whose  families  and 
business  seemed  to  demand  their  staying  at 
home  were  anxious  to  avoid  the  necessities  of 
a  draft.  There  was  in  addition  to  all  this,  an 
unselfish  desire  to  avoid  the  draft  as  a  refloc- 


166 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


tioii  upon  the  count3''s  loyalty  to  the  cause, 
and  in  September,  ISG-t,  the  Board  of  Su- 
pervisors impelled  by  these  various  motives, 
offered  a  bounty  of  $300  to  each  volunteer 
under  the  call  of  July  of  that  year.  Under 
this  action  of  the  Board  one  hundred  and 
ninety-five  persons  were  paid  this  bounty 
at  a  gross  expense  of  something  more  than 
$6i,000.  The  revised  enrollment  of  per- 
sons in  the  county  subject  to  military  duty, 
made  January,  1SG5,  placed  the  number 
at  1,623.  Tiie  total  quota  under  the  various 
calls  during  the  war  was  1,364:  men,  of  which 
1,3-13  were  credited  to  the  county.  This 
would  leave  a  deficit  in  the  number  of  men 
required  of  the  county,  but  in  such  a  vast 
undertaking,  with  the  necessary  official 
machinery  to  originate  and  put  in  motion, 
it  was  impossible  to  avoid  all  errors;  and 
while  Grund}'  County  appears  to  have  fallen 
short  of  her  quota  by  the  official  records,  it 
is  susceptible  of  ])roof  that  she  furnished 
many  mon;  than  her  quota,  which  were 
unfortunately  credited  elsewhere.* 

In  the  matter  of  bounties  it  is  equally 
difficult  to  get  an  accurate  statement  of 
all  the  connty  expended  in  putting  troops 
into  the  field.  The  records  show,  however, 
that  the  county  authorities  expended  §112,- 
175,  and  the  various  townships,  in  their 
separate  capacity,  over  $27,000,  to  which 
should  be  added  private  subscriptions  and 
subsequent  payments  by  the  county,  which 

*In  October,  1862,  a  list  of  volunteers  furnished  by 
the  different  townships  of  the  county  was  a-s  follows: 
Erienna,  13;  Au  Sable,  76;  Braceville.  53;  Felix,  20; 
Goodfarm,  52;  Greenfield,  51;  Highland,  68;  Mazon, 
91;  Morris,  1;  Nettle  Creek,  63;  Norman,  24;  Sara- 
toga, 68;  Vienna,  38;  Wauponsee,  52;  City  of  Mor- 
ris— 1st  ward,  38;  2d  ward,  43;  3d  ward,  78;  4th 
ward,  17;  a  total  of  855. 


would  bring  the  total  up  to  the  amount  of 
$145,000. 

The  Soldiers'  Aid  Society  of  Morris  was 
auxiliary  to  the  society  in  Chicago  over 
which  Mesdames  Hoge  and  Livermore  pre- 
sided with  such  efficiency.  Every  expedient 
which  would  bring  an  honest  dollar  into 
the  treasury  was  successfully  tried,  and  the 
fund  thus  accumulated  was  religiously  ex- 
pended here,  or  sent  to  the  society  at  Chi- 
cago for  the  benefit  of  the  boys  in  the  field. 
It  would  be  a  tedious  recital  to  recall  the 
various  expedients  resorted  to  by  the  ladies 
to  extort  the  last  dollar  in  aid  of  their  en- 
terprise. The  regular  plan  was  to  collect 
gifts  of  money,  under-clothing,  etc.,  make 
up  a  box  and  send  it  to  some  company  or 
hospital.  To  vary  the  monotony  of  this 
plan,  and  to  approach  the  public  on  a  more 
susceptible  side,  balls  were  given  and  fairs 
held.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these 
was  the  "  Sanitary  Fair,"  held  on  the 
grounds,  and  in  connection  with  the  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  this  county.  In  a 
spacious  dining  hall,  one  hundred  feet  long, 
dinner  was  served  to  large  crowds  on 
each  day  of  the  fair.  The  supplies  were 
contributed  by  the  various  townships  in- 
terested in  the  Agricultural  Fair,  and  the 
proceeds,  beside  a  large  number  of  the 
entries,  were  contributed  to  the  purposes 
of  the  society.  Canned  fruits,  vegetables 
and  pickles,  were  among  the  donations 
from  the  farmers'  wives — one  lot  of  twelve 
half-barrels  of  pickles  coming  from  the 
ladies  of  Minooka.  Others  gave  hay,  coal 
and  cattle,  which  were  sold,  free  of  charge, 
on  the  grounds,  and  we  may  believe  the 
bidding  was  not  less  spirited  because  it  was 
known  the  proceeds  were  to  be  devoted  to 
the  army  hospitals.    But  this  dry  recital  does 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


1G7 


woman's  work  during  the  period  of  the  war 
scant  justice.  The  value  of  her  moral  sup- 
port and  courageous  self-sacririce  can  never 
be  adequately  estimated,  nor  its  apprecia- 
tion placed  too  high. 

"The  wife  who  girds  her  husband's  sworJ, 

'Mid  little  one-  who  weep  or  wonder, 
And  bravely  spsaks  the  cheering  ward, 

What  though  her  heart  be  rent  asunder. 
Doomed  ni<?htly  in  her  dreams  to  hear 

The  bolts  of  death  aroun  J  him  rattle, 
Hath  shed  as  sacred  blood  as  e'er 

Was  poured  upon  the  field  of  bittle." 

The  law  proviiled  that  in  token  of  re- 
spect to  the  Illinois  regiments  in  the  Mex- 
ican war,  the  six  regiments  organized  under 
the  first  call  of  the  President  should  begin 
their  designating  number  at  seven,  and  that 
these  regiments  when  organized  should 
constitute  the  "First  Brigade  Illinois  Vol- 
unteers." The  Eleventh,  therefore,  was 
the  fifth  regiment  organized,  of  which  the 
Grundy  Tigers  constituted  Company  F. 
This  regiment  was  mustered  in  at  Spring- 
field, April  30, 1861,  and  on  May  5th  was 
ordered  to  Yilla  Ridge,  in  this  State,  in 
tiie  vicinity  of  Cairo,  In  the  following 
month  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Bird 
Point  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  where 
tiie  regiment  served  out  its  term  of  enlist- 
ment in  garrison  and  field  duty.  While  not 
seeing  any  active  service  during  this  time 
the  regiment,  with  others  assembled  at  this 
point,  did  excellent  duty  in  warding  off  the 
danger  which  the  overwiielming  forces  of 
the  rebels  on  the  river  below  threatened,  and 
at  the  same  time  gained  that  discipline 
whicli  inadetiiem  such  efiicient  soldiers  dur- 
ing the  war.  On  July  30th,  its  term  of  en- 
listment having  expired,  tiie  regiment  was 
mustered  out  of  service,  and  iiaving  re-en- 
listed for  tliree  years,  it  was  on  the  follow- 


ing day  mustered  in  for  three  years.  The 
old  number  was  retained,  but  tiie  ar- 
rangement of  companies  was  considerably 
changed,  the  Grundy  County  Company 
taking  the  letter  C.  The  membership  of 
the  regiment  was  greatly  changed  as  well. 
Out  of  916  mustered  out  only  2SS  \kq<:q 
mustered  in  again  on  tlie  following  da\', 
but  during  the  months  of  August,  Sep- 
tember, October  and  Xoveuiber,  it  was  re- 
cruited to  about  801  men.  During  this 
time  the  regiment  doing  garrison  and  field 
duty,  participated  in  several  unimpor- 
tant expeditions,  among  others,  tiie  one  to 
Ciiarleston,  Mo.,  wliere  tliey  got  into  a 
spirited  skirniisii  with  the  enemy.  Feb- 
ruarj-  2d,  the  regiment  embarked  on  trans- 
ports for  Fort  Henry,  participating  in  the 
campaign  against  that  place,  and  on  tiie 
lltii  inst.  moved  toward  Fort  Donelson. 
Here  the  regiment  got  their  first  "bap- 
tism of  fire."  The  regiment  came  in  sight 
of  the  fort  about  noon  of  the  12th,  and 
here  Wallace's  brigade,  composed  of  tiie 
11th,  20th,  -toth  and  4Sth  111.  Yolunteers. 
Taylor's  and  McAllister's  batteries  of  light 
artillery,  and  Col.  Dickey's  cavalry,  lialted 
and  drew  up  in  line  of  battle.  Col.  Ogles- 
by's  brigade  took  up  its  position  on  tiie 
right  of  Wallace,  and  in  this  position  but 
little  occurred  save  occasional  shots  at  the 
enemy  and  a  cliange  of  position,  until  the 
loth.  Grant  had  in  the  meanwhile  strength- 
ened his  line  of  investment,  so  that  but 
little  hope  of  escape  remained  to  the  gar- 
rison. On  tlie  morning  of  the  15tii,  there- 
fore, the  enemy,  to  the  number  of  7,500, 
emerged  from  his  works  and  in  separate 
columns  hurled  himself  on  the  right  of  tlie 
federal  line,  seeking  to  break  through  and 
escape.     The  first    blow  dealt  upon  Ogles- 


168 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


by's  brigade,  was  followed  bj-  a  second  on 
Wallace's  brii^ade  and  then  upon  Morrison's 
and  McArtlnir's  brigades  constituting  the 
extreme  right.  One  of  the  "  Grundy  Ti- 
gers" writes  as  follows  of  this  engagement: 
"  The  rebels  fought  well  but  not  fairly^liko 
Indians,  they  sought  shelter  of  stumps  and 
trees.  The  first  attack  on  the  11th  regi- 
ment was  m  ide  by  a  regiment  of  Missis- 
sippi riflemen.  We  suffered  them  to  ad- 
vance to  within  TOO  yards,  when  we  opened 
upon  them  with  terrible  effect  and  drove 
them  back  to  their  trenches,  where  they 
were  reinforced  and  advanced  again,  this 
time  within  fifty  yards,  but  were  again 
forced  to  retire.  We  suffered  severely,  but 
not  a  soldier  fell  back  unless  wounded.  At 
this  time  we  had  lost  about  eighty  men, 
killed  and  wounded.  The  rebels  withdrew 
their  troops  from  our  front  and  concen- 
trated them  on  our  right,  and  very  soon  we 
knew  by  the  firing  that  Oglesby's  brigade 
was  giving  way.  It  proved  worse  than  we 
expected.  First  came  the  ISth  in  full  re- 
treat, followed  by  the  rest  of  the  brigade. 
By  great  exertion  Col.  Logan  rallied  tlie 
31st  on  our  right,  forming  two  sides  of  a 
hollow  square,  and  here  for  half  an  hour 
these  two  regimsnts  held  the  enemy  in 
check,  the  31st  giving  way  and  rallying 
twice,  only  to  retreat  in  utter  confusion  at 
last.  The  11th  still  held  its  own,  Lieut.  Col. 
Hansom,  though  wounded,  remaining  cool 
and  firm.  We  changed  our  front  by  the 
right  flank,  where  the  31st  had  been  under 
a  most  galling  fire,  firing  as  we  moved 
around  by  the  sidestep,  until  ordered  to  halt. 
The  rebels,  exultant  at  the  retreat  of  the 
31st,  pressed  forward  to  within  forty  yards 
of  our  line,  but  they  were  mistaken  in  their 
men,  and   soon  fell  back   to  a  ridge,    150 


yards  distant,   leaving    the  ground  strewn 
with  their  dead  and  wounded. 

"There,  by  a  little  ravine,  we  remained 
for  half  au  hour,  fighting  three  times  our 
number,  outtlankel  on  either  side,  waiting 
for  reinlbrcemunts,  wliich  did  not  coise. 
Suddenly  a  body  of  rebel  cavalry  charged 
across  the  ridge,  on  our  left,  and  gained 
our  rear.  There  was  but  one  way  of  es- 
cape, and  that  lay  through  the  body  of  cav- 
alry, and  through  we  went,  the  bayonet 
opening  the  way.  Two  hours  afterward, 
the  remnant  of  our  regiment  drew  up  to 
receive  Col.  Wallace,  who.  being  in  com- 
mand of  the  brigade,  had  seen  us  but  once 
since  the  battle  began.  It  was  no  faidt  of 
his  that  we  were  left  unprotected.  AVhen 
Oglesby's  brigade  gave  way,  he  sent  au 
order  to  Col.  Kansom  to  fall  back  on  the 
20th,  but  the  messenger  was  killed.  The 
tears  streamed  down  Col.  Wallace'  face  m 
he  scanned  his  regiment.  Over  600  liaii 
engaged  the  enemy,  and  115  muskets  were 
all  we  had  left  to  show.  Our  flag  still 
waved  over  us,  though  shot  to  ribbons. 
Early  next  morning  we  marched  into  the 
fort,  the  11th  being  allowed  to  lead  the 
van,  on  account  of  its  having  sufiered  the 
most  severelj'.  The  loss  in  this  regiment, 
so  far  as  we  can  learn,  is  329  killed,  wound- 
ed and  missing.  Of  the  Grundy  Tigers, 
but  one  is  missing."  In  this  battle,  Grundy 
County  suffered  severely.  Out  of  sixteen 
men  who  enlisted  from  the  southern  part 
of  the  county  in  another  company,  every 
man  was  wounded. 

Early  in  March,  the  regiment  went  by 
Fort  Henry  to  Savannah,  Tenn.,  and  thence 
to  Pittsburgh  Landing,  where  it  took  part 
in  the  bloody  battle  of  Shiloh.  of  April 
6th  and  7th.     The  11th,   incorporated  in 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


]C9 


the  division  of  MeCleriiaiid,  was  on  tlie 
right  of  the  federal  line,  near  wliere  the 
line  touched  the  lower  point  of  the  river, 
and  with  its  division  supported  Sherman 
in  the  first  onset  of  that  memorable  battle. 
][ere  the  regiment  suffered  cruelly,  as  they 
did  in  the  second  daj^'s  light,  losing  27 
killed  and  wounded  out  of  150  engaged. 
After  participating  in  the  protracted  siege 
of  Corinth  and  in  the  engagements  near 
Trenton,  Tenn.,  the  regiment  was  finally 
ordered  back  to  Cairo  to  recruit.  In  the 
latter  part  of  August  the  11th  pro- 
ceeded once  more  to  the  front,  taking  part 
in  various  ex]ieditions,  reporting  in  the 
latter  part  of  November  to  Gen.  McArthnr, 
at  Lagrange,  Tenn.,  when  it  was  assigned 
to  the  13th  Army  Corps.  During  the 
earlj  part  of  1863,  the  regiment  took  part 
in  the  campaign  in  northern  Mississippi; 
later,  resting  for  a  time  in  Memphis,  it  was 
assigned,  in  February,  to  the  17th  Army 
Corps,  reinforced  by  a  consolidation  with 
the  109th  111.,  and  ordered  to  Vicksburg, 
where  it  arrived  May  ISth.  On  the  19tli 
and  22d,  the  regiment  was  engaged  in  the 
assaults  upon  the  enemy's  works;  then  in 
tiie  advance  siege  works  up  to  July  4th, 
when  the  city  surrendered.  In  these  en- 
gagements the  regiment  lost  its  colonel, 
three  line  officers,  and  forty  men.  The 
regiment  subsequently  took  part  in  the 
Natchez  expedition,  returning  to  Vicks- 
burg in  October,  where  it  remained  till  the 
latter  part  of  July,  1864,  engaging  in  vari- 
ous minor  expeditions  from  that  point. 
At  this  time,  the  11th  was  assigned  to  the 
19th  Army  Corps,  and  after  taking  part  in 
several  minor  expeditions,  took  part  in  the 
reduction  of  Mobile,  Ala.,  participating  in 
the   investment  and  siege  of  Spanish   Fort 


and  Fort  Blakely,  and  in  the  assault  upon 
the  latter.  This  ended  its  active  service, 
and,  moving  from  one  point  to  anotliei',  it 
was  mustered  out  of  the  service,  July  lltli, 
1865,  at  Alexandria,  La.,  when  the  regi- 
ment left  for  Springfield,  111.,  for  payment 
and  final  discharge. 

Among  the  early  volunteers  from  Grundy 
County  was  Capt.  Hulburd's  company. 
This  company  was  among  those  that  were 
crovvded  out  of  the  earlier  regiments,  but 
was  accepted  by  the  State,  and  finally 
authorized  by  tlie  Secretary  of  War  during 
the  month  of  June  and  on  the  i5th  was 
mustered  into  the  service  as  Company  E  of 
the  23rd  regiment,  but  better  known  as  the 
"  Irish  Brigade,"'  under  command  of  Col. 
Mulligan.  The  regiment  enlisted  under  the 
call  for  "three  months"  volunteers,  and 
spent  an  uneventful  career,  first  at  Quincy, 
111.,  and  then  at  the  St.  Louis  arsenal,  until 
tlie  latter  part  of  July,  when  the  regiment 
was  moved  to  Jefl'erson  City,  Mo.  In  the 
latter  part  of  August  the  regiment  was  re- 
enlisted,  a  large  part,  however,  returning  to 
Chicago  and  being  mustered  out.  In  the 
reorganization  which  followed  the  re-enlist- 
ment of  the  regiment,  21  men  of  Company 
E.,  52  men  of  Company  G.,  and  25  men  of 
Company  H,  were  consolidated  and  called 
Company  G,  which,  by  an  order  of  Jan.  3, 
1865,  was  changed  to  Company  C.  The. 
movement  of  Gen.  Price  toward  Jeft'erson 
City  caused  Col.  Mulligan,  who  had  been 
engaged  in  several  minor  exj^editions,  to 
move  to  Lexington  as  soon  as  possible  afiei- 
the  reorganization,  and  arriving  at  the 
place  on  the  9th  of  September  he  set  at 
once  to  fortifying  his  position.  His  com- 
mand consisted  of  the  23d  111.  infantry,  1st 
111.    cavalry,    and    about    1,200   Missouri 


170 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


"  home  guards,"  tlie  entire  force  numbering 
less  than  3,000  men.  Gen.  Price  set  down 
before  the  works  on  tlie  11th,  with  a  force 
estimated  at  20,000.  An  assault  was  made 
on  the  following  day,  but  so  determined  was 
tlie  resistance  that  the  rebel  General  was 
forced  to  undertake  a  siege.  The  nature  of 
the  works,  however,  left  no  room  to  doubt 
the  speedy  result  of  such  an  attack,  unless 
relieved  by  reinforcements.  The  besieging 
force  saturated  bales  of  hemp  to  prevent 
their  ignition  from  the  hot  shots  of  Mulli- 
gan's guns,  and  rolled  them  in  front  of  the 
intrenchments,  and  quietly  mounted  his 
guns.  Price,  who  liad  been  waiting  for 
ammunition,  on  the  18th  opened  with  thir- 
teen guns,  posted  in  commanding  positions. 
Col.  Mulligan  liad  but  five  small  brass 
pieces  with  which  to  reply  to  this  fire,  and 
these  were  charged  with  rough  shot  manu- 
factured for  the  occasion  at  a  neighboring 
foundry.  These  pieces  were  worked,  how- 
ever, with  great  gallantry,  and  served  to 
command  very  considerable  respect  from 
the  besiegers.  Price  had  previously  seized 
the  boats  on  the  river,  and  fortified  the 
adjacent  blufl:s,  so  that  the  federal  troops 
were  entirely  cut  off  from  water,  and  suf- 
fered the  most  intense  agonies  of  thirst.  It 
rained,  however,  at  intervals,  and  the  thirsty 
men,  by  spreading  their  blankets  till  they 
became  saturated  with  water,  and  then 
wringing  them  into  camp  dishes,  were 
enabled  to  prolong  the  siege  until  the  20th. 
when  they  surrendered.  The  Missouri 
troops,  "  invincible  in  peace  and  invisible  in 
war,"  left  the  burden  of  the  defense  with 
the  Illinois  troops,  constituting  scarcely 
more  than  half  of  the  whole  number.  A 
writer  in  the  Chicago  Pout  spoke  of  the 
23d  regiment  as  follows:  ''On  the  17th  tlie 


enemy  commenced  erecting  breastworks  of 
hemp  bales,  from  behind  which  they  con- 
tinued to  fire  as  the}'  rolled  them  toward  us. 
About  three  o'clock  of  tlie  same  day  they 
charged  over  our  entrenchments,  upon  Col. 
Peaijody's  home  guards,  and  planted  tiieir 
flags  on  the  top  of  our  breastworks.  The 
Irish  Brigade  was  ordered  to  leave  its 
position  on  the  opposite  side,  and  to  retake 
the  ground  which  Peabody  had  lost.  We 
fired  on  the  run,  and  continued  on  the 
double  quick.  The  rebels  scattered  and  fled 
like  a  flock  of  sheep,  but  left  the  top  of  the 
breastworks  covered  witii  dead  and  wounded. 
In  this  single  charge  we  killed  and  wounded 
55  and  lost  about  30  killed  and  wounded." 
An  officer  in  the  rebel  service  wrote  of  the 
capitulation:  "  This  surrender  does  not  cast 
the  slightest  discredit  upon  Col.  Mulligan, 
his  officers  and  men.  After  having  ex- 
hausted all  tlieir  means  against  an  enemy 
three  times  their  strength  they  had  no 
choice  but  capitulation."  The  regiment 
was  paroled,  and  by  order  of  Gen.  Fremont 
mustered  out  of  the  service  in  October,  but 
was  restored  in  December  by  order  of 
McClellan.  After  remaining  at  Camp 
Douglas,  near  Chicago,  guarding  prisoners 
and  recruiting  until  June  14,  1862,  the 
regiment  was  moved  to  Western  Virginia. 
Here  the  regiment  found  plenty  of  service, 
and  had  repeated  encounters  with  rebel 
detachments.  Company  G  being  captured 
April  25,  1863,  and  sent  to  Richmond. 
The  regiment  was  mustered  out  at  Pich- 
mond,  Va.,  July  2-1,  1865,  and  arrived  in 
Chicage  six  days  later. 

Grundy  County  was  also  represented  in 
the  Thirty-sixth  regiment  by  Company  G, 
of  that  organization.  This  regiment,  like 
the  23d,  was  made  up  of  those  volunteers 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


173 


who  tendered  tlieir  services  just  too  late  to 
be  accepted  under  the  first  call  of  the  Pres- 
ident. "A  meeting  of  persons  interested 
in  the  organization  of  a  'Fox  River  Regi- 
ment' was  lield  at  Geneva  on  the  29th  day 
of  Juh',  1861,  and  preliminary  steps  taken 
for  its  organization.  Fifteen  companies, 
either  complete  or  in  an  advanced  state  of 
formation,  were  represented  and  tendered 
for  acceptance,  twelve  of  wliicii  were  select- 
ed, including  two  cavalry  companies."* 
This  regiment  was  duly  authorized  by  the 
proper  authorities,  and  Col.  N.  Grensel 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  "Fox 
River  Regiment,"  under  date  of  August 
14,  1861.  The  regiment  went  into  camp 
near  Aurora,  was  mustered  into  the  three 
years'  service  September  23d,  and  uni- 
formed, and  on  the  following  day  started  for 
St.  Louis,  where  they  were  armed.  The  regi- 
ment was  at  once  ordered  to  Rolla,  Mo., 
remaining  there  until  January,  1862,  when 
it  took  part  in  the  campaign  against  Price, 
resulting  in  the  series  of  engagements  end- 
ing with  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge.  In  this 
battle,  especially,  the  36th  took  a  conspicu- 
ous part.  It  was  a  part  of  the  Second  bri- 
gade of  Osterhaus'  division,  and  occupied 
a  position  on  the  left  of  the  Federal  line. 
Company  CI.  was  the  most  severely  han- 
dled, losing  thirteen  men  while  in  skirmish 
line.  Col.  Grensel's  report  of  his  part  in 
the  engagement  describes  this  action  as 
follows:  "My attention  was  now  called  to 
several  regiments  of  infantry  in  our  front, 
and  immediately  opposite  the  3Cth  Illinois 
Volunteers,  whereupon  I  threw  out  Com- 
panies B  and  G  of  that  regiment  as  skir- 
mishers.  These  companies  crossed  the  field, 

♦Bennett  &  Haight's  Hist,  of  36fch  Regt. 


and  on  entering  the  timber  discovered  the 
enemy  in  ambush — three  regiments  drawn 
up  in  line  and  others  formed  in  square, 
evidently  e.xpecting  another  attack  from 
our  cavalry.  A  rapid  fire  was  opened  up 
by  the  enemy  and  returned  by  the  skir- 
mishers, which  was  kept  up  for  fifteen  min- 
utes. Finding  that  they  were  wasting  am- 
munition to  no  purpose,  the  skirmishers 
retired  in  good  order,  with  a  loss  of  twenty 
wounded — thirteen  in  Company  G,  and 
seven  in  Company  E." 

The  regiment  was  subsequently  trans- 
ferred to  the  Department  of  the  Mississippi 
and  marched  to  Cape  Giraudeau,  Mo.,  and 
on  their  arrival  was  transferred  to  Gen. 
Pope's  command.  September  6,  1862,  the 
regiment  was  ordered  to  Cincinnati,  O.,  to 
defend  the  city  against  Gen.  Bragg'a  raid 
across  Kentuckj',  and  joined  in  his  pursuit 
when  that  general  was  forced  to  retreat. 
In  the  battle  of  Perry  ville,  which  followed, 
the  36tli  i-egiment,  which  formed  a  part  of 
Sheridan's  division,  occupied  an  advanced 
position  in  front  of  Barrett's  battery  near 
the  center  of  the  federal  line.  Here  the 
regiment  was  the  object  of  a  fierce  attack 
by  three  regiments  of  Hardee's  famous 
troops,  and  maintained  a  sharp  fight  until 
the  ammunition  being  exhausted,  the  36th 
was  retired,  losing  75  men.  They  were 
ordered  subsequenth'  to  the  support  of 
another  battery,  but  did  not  again  become 
engaged  with  the  enemy.  With  the  rest 
,  of  the  army  the  36th  went  forward  to 
Nashville,  where  it  remained  until  the  lat- 
ter part  of  December,  1862,  when  it  moved 
out  with  the  army  under  Rosecrans  to  the 
bloody  encounter  of  Stone  River.  In  this 
battle  McCook's  corps  occu])ied  the  I'ight 
of  the  Union  line,  Sheridan's  division  being 


174 


HISTORY  OF  GKUXDY  COUNTY. 


on  the  left  of  this  corps.  Of  the  3(3th  reg- 
iment's part  in  this  action  CoL  Grensel 
reported:  "At  daylight  on  the  31st  (De- 
cember, 1SC2)  the  regiment  was  assaulted 
by  a  rebel  brigade,  under  Gen.  Weathers, 
and  being  supported  by  the  88th  Illinois, 
on  its  left,  the  enemy  was  soon  driven 
back  to  the  woods;  but  again  and  again 
they  were  rallied,  every  time  meeting  the 
same  fate,  until  thirty-eight  of  that  fine 
brigade  were  all  that  were  left  to  tell  where 
their  rebel  comrades  had  fallen.  The  36th 
charged  them  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet 
twice  in  succession,  driving  them  back. 
Forty-one  of  the  poor  bo^'s  lay  dead  on 
their  faces  on  less  than  an  acre  of  ground. 
The  number  of  wounded  is  large,  and,  in 
iact,  the  killed  and  wounded  are  the  larg- 
est in  the  whole  division."  Out  of  this 
light  the  rci^iment  brought  only  200  men, 
Company  G  losing  three  men  killed  and 
thirteen  wounded. 

After  the  battle  of  Stone  Iliver,  suc- 
ceeded a  period  of  more  or  less  inactivity, 
in  which  the  regiment  recruited  its  wasted 
energies,  losing  its  colonel  in  the  mean- 
while by  resignation,  his  place  being  sup- 
plied by  Col.  Silas  Miller.  In  September, 
however,  the  36th  was  called  again  to  face 
the  enemy  at  Chickamauga.  On  the  19th, 
the  regiment  marched  ten  miles,  from  Pond 
Springs  to  Gordon's  Mills,  Sheridan's  di- 
vision occupying  at  that  time  the  extreme 
right  of  the  federal  line.  The  attack  upon 
this  portion  of  the  line  was  especially 
severe.  Lieut.  Col.  Olson's  report  of  this 
engagement  is  as  follows:  "  At  2  P.  M. 
went  into  position  near  Gordon's  Mills, 
with  one  company  thrown  forward  as 
skirmishers.  At  5  P.  M.  fell  back  to  the 
timber,  about  200  yards,  and  remained  dur- 


ing the  night.  At  i  A.  M.,  20th,  inarched 
two  miles  and  a  quarter  to  the  left  and 
formed  in  the  second  line.  At  11A.M., 
after  some  skirmishing,  was  ordered  for- 
ward to  the  sup])ort  of  the  center.  Formed 
on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  under  a  most  ter- 
rible fire,  but  in  perfect  good  order,  and 
engaged  the  enemy  fiercely,  checking  his 
advance.  At  this  juncture,  the  enemy  ap- 
peared on  the  left,  and,  turning  the  flank, 
subjected  us  to  a  murderous,  enfilading 
fire,  against  which  we  could  offfer  but  little 
resistance.  The  regiment  was  ordered  to 
fall  back.  Here  the  regiment  made  another 
stand,  but  was  overwhelmed  by  numbers, 
and  compelled  to  fall  back."  At  this 
juncture,  Sheridan's  division  was  relieved, 
and  ordered  to  Rossville  to  rescue  a  train 
which  was  in  danger  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  This  was  skillfully 
done,  the  troops  going  silently  within  rifle 
shot  of  the  enemy,  securing  the  train  with- 
out discovery,  and  going  into  camp  five 
miles  away.  On  the  22d,  the  i-egiment 
took  up  its  line  of  retreat  to  Chattanooga. 
In  this  engagement.  Company  G  lost 
twenty-two  men. 

On  the  following  day,  the  siege  and  de- 
fense of  Chattanooga  began,  the  36th  be- 
ginning the  construction  of  rifle  pits,  by 
five  o'clock  next  morning.  Here  some  two 
months  were  spent  in  watching  the  enemy 
on  the  heights  about  the  city,  living  on  half 
or  no  rations,  and  wondering  whether  the 
issue  wonld  be  starvation  or  retreat.  In 
the  meanwhile  the  army  had  changed  lead- 
ers, the  line  of  supplies  had  been  opened, 
and  Sherman's  and  Hooker's  forces  added 
to  the  army,  which  was  now  under  the  im- 
mediate command  of  Gen.  Grant.  About 
noon  of  Kovember  23d,  1863,   the  order 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


175 


was  g'weu  to  the  36tli  to  "  fall  in,"  and  with 
Sheridan's  division  it  supported  Wood's 
division,  in  what  was  intended  as  a  recon- 
noisanee  of  the  enemy  on  Orchard  Knob. 
The  slight  resistance  of  the  enemy  changed 
the  character  of  the  movement,  and  the 
troops,  reinforced  b^'  Howard's  division, 
occupied  the  position  gained  and  fortified, 
the  36th  holding  a  position  on  the  hill  just 
south  of  Orchard  Knob,  where  is  now  the 
National  Cemetery.  In  the  meanwhile, 
Hooker  had  taken  Lookout  Mountain,  but 
his  troops,  out  of  ammunition,  were  forced 
to  remain  inactive  until  their  cartridge 
bo.xes  were  replenished,  and  so  passed  the 
day.  On  the  24:th,  Sherman  renewed  his 
attacks  upon  the  northern  summits  of  Mis- 
sion Ridge,  but  finding  it  impossible  to 
make  rapid  progress,  and  Hooker  being 
delayed  on  the  left,  Grant  determined  upon 
a  movement  from  the  center.  The  plan 
was  to  take  the  rifie  pits  at  the  foot  of  the 
ridge,  by  the  skirmish  line  if  possible,  and 
the  36tli  furnished  three  companies  fortius 
service.  This  was  accomplished.  From 
this  point  a  hill  rose  eight  hundred  feet  out 
of  the  valley,  swept  by  a  storm  of  bullets, 
shot  and  shell.  Along  its  face,  half-way 
up,  stretched  a  line  of  works,  then  400  feet 
further  up,  with  the  steepness  of  a  gothic 
roof,  rough  with  rocks  and  strewn  with 
fallen  trees,  the  summit  frowned  with  all 
its  terrible  enginery  of  war.  To  stay  in  the 
rifle  pits  already  gained  meant  death, 
to  retreat  was  as  certain  destruction,  and 
so  without  orders  the  troops  struggled 
up  through  the  deluge  of  death-dealing 
missiles.  In  this  fight  Company  G  did  not 
lose  a  man,  though  the  regiment  lost  some 
twenty.  In  January,  1804,  the  regiment 
re-enlisted,   and    arrived    in    Chicago    on 


"veteran  furlough,"  at  midnight  of  Feb- 
ruary 2d.  After  partaking  of  the  hospital- 
ities of  the  city,  the  various  companies 
separated  for  the  localities  of  their  homcR, 
Company  G  being  received  at  Morris  with 
enthusiastic  demonstrations,  which  was  re- 
peated during  their  six  weeks'  stay,  at  the 
various  points  where  the  friends  of  the 
regiment  resided.  During  the  furlough  of 
the  regiment  every  effort  was  made  by  the 
members  to  recruit  its  numbers.  Com- 
pany G  took  back  twenty  veterans  and 
eleven  recruits.  March  19,  1804,  the  regi- 
ment took  the  cars  for  Chicago,  on  their  way 
back  to  the  field.  The  regiment  proceeded 
at  once  to  Chattanooga,  and  from  thence 
took  part  in  the  actions  of  Dalton,  Resaca, 
Kenesaw,  Atlanta,  Spring  Hill,  Franklin, 
and  Nashville.  After  the  pursuit  of  Hood, 
■which  took  the  regiment  to  Lexing-ton, 
Ala.,  it  returned  to  Nashville,  where  it 
remained  until  the  loth  of  June,  when 
orders  were  received  to  proceed  to  New  Or- 
leans. Here  the  30th  was  retained  for 
lieadquarter  and  special  dut}^  until  October 
8,  1865,  when  it  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service. 

In  Company  I  of  the  55th'regiment,  this 
county  was  represented  by  some  fifty  men, 
the  balance  of  the  company  being  drawn 
from  La  Salle  County.  The  regiment  was 
mustered  into  the  three  years'  service  Octo- 
ber 31, 1861,  at  Camp  Douglas.  The  55th 
was  ordered  January,  1863,  to  Paducah, 
Ky.,  where  they  remained  till  March  8,  when 
they  were  ordered  to  the  Tennessee  River 
to  take  piart  in  the  movements  about  Cor- 
inth. This  regiment  was  finally  taken  to 
Pittsburgh  Landing,  where  it  was  ]ilaced 
on  the  left  of  the  federal  line  in  that  mem- 
orable fio;]it.     Out  of  873  men  taken  into 


376 


HISTORY  OF  GKUNDY  COUNTY. 


the  light,  102  enlisted  men  were  killed,  and 
161  wounded  and  taken  prisoners.  It 
took  part  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and  its 
colors  were  the  first  in  the  captured  city; 
with  Shernaan's  division  the  55th  partici- 
pated in  the  expedition  to  Holly  Springs, 
Miss.,  thence  to  Memphis;  thence  to  take 
part  in  the  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Dec. 
29,  1862,  losing  in  this  engagement  ten 
men.  From  this  point  having  re-einbarked 
with  the  army,  it  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Arkansas  .Post;  thence  to  Young's  Point 
early  iu  1863,  and  in  April  joined  the  army 
about  Vicksburg,  taking  part  in  several  ex- 
peditions against  the  enemy's  outlying 
posts  and  in  the  assaults,  19th  and  22d  May, 
upon  the  main  works.  Following  the  for- 
tunes of  Sherman's  division,  the  regiment 
found  its  way  to  Chattanooga  in  Novem- 
ber, 1863,  and  took  ]iart  in  the  prelimi- 
nary movements  of  the  battle  of  Mission 
Ridge.  In  the  following  winter  it  re-en- 
listed and  was  home  on  a  veteran  furlough 
of  thirty  days.  On  its  return  it  rejoined 
Sherman,  took  part  in  the  engagements  of 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  losing  48  men;  again 
in  July  losing  33  men;  in  the  siege  of 
Atlanta  losing  25  men;  and  in  the  fight  of 
Jonesboro,  losing  23  men.  It  subsequently 
joined  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood  through 
northern  Alabama,  when  it  returned  to 
Atlanta,  and  later  with  tlie  15th  Army 
Corps  went  to  Savannah.  Marched  from 
Richmond  to  Washington,  took  part  in  the 
grand  review,  then  moved  to  Louisville; 
thence  to  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  where  it  was 
mustered  out  of  the  service  August  li,  1865. 
Company  I  of  the  69th  regiment  was 
made  up  principally  from  Grundy  County. 
This  regiment  was  organized  under  the 
call  for  three  months  men  in  1862,  and  was 


mustered  into  the  service  June  14, 1S62,  at 
Oamp  Douglas.  They  were  assigned  duty 
of  guarding  prisoners  at  this  camp  and 
served  out  their  term  of  enlistment  here, 
being  mustered  out  Sept.  27,  1862. 

Company  C  of  the  76th  regiment  was 
raised  entirely  in  Grundy  County.  This 
company  was  organized  in  the  summer  of 
1862,  went  into  camp  at  Kankakee  and  was 
Tiiustered  into  the  service  August  22,  1862. 
The  76tli  was  ordered  as  soon  as  mustered 
to  Columbus,  Ky.,  and  from  thence  to  Bol- 
ivar, Tenn.,  October  3d.  Late  in  Novem- 
ber the  regiment  joined  Grant's  forces  in 
the  campaign  along  the  Mississippi  Central 
Railroad,  and  in  February,  1863,  proceeded 
to  Memphis  and  thence  to  Vicksburg, 
where  it  took  part  in  the  assault  of  May  22d. 
This  regiment  subsequently  took  part  in  the 
movement  against  Jackson,  Meriden,  and 
the  expeditions  of  February  and  May,  Isd-t, 
up  the  Yazoo  River.  In  July,  186-1-,  it  was 
in  Slocum's  expedition  against  Jackson,  and 
bore  a  prominent  part  in  the  battle  of  July 
6th  and  7th.  On  the  latter  day  it  was  cut 
off  from  the  balance  of  the  command, 
but  cut  its  way  out,  losing  ninety-eight 
men.  Took  part  in  various  minor  move- 
ments in  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Ar- 
kansas, and  joined  in  Steele's  expedition 
from  Pensacola  to  Blakely,  Ala.  May  9, 
1865,  engaged  in  the  assault  and  capture  of 
Fort  Blakely,  losing  seventeen  killed  and 
eighty -one  wounded,  but  succeeded  in  being 
the  first  to  plant  the  national '  colors  upon 
the  enemy's  works.  After  long  marches 
and  tedious  encampments  at  Selden,  Mo- 
bile and  Galveston,  the  regiment  was  mus- 
tered out  and  ordi.red  home,  July  22, 
1865. 

In  the  91st  regiment  of  Illinois  infantry, 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


177 


(inituly  Cdunty  was  represented  b}'  Com- 
jiatiy  D.  Tliis  com])any  was  raised  in 
Aiii^iist,  18G2,  and  going  to  Cainp  Butler 
was  mustered  into  the  service  Sept.  8,  1862. 
In  tiie  following  month  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  Louisville  and  was  assigned  to 
duty  guarding  the  Louisville  and  Nashville 
railroad.  The  regiment  formed  a  part  of 
the  large  force  guarding  the  Louisville  and 
Nashville  railroad,  and  occupied  seven  de- 
tached posts  on  thirty  miles  of  tlie  line  of 
that  road.  Three  compiinies  were  stationed 
at  each  of  the  trestles  at  Big  llun  and  Sul- 
]ihnr  Fork,  which  are  ahout  a  mile  apart, 
and  seven  or  eight  miles  north  of  Elizabeth- 
town  ;  one  company,  Capt.  Fosha's  (Co. 
D),  occui)ied  a  stockade  at  this  ])lace  ;  por- 
tions of  one  company,  Capt.  Hanna's  (en- 
listed in  Kendall  County),  were  stationed 
at  two  bridges  about  a  mile  apart,  and 
nearly  two  miles  south  of  Elizabethtown  ; 
one  company  at  Nolin's  Fork,  nine  miles, 
and  one  at  Bacon  Creek,  twenty  miles 
south  of  Elizabethtown.  These  detachments 
liad  all  received  orders  not  to  leave  their 
diflerent  positions  for  any  cause  whatever, 
bnt  to  hold  and  defend  them  to  the  last 
extremity.  For  some  days  before  the  attack 
of  Gen.  Morgan,  reports  were  constantly 
received  at  the  different  stations  that  the 
rebels  were  ajiproaching  in  large  force,  and 
the  impression  was  universal  throughout 
the  regiment  that  under  the  orders  they 
had  received,  the  small  detachments  at  the 
different  posts  would  be  gobbled  u]>,  one 
after  the  other,  by  superior  numbers.  These 
reports  and  impressions  were  fully  con- 
tirmed  late  on  Fridaj'  night,  by  tha  arrival 
at  Elizabethtown  of  two  negroes  who  had 
escaped  from  the  companies  at  Bacon 
Creek  and  Nolin's  Fork  bringing  intelli- 


gence that  both  of  these  companies  had 
been  attacked  that  day  by  the  rebels  and 
compelled  to  surrender.  Capt.  Fosha  im- 
mediately sent  a  messenger  to  head(|uarter8 
at  Big  Run  Trestle,  informing  Lieut. 
Col.  Smith  of  the  intelligence  he  had  just 
received  by  the  escaped  negroes. 

"During  the  night  the  rebel  scouts  were 
(juite  active  and  bold,  but  our  pickets  were 
watchful  and  alert,  and  no  advantage  was 
obtained.  Early  in  the  morning  skirmish- 
ers were  sent  out  to  feel  the  enemy  and  re- 
tard their  advance,  and  about  eight  o'clock 
the  six  companies  at  the  Trestle,  having 
been  relieved  by  the  71st  Luliana  volun- 
teers, arrived  at  Elizabethtown  under  Lieut. 
Col.  Smith,  who  immediately  ordered  Capt. 
Ilanna's  company  at  the  bridges  below  to 
join  him.  The  command  then  consisted 
of  eight  companies,  mustering  about  450 
effective  men,  which  Col.  Smith  drew  up 
in  line  of  battle  on  the  west  side  of  the  rail- 
road, close  by  the  stockade  in  which  Capt. 
Fosha's  men  were  left,  with  orders  to  hold 
it.  Up  to  this  time,  neither  the  rebel 
forces  nor  their  commander  was  known. 
To  ascertain  these  facts  Col.  Smith  sent  out 
a  flag  of  truce,  demanding  their  immedi- 
ate surrender.  The  demand  was  of  course 
refused,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  Col. 
Smith  received  a  reply  signed  by  John  IL 
Morgan,  stating  tliat  he  had  Col.  Smith's 
forces  surrounded,  and  that  in  ten  minutes 
liis  batteries  would  be  in  position  to  open 
upon  him,  and  demanding  the  surrender  of 
his  command.  To  this  Col.  Smitli  replied 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  United  States  soldiers 
to  tight,  not  to  surrender.  In  less  than  ten 
minutes  allowed  by  Gen.  Mijrgan,  one  of 
his  batteries  had  taken  position  on  some 
hiffh   bluffs  to  the  riii-ht  of    the  Nashville 


17S 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


pike,  and  within  a  thousand  yards  of  the 
town,  and  opened  fire  upon  Col.  Smith's 
forces;  at  the  same  time,  heavy  columns  of 
the  enemy  were  observed  moving  to  the 
right  and  left  of  the  town,  with  the  evi- 
dent intention  of  surrounding  our  troops. 
To  avoid  this  it  became  necessary  to  change 
tlie  position  of  the  regiment,  which  Col. 
Smith  did  by  moving  his  men  into  the  town 
and  taking  possession  of  the  court  house 
:md  buildings  on  the  square.  On  the  re- 
tirement of  the  outside  forces  and  before 
the  enemy  had  advanced  on  the  stockade, 
Capt.Fosha  withdrew  hiy  forces  and  followed 
the  retreat  of  the  rest  of  the  regiment  into 
the  town,  and  occupied  a  building  on  the 
south  side  of  the  square.  It  was  now  ten 
o'clock  and  Col.  Smith  had  determined  to 
liold  the  buildings  to  the  last  extremity. 
The  enemy  opened  fire  upon  the  town  with 
his  artillery,  the  building  from  which  the 
regimental  colors  were  flying  being  struck 
seventeen  times  and  badly  riddled.  The 
men,  however,  were  maintaining  their  dis- 
cipline, though  several  were  killed  and  oth- 
ers wounded,  and  were  returning  the  mus- 
ket firing  with  some  efi'ect.  As  the  enemy 
approached  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  and 
were  dismounting  with  the  evident  inten- 
tion of  making  an  attack  upon  the  regi- 
inent's  position,  numbers  of  saddles  were 
unceremoniously  emptied  by  the  accuracy 
of  our  fire,  which  made  the  rebels  hesitate 
to  advance.  The  firing  had  been  main- 
tained upward  of  three  hours,  and  the  Un- 
ion foi-ces  were  expecting  an  assault  which 
they  confidently  expected  to  repel  with 
heavy  loss  to  the  enemy,  when  a  white  fiag 
was  thrown  out  of  a  window  in  the  build- 
ing occupied  by  Capt.  Fosha's  company. 
It  was   immediately    ordered    to   be   shot 


down,  and  when  fired  upon  was  withdrawn, 
but  another  immediately  appeared  on  the 
street,  and  Capt.  Fosha's  men  were  seen 
coming  out  of  the  building  and  throwing 
down  their  arms.  The  firing  ceased  at 
once,  and  the  rebels  rushing  in  from  the 
alleys  and  cover  of  the  houses,  captured 
the  whole  regiment."  *  The  forces  under 
Morgan  numbered  some  eight  or  ten  thou- 
sand with  thirteen  guns,  and  the  capture 
of  the  regiment  was  a  foreirone  conclusion 
from  the  first,  but  the  spirited  resistance 
offered  by  our  troops  delayed  the  rebel  ex- 
pedition and  forced  them  to  lose  valuable 
time.  When  paroled,  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  Benton  Barracks,  Mo.,  and  in 
January,  1S63,  were  sent  home  on  furlough. 
In  Febrnar}'.  they  were  ordered  back,  and 
subsequently  ordered  to  Yicksburg  where 
they  arrived  July  Itth.  They  took  part  in 
the  movements  to  Port  Hudson,  Carrollton, 
La.,  and  Atchafalaya  River,  arriving  at 
Morganzia,  10th  of  October.  Transferred 
to  the  13th  array  corps,  they  went  to  Xew 
Orleans,  going  into  camp  October  12th. 
Later  in  the  month  the  regiment  was  ordered 
to  Texas;  took  part  in  several  minor  engage- 
ments, and  in  July,  1864,  occupied  Brazos 
Santiago  as  part  of  the  garrison.  About  the 
last  of  December,  the  91st  was  relieved  and 
transferred  to  Xew  Orleans  and  placed  on 
provost  duty,  hi  February,  it  joined  the 
forces  at  Fort  Morgan  and  subsequently 
took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign- whicli 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  Spanish  Fort  and 
Fort  Blakely.  Following  up  tlie  retreat  of 
the  rebels,  the  federal  forces  overtook  the 
enemy  at  Eight-mile  Creek,  where  a  sharp 
engagement  took  place,  the  91st  leading  a 

*  Grundy  County  Herald,  January  14, 1863. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


17!) 


bayonet  charge,  which  cleared  the  field. 
This  was  the  last  engagement  of  the  war 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  The  regiment  was 
iiuistcred  out  of  the  service,  July  12,  lS(j.5, 
at  Mobile,  and  reached  Camp  Butler  on  the 
23d  of  the  same  month. 

The  127th  Illinois  infantry  contained 
nearly  a  full  company  from  Grundy  Coun- 
ty, Company  D,  which  was  organized 
about  xVugust,  1S63,  and  was  mustered  at 
Camp  Douglas  in  September,  though  the 
regiment  was  not  organized  until  October. 
Early  in  the  following  month  the  regiment 
was  ordered  to  the  field,  going  by  rail  to 
Cairo,  and  thence  by  steamboat  to  Mem- 
]ihis.  Taking  part  in  the  Talahatchie 
River  expedition,  the  127th,  on  its  return 
to  Memphis,  was  ordered  to  Vicksburg. 
The  regiment  was  in  Blair's  division  under 
Sherman,  and  after  takin^'  their  turn  at 
ditcliing  in  the  various  bayous  (a  line  of  op- 
erations soon  abandoned),  and  the  trans- 
ports having  successfully  passed  the  Vicks- 
burg batteries,  the  127th,  with  the  rest  of 
the  division,  steamed  up  the  Yazoo  River 
to  divert  the  attention  of  the  enemy  from 
Grant's  real  object  of  crossing  the 
Mississippi.  The  main  army  liaving 
crossed  the  river  and  beaten  the  enemy 
back  from  Fort  Gibson  and  Grand  Gulf,  a 
feint  was  made  in  the  direction  of  Vicks- 
burg while  waiting  the  return  of  Sher- 
man's corps,  which  was  ordered  to  join  the 
main  force  by  a  march  across  the  country. 
Gen.  Johnson,  who  commanded  the  rebel 
force  in  the  West,  had  been  apprised  of 
Grant's  movements,  and  was  gathering  an 
army  to  reinforce  Pemberton  at  Vicksburg 
and  to  guard  aj^ainst  beinij  assailed  in  the 
rear.  Grant,  refraining  from  moving  on 
the   city,  attracted  Pemberton's   attention 


b\'  a  feint,  and  directed  Sherman  to  fol- 
low the  eastern  side  of  the  Black  River  to 
Edward's  Station  on  the  Vicksburg  rail- 
road, and  McPherson  to  make  a  detour  far- 
ther eastward,  destroying  rebel  stores  aud 
lines  of  communication.  At  Raymond,  a 
few  miles  south  of  Edward's  Station,  a 
force  of  the  enemy  was  struck  by  McPher- 
son, when  a  short  and  sharp  engagement 
ensued.  The  rebels  were  foi'ced  to  a  sec- 
ond position,  and  after  a  severe  struggle 
were  driven  from  the  field  in  disorder,  re- 
treating toward  Jackson.  Fearing  the 
enemy  under  Johnson  at  Jackson  might 
prove  too  numerous  for  McPherson's  force, 
Sherman  and  MeClernand  were  directed  to 
follow  to  Jackson,  where,  in  company  with 
McPherson,  they  fought  the  battle  of 
Jackson,  forcing  the  rebels  to  retreat. 
Leaving  Sherman  to  destroy  bridges,  arse- 
nals and  other  public  property,  the  rest  of 
the  army  faced  about  westward  to  close 
in  upon  Vicksburg.  Pemberton  had 
moved  out  to  Edward's  Station  in  the 
meanwhile,  and  thinking  to  cut  Grant  ofi:' 
from  his  base  of  supplies,  which  had  been 
at  Grand  Gulf,  he  pushed  down  toward 
Rjiyinond,  when  he  found  by  the  Union 
pickets  advancing  from  the  east  that  Grant 
had  changed  his  base,  and  his  was  a  fruit- 
less errand.  lie  now  proposed  to  follow 
the  orders  of  Johnson,  and  by  retracin<r 
his  steps  to  escape  by  a  northeasterly 
route  through  Brownsville  and  join  the 
latter's  defeated  forces.  But  his  resolution 
came  too  late,  for  the  Union  forces  had  oc- 
cupied this  town  aud  were  prepared  to  dis- 
pute his  advance.  As  the  only  alternative 
tiie  rebel  forces  were  hastily  drawn  up  for 
action,  and  then  followed  the  battle  of 
Champion   Hills.     A  courier  was  sent  to 


180 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Sherman  at  Jackson  with  orders  to  bring 
his  troops  to  the  scene  of  conflict.  The 
hattle  was  fought  by  the  troops  of  Mc- 
Piierson's  and  McClernand's  corps,  and 
tlie  rebel  army  retreating,  these  troops 
pressed  rapidly  forward  in  their  wake, 
while  Sherman  advanced  in  the  direction 
of  Bridgeport,  higher  up  the  river,  with 
the  intention  of  crossing  at  tliat  point. 
On  the  following  morning,  finding  the 
enemy  disputing  the  passage  of  Black 
River,  McClernand's  troops  proceeded  at 
once  to  tlie  attack  and  soon  liad  tlie  enemy 
flying.  Bridges  were  placed  across  the 
river  that  night,  and  Sherman,  still  on  the 
right  of  the  line,  took  possession  of  Haine's 
Bluffs,  while  McPherson  and  McClernand 
completed  the  investment  of  the  city. 
In  these  operations  the  127th,  while  in 
active  service,  enduring  severe  marching 
and  performing  valuable  service,  was  not 
called  upon  to  do  any  heavy  fighting, 
though  losing  a  number  of  men  in  a  num- 
ber of  severe  skirmishes.  In  war,  liow- 
ever,  there  is  more  drudgery  to  be  done 
than  glory  to  be  gained,  and 

"  He  also  serves  who  only  stands  and  waits." 
The  enemy's  forces,  rapidly  driven  into 
their  works  about  the  city,  were  consider- 
ably demoralized,  and  though  the  works 
were  skillfully  constructed  and  located,  in  a 
naturally  strong  position,  the  necessities  of 
tiie  situation  seemed  to  demand  quicker 
results  than  could  be  secured  by  siege.  A 
general  assault  was  therefore  made  on  the 
afternoon  of  May  17th,  and  while  no  ad- 
vantage was  gained,  the  127th  had  op- 
portunity of  showing  its  metal;  this  regi- 
ment and  the  S3d  Indiana  alone  succeeding 
in  placing  their  colors  upon  the  outward 
slope  of  the  enemy's  works.     On  May  22d 


they  again  joined  in  the  general  assault, 
but  the  works  proved  too  strong  and  the 
arm^'  sat  down  to  a  laborious  siege.  On 
July  4,  tliis  stronghold  capitulated,  and  on 
the  following  day  Sherman's  corps  moved 
out  to  Jackson  where  a  force  of  the  enemy 
had  intrenched  to  disjjute  the  further  ad- 
vance of  the  victorious  federals. 

In  the  meantime  the  Chattanooga  cam- 
paign had  been  fouglit,  ending  in  Chicka- 
mauga  and  the  close  surveillance  of  Cliat- 
tauooga.  Grant  had  been  placed  in  general 
command  of  the  west,  while  Thomas  had 
superseded  Rosecrans.  After  the  Jackson 
expedition  the  127th  with  its  corps  re- 
turned to  Vicksburg;  in  September  took 
trans])orts  to  Memphis  and  thence  by  way 
of  Corinth,  luka  and  East  Point  went  to 
Chattanooga,  arriving  at  the  latter  place 
September  23d.  After  taking  part  in  the 
movements  culminating  in  Mission  Ridge, 
the  regiment  made  the  forced  march  to 
Knoxville  and  having  relieved  the  troops 
besieged  there,  returned  to  Chattanooga. 
Grant  having  been  made  Lieut.  General 
and  put  in  command  of  the  whole  field, 
east  and  west,  Sherman  sncceeded  him  in 
command  of  the  Department  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  at  once  commenced  the  cam- 
paign of  Atlanta.  Johnson  having  suc- 
ceeded Bragg  in  command  of  the  rebel 
forces,  had  taken  a  strong  natural  position 
at  Dalton  and  greatly  strengthened  it  by 
fortifications.  Here,  Sherman  findino-  the 
position  too  strong  to  take  by  an  attack  in 
front,  diverted  the  attention  of  the  enemy 
by  a  feint  attack  and  began  the  flank 
moveinents  for  which  he  became  so  famous. 
The  127th  was  of  the  flanking  forces,  and 
making  a  detour  to  the  westward  came 
upon    the  enemy   at   Resaca.      llere   the 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


ISI 


bearing  of  this  regiment  was  especially 
marked  by  its  gallant  fighting.  On  one 
occasion  our  men  had  been  ordered  back, 
a  movement  which  evoked  exultant  shouts 
from  the  enemy  who  supposed  we  were  re- 
pulsed. The  color  bearer  of  the  127th, 
becoming  exasperated  and  regardless  of 
danger,  returned  to  an  embrasure  and 
defiantly  flaunted  his  flag  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy.  His  life  paid  the  forl'eit  of  his 
temerity,  and  others  who  atti  mpted  to 
regain  tlio  colors  were  shot  in  the  attempt. 
Then  followed  the  maneuvers  ending  in  the 
battle  of  New  Hope  Church,  rapidly  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  Ivenesaw  Mountain  and 
Peach  Tree  Creek.  McPherson's  division, 
to  which  the  127th  was  assigned,  from  this 
point  made  a  wide  detour  eastward  by  way 
of  Decatur,  and  approaching  Atlanta  from 
the  east  sustained  an  assault  from  the  whole 
rebel  force.  Here  the  fighting  was  very  se- 
vere, the  127th  doing  its  share  manfully. 
Then  followed  the  flank  movement  by  the 
right,  the  battle  of  Jonesboro  and  the  conse- 
quent evacuation  of  Atlanta.  From  this  point 
Hood,  then  in  command  of  the  rebel  forces, 
went  on  his  ill-starred  campaign  to  Nash- 
ville, before  whom'  Thomas  retreated,  gath- 
erina:  the  forces  that  were  destined  to  crush 
him  in  the  end.  Returning  from  his  pur- 
suit of  Hood,  Sherman,  with  tlie  balance  of 
his  army,  reorganized  and  rested,  set  out 
for  his  march  to  the  sea,  the  127th  being 
in  the  right  wing.  From  Atlanta  to  Sa- 
vannah, thence  to  Columbia,  S.  C,  Fayette- 
ville,  N.  C,  and  Bentonville,  to  the  end, 
the  regiment  marched  its  way  through  the 
rebellion,  taking  part  in  the  ''  Gi-and  Re- 
view," and  was  one  of  four  regiments  com- 
plimented by  Gen.  Sherman  for  their  fine 
soldierly    bearing.       The    regiment    was 


mustered  out  of  the  service  May  31,  1865. 

The  "  Mechanical  Fusiliers"  was  a  com- 
pany of  meclianics  enlisted  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  barracks,  bridges,  etc.,  lor 
the  use  of  the  army.  Tiiey  went  out  in 
command  of  Cajit.  James  Miller  of  Joliet, 
assisted  in  the  construction  of  barracks  at 
Camp  Douglas,  and  were  then  lost  sight  of 
so  ii\r  as  any  record  exists  in  this  county. 
The  best  information  to  be  had  is  to  the 
efi^ict  that  this  company  was  organized 
with  others  into  a  pioneei-  regiment,  but 
of  their  subsequent  career  there  is  unfor- 
tunately no  information  at  hand. 

In  the  60th  Infantry,  Grundy  County 
was  represented  by  a  few  men  in  Company 
I.  This  regiment  was  organized  in  Febru- 
ary,  1862,  and  took  part  in  the  operations 
of  the  army  of  Tennessee.  Was  at  the 
siege  of  Corinth,  Nashville,  Chattanooga, 
in  the  campaign  about  Atlanta,  and  the 
battle  of  Jonesboro.  Was  a  part  of  tlie 
garrison  left  at  Atlanta,  and  subsequently 
followed  Sherman's  army  to  Savannah  and 
subsequently  took  part  in  Sherman's  cam- 
paign in  the  Carolinas.  Took  ])art  in  tlie 
grand  review  at'jWashington;  did  provost 
duty  at  Louisville  for  a  little  more  than  a 
month  and  was  mustered  out  July  31, 
1865. 

The  90th  Infantry  was  organized  at  Chi- 
cago in  September  and  October,  1862.  In 
Company  H.  of  this  regiment  this  county 
was  represented  by  some  fourteen  men. 
The  regiment  was  ordered  to  Tennessee, 
arriving  at  Lagrange  December  2d,  and  on 
the  4th  went  to  Cold  Water,  Mississi])pi. 
On  the  morning  of  the  20th,  a  detachment 
of  the  2d  Illinois  Cavalry  '  arrived  at  Cold 
Water,  having  cut  their  way  through  Van 
Dorn's  forces,  out  of  Holly  Springs.     Soon 


182 


HISTOR"r  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


after  four  companies  of  the  101st  Illinois 
came  in,  and  were  followed  %  the  enemy 
to  our  lines.  The  demonstration  made  by 
the  90th  deterred  the  enemy  from  making 
any  severe  attack,  although  he  was  4,000  or 
5,000  strong.  The  regiment  was  mustered 
out  of  service  June  6, 1865,  at  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Company  B  of  the  129th  Infantry  drew 
some  men  from  Grundy.  This  regiment 
was  organized  at  Pontiac,  111.,  in  August, 
18G2,  and  was  sent  at  once  to  Louisville. 
After  the  Buell  and  Bragg  race  across 
Kentucky,  the  129th  joined  in  the  pursuit 
via  Frankfort  and  Danville  to  Crab  Or- 
chard, when  it  returned  and  did  garrison 
duty  at  Mitchellshurg,  Ivy.  The  regiment 
was  mustered  out  June  8, 1SG5,  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

(Company  II.  of  the  13Sth  Infantry  also 
contained  some  (rrundy  County  men.  Tliis 
was  a  •' hundi'ed  day"  regiment,  organized 
June  21,  1804.  It  was  assigned  to  gar- 
rison duty  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kan., 
where  it  served  out  the  term  of  its  en- 
listment.    The  regiment  was  mustered  out 


October  14,  18*14,  at  Springfield,  Illinois. 

Other  organizations  that  numbered  one 
or  two  men  from  Grundy  County,  were 
Companies  E  and  II  of  the  144tlr,  Compa- 
nies C  and  K  of  the  147th;  Com])any  E  of 
the  153d;  C'ompany  A  of  the  15Gtli;  Com- 
pany E  of  the  2d  Cavalry;  Xaugus  Battery, 
and  twelve  men  in  the  naval  service. 

In  the  above  brief  survey  no  attempt  has 
been  made  to  do  exact  or  equal  justice  to 
the  military  career  of  those  who  went  out 
from  Grundy  County  to  tiie  service  of 
their  country.  Any  such  attempt  must 
have  failed  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case. 
Such  facts  as  have  been  given,  liave  been 
cleaned  from  various  sources  of  informa- 
tion  generally  accepted  as  correct,  yet  often 
proving  contradictory  in  essential  particu- 
lars, and  may  prove  in  many  instances  to 
fall  short  of  the  merits  of  the  case.  But 
however  much  this  sketch  may  fail  of  ex- 
cellence, it  will  at  least  serve  to  show  that 
Grundy  County's  patriotism  found  expres- 
sion "where  duty  called  and  danger,"  and 
was  "  never  wanting  there,"  and  so  answers 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  conceived. 


CHAPTER    Yl* 


MORRIS  CITY-INTRODUCTORY— ITS  LOCATION— FIRST  BEGINNINGS— ORIGIN  OF  NAME- 
COUNTY  HONORS— EARLY  COMMUNITY— BIOGRAPHICAL. 

ae:srrieved 


HE  wlio  would  attempt  to  "  revive  the 
nienion'es  of  tlie  past  and  witli  feeble 
])en  jiortray  them"  in  the  hojie  of  giving 
such  a  chronicle  of  events  as  will  meet  the 
approval  of  all,  will  find  his  undertaking 
is  a  difficult — indeed  an  impossible  one, 
especially  so,  if  he  attempts  to  write  up 
cotem]iorar3'  history.  What  to  one  seems 
of  importance,  to  another  seems  trivial, 
whilst  others  are  born  chronic  fault-finders. 
Fully  appreciating  these  difficulties,  and 
with  a  desire  to  show  charity  to  all — malice 
to  none — we  shall  endeavor  to  give  a  faith- 
ful narrative  of  the  leading  events  and  inci- 
dents connected  with  the  township  and  city 
of  Morris  from  their  inception  down  to  the 
present  as  we  now  remember  them.  In  our 
etfort  we  may,  indeed  we  must  from  the 
nature  of  human  events  and  human  weak- 
ness, omit  many,  many  important  incidents 
and  events,  and  make  many  mistakes  in 
dates  and  coloring  of  those  we  attempt  to 
describe.  We  are  relying  largely  upon  our 
memor}^  indeed  we  have  little  other  re- 
source to  di'aw  from  ;  and  as  our  recollec- 
tions are  most  vivid  on  those  events  with 
which  we  were  personally  interested,  our 
readers  will  be  charitable  enough  to  excuse 
what  may  smack  of  egotism.  Should  any 
of  the  living  who  have  been  participants  in 
the  events  we  shall  describe,  feel  themselves 

*  By  Hon.  P.  A.  Armstrong. 


at  our  omission  to  favorably 
mention  what  part  they  performed,  or 
should  the  descendants  of  any  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Morris  who  have  "gone  before" 
feel  that  we  have  woiinded  their  sensibili- 
ties by  statements  that  may  be  construed 
to  reflect  u])on  the  character  or  habits  of 
the  deceased,  we  in  advance  disclaim  any 
malice  or  intention  of  injuring  the  repu- 
tation of  any  one.  Nor  shall  we  fail  to 
give  the  habits,  customs  and  characteristics 
of  our  early  inhabitants,  nor  "  spoil  a  good 
tale  for  relationship."  In  this  way  only 
can  we  write  history  whose  use,  according 
to  Tacitus,  "  Is  to  rescue  virtuous  actions 
from  the  oblivion  to  which  a  want  of  records 
would  consign  them,  and  that  men  should 
feel  a  dread  of  being  considered  infamous 
in  the  opinions  of  posterity,  fi'om  their  de- 
praved expressions  and  depraved  actions." 
Morris  (for  such  is  the  name  given  to  the 
county  seat  of  Grundy  County),  is  located 
on  the  north  or  right  bank  of  the  Illinois 
Kiver,  some  twelve  miles  below  the  junction 
of  the  Kankakee  and  Desplaines  Hivers, 
which  form  the  Illinois.  Nettle  Creek,  a 
considerable  stream  of  pure  water  approach- 
ing from  the  north,  passes  through  the  city 
and  flows  into  the  river  about  a  half  mile 
southwest  of  the  court  house.  From  the 
south  approaches  the  Mazon,  which,  in  the 
Alironquin  or  Indian  language,  means 
"  liiver  of   Nettles,"  and  empties  into  the 


184 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


IlliiKiis  directly  south  of  the  public  square. 
The  Mazoii  is  sometimes  called  a  creek  and 
other  times  a  river.  It  is  a  short  stream, 
with  decidedly  uppisli  notions.  In  times 
of  drouth  it  is  an  humble  creek,  but  in  the 
spring  and  fall  it  is  a  roaring  river.  The 
Illinois  &  Michigan  Canal  passes  through 
between  the  city  and  the  river,  at  a  distance 
of  about  forty  rods  from  the  river,  and  runs 
nearly  parallel  with  it,  the  general  course 
vf  the  river  at  this  point  being  nearly  from 
east  to  west.  From  the  bank  of  the  river, 
viinning  north  to  the  distance  of  about  one 
half  mile,  the  surface  of  the  land  iu  Morris 
gently  rises — the  apex  being  some  forty 
feet  above  the  river  bank,  thus  forming 
a  natural  drainage  into  the  canal.  From 
the  apex  north  the  surface  descends  for  a 
distance  of  about  one  hundred  rods  to  a 
ravine  running  southwesterly  into  Nettle 
Creek.  Sandy  loam  is  the  predominating 
soil,  which  is  admirably  adapted  to  garden- 
ing ]iurposes  and  the  raising  of  fruit,  espe- 
cially grapes.  Originally,  nearly  the  entire 
plat  of  Morris  was  studded  with  forest 
trees,  oak  and  hickory  predominating,  with 
here  and  there  a  hazel  or  plum  thicket. 
Notwithstanding  the  timber,  and  many  of 
the  trees  were  giant  oaks,  there  were  bowl- 
ders scattered  over  the  surf  ice,  mute  wit- 
nesses of  the  glacier  period,  and  of  its  great 
antiquity.  Morris  is  located  midway  be- 
tween the  cities  of  Joliet  on  the  east  and 
Ottawa  on  the  west,  and  sixty-one  miles 
southwest  of  Chicago.  It  spreads  over  parts 
of  four  sections  of  land,  viz.:  three,  four, 
nine  and  ten,  in  township  number  thirty- 
three  north,  range  seven,  east  of  the  third 
principal  meridian.  The  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific  railroad,  which  is  one  of 
the   foremost   railroads   of    the  continent. 


passes  through  Morris  a  half  mile  north  of 
the  court  house,  thus  giving  both  rail  and 
water  |highways  for  the  transportation  of 
grain  and  stock.  With  our  facilities  of 
travel,  Chicago  is  but  two  and  a  half  hour's 
ride  from  Morris  bj'  rail. 

Few  cities  are  more  pleasantly  located 
than  Morris.  Sheltered  on  the  south  and 
west  by  heavy  groves  of  timber,  with  an 
undulating  surface,  in  the  midst  of  a  fine 
agricultural  country,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
the  Mound  Builders,  that  mj'sterious  yet 
intelligent  prehistoric  race,  selected  the  site 
of  Morris  for  their  principal  city  and  ceme- 
tery, away  back  of  the  historic  period. 
That  here  was  the  abode  of  a  large  number 
of  these  wonderful  people  is  attested  by 
nineteen  separate,  distinct  mounds  or  cem- 
eteries, for  each  mound  is  but  a  cemetery, 
pyre,  or  charnel  house,  at  the  center  of 
whose  base  lie  the  cremated  ashes  of  their 
dead.  These  mounds  were  constructed  in 
a  line  on  the  second  rise  from  the  river, 
and  some  forty  rods  to  the  north  of  the 
river  bank.  The  largest  of  them  was 
located  near  the  south  east  corner  of  the 
present  court  house  square,  and  was  about 
fifty  feet  in  diameter  and  ten  feet  high. 
There  were  no  moats  or  ditches  surround- 
ing these  mounds,  hence  the  material  used 
in  their  construction  must  have  been  carted 
or  carried  from  a  distance.  They  were  con- 
structed of  sandy  loam,  free  of  clay  or  gravel. 

From  whence  the  Mound  Builders 
came,  the  period  of  their  existence  and  the 
cause  or  causes  of  their  extermination  have 
not  yet  been  satisfactorily  settled.  Enough 
of  their  liistory  has  been  delved  out  of 
their  mounds  to  establish  many  very  inter- 
esting facts,  and  the  ever  restless  spirit  of 
inquiry  and  research  may  yet  fix  the  date 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


183 


of  their  existence  and  account  for  tiieir 
disa]ipearance.  From  the  knowledge  we 
now  have  relating  to  these  mysterious  peo- 
ple, we  deduce  among  other  things  :  First: 
They  were  a  very  numerous  people  as  evi- 
denced by  the  great  number  of  tumuli  or 
mounds  found  in  the  United  States,  reacli- 
ing  far  beyond  a  hundred  thousand  already 
discovered.  Secondly:  They  built  cities  and 
surrounded  them  with  fortifications.  Third- 
ly: They  were  a  rel igious  people  and  offered 
up  sacrifices.  Fourthly:  They  were  an 
intelligent  people  and  well  skilled  in  some 
of  the  arts.  Fifthly:  They  had  a  knowledge 
of  the  use  of  metals,  especially  cop]ici-,  and 
to  some  extent  of  iron  and  steel.  Sixthly: 
Tliey  were  experts  in  the  manufacture  of 
earthenware  and  brick,  and  used  the  latter 
in  walling  in  their  cities  and  in  the  erection 
of  fortifications.  Seventhly:  These  people 
must  have  been  as  numerous  throughout 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  as  the  inhabit- 
ants along  the  banks  of  the  Nile  or  Euphra- 
tes in  biblical  times,  with  cities  rivaling 
those  of  Mexico  in  the  days  of  the  Montezu- 
mas.  Eighthly:  They  must  have  been  an 
agricultural  and  pastoral  people,  as  their 
cities  were  too  large  to  subsist  on  fish  and 
wild  game.  Ninthly:  They  well  understood 
the  arts  of  war  and  civil  engineering. 
Tenthly:  They  were  a  wealthy  peo])!e  as 
well  as  numerous,  or  they  could  not  have 
bnilt  the  mounds  and  fortifications  which 
mark  their  existence  and  bear  testimony  to 
their  skill  and  wonderful  works,  like  those 
on  the  Muskingum  in  Ohio,  and  Cohokia 
in  Illinois — works  in  whoso  construction 
years  of  labor  and  millions  of  treasure 
would  bo  required  even  with  the  art  and 
skillof  the  nineteenth  century.  Eleventhly: 
They  understood  aud  appreciated  the  pre- 


cious metals  in  ornamentation,  if  not  as  a  cir- 
culating medium.  Twclfthly:  There  were 
at  least  three  separate  races  of  them,  Lilli- 
putian, Medium  and  Giant.  Thii-teenthly : 
They  were  fine  judges  of  soil  and  natural 
advantages  of  locality  ;  always  selecting 
the  i)est  lands  and  most  eligible  sites  for 
their  cities,  with  a  view  to  natural  drain- 
age, abundance  of  wood  and  water,  and 
points  which  could  be  readily  fortified 
against  the  attack  of  an  enemy.  Four- 
teenthly:  They  were  probably  the  descend- 
ants of  the  Israelites,  possibly  of  the  lost 
tribes  described  by  Esdros.  Fifteenthly: 
They  were  crematers  and  buried  the  ashes 
of  their  dead,  and  erected  over  them  tumuli 
instead  of  monuments  of  marble — grand 
landmarks  to  point  out  where  their  eternity 
began.  Some  of  them  as  in  Licking  County, 
Ohio,  and  St.  Clair  County,  111.,  covering 
acres  in  area,  and  rising  to  the  astonishing 
elevation  of  one  hundred  feet ;  and  lastly, 
and  most  strangely,  they  were  speculative 
Masons,  as  evidenced  by  finding  in  their 
mounds  miniature  squares,  compasses, 
levels  and  plumbs  cut  out  of  sea  shell  or 
imprinted  ou  pieces  of  pottery.  (This  last 
discovery  is  but  quite  recent  and  may  not 
prove  general.  lion.  William  McAdams  of 
Jersey  County,  III.,  and  the  writer,  vouch  for 
the  correctness  of  the  last  statement  from 
personal  discoveries  near  Naples,  111.,  and 
Glen-Elder,  Kansas.)  But  as  the  editor,  Mr. 
Battle,  has  dwelt  at  same  length  u])on  this 
subject,  we  shall  simply  add  that  these 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  but  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  city  of  Morris  was  once  the 
site  of  a  great  city  of  the  Mound  Builders, 
and  from  specimens  of  their  handiwork 
found  beneath  the  surface  of  the  prairies 
we  are  led  to   the   couclusion  that  the  vast 


186 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


prairies  of  Illinois  were  at  one  time  the  grow- 
inir  fields  of  this  wonderful  race  of  people 
whom  we  only  know  as  Mound  Builders. 

The  numerous  human  skeletons  we  find 
near  the  surface  of  these  mounds  are  those 
of  Indians,  deposited  there  probably  thou- 
sands of  vears  after  the  mounds  were  built. 
The  Indians  utilized  these  mounds  because 
they  were  dry,  as  burial  places  for  their 
dead.  How  many  different  tribes  of  In- 
dians have  made  this  their  princi]ia]  village 
sites  is  not  and  never  will  be  known.  La 
Salle  found  a  large  one  here,  on  his  first 
trip  up  the  Illinois,  in  1679.  Prior  to  the 
organization  of  Grundy,  La  Salle  County 
embraced,  in  addition  to  the  present  large 
territory,  all  of  Grundy  and  a  portion  of 
Kendall  Counties.  Ottawa,  the  county 
seat  of  La  Salle,  is  located  on  Sections  3,  4, 
0  and  10,  T.  33,  R.  3,  or  just  twenty-four 
miles  west  of  Morris;  and  as  Morris  is 
twelve  miles  west  of  the  east  line  of  Grundy 
County,  persons  living  on  the  eastern  side 
of  La  Salle  County  ]irior  to  the  formation 
of  Grundy  would  be  compelled  to  travel 
about  forty  miles  to  the  county  scat;  these 
people  soon  became  dissatisfied,  and  dis- 
cussed the  feasibility  of  the  division  of  this 
monster  county  as  far  back  as  1836,  and  in 
1839  petitions  for  the  organization  of  anew 
county  were  prepared,  and  circulated  for 
signers  by  L.  W.  Claypool  and  others,  and 
were  very  generally  signed  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  territory  of  the  proposed  new 
county.  The  General  Assembly  (under  the 
State  Constitution,  adopted  Aug.  26. 181S), 
convened  on  the  first  Monday  in  December 
in  each  even  numbered  year,  hence  the  first 
session  after  the  commencement  of  obtain- 
ing signatures  to  said  petition  would  be  the 
first  Monday  in  December,  1840. 


During  the  summer  of  that  year  the  new 
county  movement  received  the  aid  of  Hon. 
Geo.  W.  Armstrong  and  his  brother,  Will- 
iam E.,  the  former  then  living  where  he 
now  resides,  near  the  dividing  line  between 
La  Salle  and  (irundy,  with  part  of  his  farm 
in  each  county;  the  latter  residing  in 
Ottawa.  Wm.  E.  was  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  positive  chai-acter — quick  to 
])erceive  and  promj^t  to  act.  Whatever  he 
attempted  to  do  he  did,  if  good  manage- 
ment and  well-directed  efforts  could  accom- 
plish it.  In  this  movement  he  saw  the 
necessity  of  a  division  of  La  Salle  County, 
and  the  erection  of  a  new  one,  and  beyond 
this  he  saw  an  opportunity  of  making 
money.  Having  first  surveyed  the  general 
topography  of  the  countrj-,  out  of  which  the 
new  county  was  proposed  to  be  organized, 
his  mind  settled  upon  the  place  where  Mor- 
ris is  located,  as  the  most  eligible  point  for 
the  seat  of  justice.  He  next  conferred  with 
the  late  John  P.  Chapin,  who  then  owned 
the  southeast  quarter  of  Section  four,  T. 
33,  R.  7,  which  eventuated  in  the  purchase 
of  an  undivided  lialf  interest  in  the  south 
portion  thereof,  contingent  upon  the  or- 
ganization of  the  new  county.  This  done, 
he  pressed  forward  the  petition  for  the 
division  of  La  Salle  County,  with  energy 
and  success,  and  when  the  Legislature  met 
that  fall  he  went  in  person  to  press  through 
his  bill  for  a  new  county,  suggesting  the 
name  of  Grundy  in  honor  of  Tennessee's 
greatest  criminal  lawyer  and  statesman, 
Felix  Grundy.  This  bill  became  a  law 
Feby.  17,  1841. 

Among  its  provisions  are  the  following: 
"That  all  that  tract  of  country  lying  and 
being  in    the  county  of  La  Salle,  in    town- 
ships   thirty-one,    thirty-two,    thirty-three. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


187 


and  tliirty-four  north,  of  ranges  six,  seven, 
and  eight,  east  of  tlie  tliird  principal  me- 
ridian, shall  constitute  a  new  county  to  be 
called  Grundy. 

"  An  election  shall  be  held  at  the  house 
of  C.  Pincy,  on  the  fourth  Monday  of 
May  next  for  the  ))urpose  of  electing  one 
sheriff,  etc.,  etc.,  and  the  said  county  of 
Grundy  shall  be  organized  so  soon  as  the  said 
officers  shall  be  elected    and  qualified. 

"  Ward  P).  Purnett,  Ptulief  S.  Durwyea, 
and  William  E.  Armstrong  be  appointed 
in  conjunction  with  the  commissioners  of 
the  Illinois  &  Michigan  Canal,  to  locate 
the  seat  of  justice  of  the  said  county  of 
Grundy. 

"  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  tlie  said  commis- 
sioners to  locate  the  said  seat  of  justice  on 
the  line  of  the  Illinois  &  Michigan  Canal, 
on  canal  lands,  and  they  shall  set  apart  for 
this  purpose  any  quantity  of  the  canal 
lands,  not  exceeding  (10)  acres,  and  after 
doing  so  shall  proceed  to  lay  ofi'the  said  land 
as  a  town  site,  embracing  lots,  streets, 
alley's,  and  a  public  square,  in  such  manner 
as  they  shall  deem  proper.  They  shall 
divide  the  said  lots  in  equal  number  be- 
tween the  State  and  the  said  county,  and 
shall  allot  to  the  State  and  the  county  alter- 
nate lots  of  equal  value,  or  as  nearly  so  as 
may  be  practicable. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  can.il  com- 
missioners to  require  of  the  said  county, 
and  the  inhabicants  thereof,  in  their  cor- 
porate capacit}',  shall  be  liable  to  them  for 
the  payment  of  a  sum  equal  to  ten  dollars 
per  acre  for  one-half  of  the  whole  quantity 
of  land  to  be  located  as  aforesaid,  upon  the 
payment  of  which  sum  the  canal  commis- 
sioners shall  certify  the  fact  to  the  Gover- 
nor, who  shall  thereu]ion  issue  a  patent  to 


the  county  commissioners  of  said  county 
for  that  portion  of  the  lots  by  number, 
which  shall  be  allotted  to  the  county;  pro- 
vided always,  that  the  monej-s  to  be  leceived 
by  the  canal  commissioners  by  virtue  of 
this  section  of  the  act,  shall  be  a]i])]ied  in 
aid  of  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  & 
Michigan  Canal." 

The  seat  of  justice  should  be  located  on 
the  line  of  the  canal  and  on  canal  land, 
thus  restricting  the  location  virtually-  to 
two  land  points,  viz.:  Section  7  or  9,  T. 
33,  R.  7;  section  9  is  centrally  located  be- 
tween east  and  west  lines  of  the  county; 
section  7  is  two  miles  west  of  the  center; 
both  lie  on  the  Illinois  river;  only  a  small 
fraction  of  9  lies  north  of  the  river,  whilst 
nearly  all  of  7  does.  The  lay  of  the  land 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river  at  both  of 
these  points  is  high  and  well  adapted  for 
village  or  city  location,  and  on  the  south 
side,  low,  flat,  and  subject  to  overflows  in 
the  spring  and  fall.  Only  ten  acres  were 
to  be  laid  out  for  the  seat  of  justice,  of 
which  the  country  was  to  have  one  half 
upon  the  payment  to  the  canal  fund  of  the 
sum  often  dollars  per  acre,  or  fifty  dollars 
for  one  half  of  the  county  seat.  But  this 
was  not  the  real  consideration  o)i  the  part 
of  the  State.  It  was  the  expectation  that 
the  locating  of  the  county'  seat  on  canal 
land  would  enhance  the  adjacent  land  in 
price.  Here,  then,  were  two  conflicting 
interests.  The  one  in  favor  of  section  7, 
the  other  for  section  9.  The  canal  commis- 
sioners having  the  interest  of  the  canal  fund 
only  in  view  were  strongly  in  favor  of  sec- 
tion 7,  whilst  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
of  the  county  and  the  other  three  commis- 
sioners were  in  favor  of  section  9. 

The  people,  however,  could  not  vote  upon 


ISS 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COU>*TY. 


tliis  question,  hence  the  votenpon  the  loca- 
tion was  a  tie,  and  a  dead-lock  ensued. 
Great  credit  is  due  to  General  "Ward  B. 
Burnett  for  the  stand  he  took  on  this  ques- 
tion. He  was  chief  engineer  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  canal,  in  the  employment 
of  the  State,  and  subject  to  removal  by  the 
canal  commissioners;  but  he  was  too  much 
of  a  man  to  be  swerved  or  controlled  in  his 
action  as  a  commissioner  to  locate  the 
county  seat  by  fear  or  favor,  hence  he  stood 
manfully  with  Messrs.  Dnrwyea  and  Arm- 
strong for  section  9  first,  last  and  all  the  time 
until  it  was  accomplished.  Yet,  be  it  said, 
with  shame,  that  not  even  a  street  in  the 
entire  city  of  Morris  bears  the  honored 
name  of  Burnett,  the  gallant  soldier  and 
finished  gentleman.  From  the  tim.e  of  this 
disagreement  between  the  commissioners 
on  the  county  seat  question,  which  was 
probably  in  the  forepart  of  June,  1S41 
(we  have  no  record  of  their  meeting),  up  to 
April  12.  lSJr2,  when  the  plat  of  Morris  was 
acknowledged  by  Isaac  N.  Morris,  Newton 
Cloud,  R.  S.  Duryea  andAVm.  E.  Armstrong 
(See  Book  "B,"  page  30,  of  Deed  Records 
of  Grundy  County),  Grundy  County  pre- 
sented the  anomaly  of  being  a  fully  organ- 
ized county  without  a  county  seat.  Mr. 
Armstrong  moved  his  family  from  Ottawa, 
Ills.,  soon  after  the  passage  of  the  act  cre- 
ating the  county,  and  occupied  the  log 
cabin  erected  by  Cryder  and  McKeen  for 
John  P.  Chapin  in  1S34.  This  cabin  stood 
near  the  spot  where  the  residence  of  Jndge 
A.  R.  Jordan  now  stands,  and  contained  but 
one  room  16x20  feet  On  the  1  Ith  of  June, 
1S41,  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners, 
consisting  of  Henry  Cryder,  Jacob  Clay- 
pool  and  James  McKeen,  held  the  first 
meeting  for  the  transaction  of  couutv  busi- 


ness at  this  cabin.  Among  other  business 
transacted  at  this  meeting  they  approved 
the  official  bonds  of  L.  W.  Claypool,  re- 
corder of  deeds;  James  Nagle,  clerk  of 
the  county  commissioners'  court;  and 
Joshua  Collins,  probate  justice  of  the  peace. 
When  this  meeting  of  the  board  was 
through  with  their  business  they  adjourned 
to  meet  "at  the  house  of  "NVni.  E.  Arm- 
strong, on  section  4,  July  21,  ISil."  At 
this  meeting  it  was  "ordered  that  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  be  held  in  the  house  of  Wm.  E. 
Armstrong."'  Mr.  Claypool  resigned  his 
office  as  one  of  the  county  commissioners, 
and  Salmon  Rutherford  was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy;  and  the  next  meeting  was 
held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Rutherford,  at  the 
village  of  Dresden,  nine  miles  east  of  Mor- 
ris. This  was  held  Sept.  6,  1841,  and  ad- 
journed to  meet  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Arm- 
strong, on  section  4,  T.  33,  R.  7.  At  this 
meeting  the  precinct  of  Grundy  was 
formed,  which  embraced  what  are  now  the 
towns  of  Morris  and  Saratoga.  In  the 
meanwhile  Messrs.  Chapin  and  Armstrong 
proceeded  to  lay  off  a  village  plat,  embrac- 
ing what  is  now  known  as  Chapin's  addi- 
tion to  Morris,  but  gave  it  no  name,  nor 
did  they  file  it  for  record.  It  was,  how- 
ever, generally  known  as  Grnndyville, 
or  Grundy,  and  Mr.  Armstrong  erected  a 
large  frame  building  upon  the  spot  where 
the  Hopkins  House  stands  and  opened  it 
as  a  hotel  under  tlie  name  of  "  Grundy  Ho- 
tel." A  petition  for  a^ost-oftice  at  this 
point,  with  the  signatures  of  fully  half  of 
the  voters  of  the  county,  had  been  forward- 
ed to  the  Post-Ofiice  Department  in  the 
fall  of  1841,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Town 
of  Grundy,"  but  the  prayer  was  not  grant- 
ed because  it   was  not  a  county  seat,   and 


(^,  :^,  /^ .^-.^ 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


191 


the  receipts  of  the  office  (though  postage 
was  then  25  cents  per  letter),  would  not  de- 
fray tlio  expenses  of  carrying  the  mail.  In 
the  s]iri7ig  of  1842,  General  Win.  F.  Thorn- 
ton, one  of  the  canal  conuiiissioners,  was 
succeeded  by  lion.  Isaac  N.  Morris,  of 
Quiiicy,  III,  when  another  conference  of  the 
County  Seat  (/onnnission  was  held — prob- 
ably about  the  1st  of  March.  After  inspect" 
ing  tlie  two  competing  points,  Grundy,  on 
Sec.  !),  and  Clarkson,  >  n  Sec.  7,  and  confer- 
ring with  the  county  officials  and  people, 
Mr.  Morris  cast  his  vote  in  favor  of  Grun- 
dy, or  Sec.  9.  The  vote  standing  as  fol- 
lows: For  Sec.  9,  Messrs.  Morris,  Burnett, 
Durwj-ea  and  Armstrong,  4.  For  Sec.  7, 
Messrs.  Cloud  and  Fry,  2.  Pleased  at  the 
independent  and  manly  action  of  Mr.  Mor- 
ris, and  wishing  to  honor  him,  the  name  of 
the  Town  of  Grundy  was  changed,  first  to 
Morristown,  but  it  was  found  that  there 
was  already  a  town  of  that  name  in  the 
State;  Morris ville  was  then  suggested,  but 
to  tliis  name  Mr.  Morris  objected,  as  it  sug- 
gested a  mere  village.  It  was  finally  named 
Morris,  and  the  survey  was  begun  (accord- 
ing to  the  diary  of  L.  "W.  Claypool,  Esq.) 
March  7,  1842,  by  Leander  Newport,  sur- 
veyor, witli.  Perry  A.  Claypool  and  George 
W.  Armstrong,  chainmen.  Thus  did 
Grundy  t'ounty,  after  months  of  doubt  and 
uncertainty,  obtain  her  county  seat  and 
give  it  a  name.  Sometime  afterward  the 
Board  of  County  Commissioners  attempted 
to  change  the  name  to  Xenia,  but  could  not 
agree  upon  the  orthography  of  the  word; 
hence  tiiey  did  not  make  the  change. 

That  the  log  cabin  before  referred  to  as 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Armstrong  in  1841, 
was  the  first  building  within  the  present 
corporate   limits  of    Morris,    there   is   no 


doubt,  but  whether  it  was  built  by  Mr. 
James  McKeen,  who  died  here  only  last 
year,  or  by  John  Cryder,  who  occupied  it 
immediately  after  it  was  erected,  seems  to 
be  in  doubt.  .  That  it  was  built  for  Mr. 
John  P.  Chapin,  now  deceased,  is  conceded 
by  all,  as  he  was  the  owner  of  the  land,  al- 
though the  title  thereto  was  then  in  Mr. 
Julius  Wadsworth,  who  held  it  for  Mr. 
Chapin,  and  for  whom  John  Cryder  ob- 
tained a  pre-emption.  Mr.  McKeen  has  fre- 
quently told  the  writer  that  he  built  it 
while  Mr.  Zachariah  Walley,  who  still  sur- 
vives, is  equally  positive  tliat  Mr.  John 
Cryder  built  it.  We  deem  it  safe  to  say 
that  both  are  right,  i.  e.,  that  each  assisted 
in  its  erection  in  the  spring  of  1834.  Mr. 
Cryder,  after  moving  into  said  cabin,  fenced 
and  broke  some  ten  acres  of  land  lying  west 
of  the  present  Wauponsee  street  and  north 
of  W^ashington  street.  He  resided  there 
until  the  fall  of  1838,  and  then  went  to 
Beardstown,  Cass  County,  Illinois.  The 
next  residents  of  the  town  of  Morris  were 
John  and  Thomas  Peacock,  Englishmen 
and  brothers. 

They  built  a  small  cabin  on  the  north 
front  of  S. -J  of  section  2,  just  west  of  the 
present  Morris  cemetery,  and  kept  "  Old 
Bach  "  during  the  winter  of  1834-5.  They 
purchased  this  land  at  the  land  sale  in 
1835,  married  and  raised  families.  Many 
of  their  descendants  are  still  living  there 
and  elsewhere  in  this  county.  In  the  early 
spring  of  1838,  Peter  Griggs  erected  a 
cabin  near  where  the  aqueduct  now  is  and 
moved  into  it.  His  widow  still  survives 
and  is  a  second  time  a  widow.  He  left 
several  children  who  are  still  living:  Ja- 
cob, John,  Mary,  Priscilla  and  Wilson. 
Jacob  is  the  only  one  now  living  in  Mor- 


192 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COITXTY. 


ris.  On  the  3d  of  July,  1839,  all  the 
available  force  of  this  section  of  country 
assembled  at  the  west  branch  of  Nettle 
Creek  on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  to  raise 
what  has  ever  since  that  time  been  known 
as  "  shaking  bridge."  The  territory,  now 
in  Grundy  County,  was  at  that  time  very 
sparsely  settled.  Tlie  bridge  was  con- 
structed of  green  oak  logs,  and  hence  they 
were  extremely  heavy.  Nearly  every  able- 
bodied  man  then  in  the  limits  of  this 
county  was  there.  Hayes,  Peacocks,  Clay- 
pools,  Warren,  Ilolloway,  Tabler,  etc.  In 
bridging  this  stream  the  people  were  in 
hopes  of  inducing  Frink  &  AValker,  who 
ran  a  line  of  stages  from  Chicago  to  Ot- 
tawa, via  Lisbon,  to  change  the  line  so  a^ 
to  follow  the  course  of  the  Illinois  river, 
and  pass  through  this  locality.  That  object 
was  not  accomplished,  however,  until  lSi6, 
when  O.  Husteed  &  Co.  became  the  succes- 
sors to  Frink  &  Walker  in  the  mail  con. 
tract  between  Chicago  and  Peoria.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  and  fall  of  1841,  several 
new  buildings  were  erected  here,  but  as 
]nne  lumber  could  not  be  obtained  short  of 
Chicago,  the  greater  portion  of  them  were 
merely  log  cabins.  The  first  one  was 
probably  built  by  James  Nagle,  Clerk  of 
the  County  Commissioners'  Court.  It  was 
a  large  sized,  heavily  built  log  cabin,  and 
stood  near  the  old  Kinsted  homestead,  on 
the  S.  W.  i,  section  3,  near  the  N.  W. 
corner  thereof.  In  this  cabin  Mr.  Nngle 
kept  his  otRce  containing  the  books,  papers 
and  archives  of  the  county.  He  was  a 
highly  educated  Irishman,  which  means 
one  of  Nature's  noblemen,  for  as  a  general 
rule,  an  ediu-ated  Iriskman  is  a  finished 
gentleman.  He  was  a  most  splendid  pen- 
man and  very  agreeable  man.    An  invalid, 


he  fell  a  victim  to  that  fell  destroyer — con- 
sumption— in  the  spring  of  1843.  James 
Hart,  father  of  John  Hart,  Esq.  and 
widow  Reynolds,  of  this  city,  built  a  small 
house  near  the  Indian  pole,  and  occupied  it 
for  a  residence  and  saloon.  He  was  a  partner 
with  Mr.  Armstrong  in  one  or  more  con- 
tracts to  dig  the  canal.  Andrew  Kiuchella, 
a  man  of  energy  and  means,  built  and 
occupied  a  log  cabin  near  the  present  resi- 
dence of  L.  P.  Lott,  Esq.  He  afterward 
purchased  and  improved  a  farm  near  Mi- 
nooka,  and  died  several  years  since,  leaving 
quite  a  property.  Anthony  Iloran,  who 
always  ap))eared  in  white  pants  and  vest  on 
St.  Patrick's  Day,  no  matter  what  the 
weather  was,  built  and  occupied  a  cabin  near 
where  the  present  fine  residence  of  L.  W. 
Claypool  stands.  In  a  fit  of  anger  at  his 
wife  he  is  said  to  have  set  fire  to  it  in  1846. 
Whether  this  was  true  or  not,  the  cabin 
was  burned,  and  he  was  arrested  for  the 
incendiarism,  but  as  we  had  no  suitable 
jail.  Deputy  Sheriff  P.  Kelly  started  with 
him  in  a  buggy  for  the  Ottawa  jail.  On 
reaching  a  point  this  side  of  Marseilles 
where  the  road  approached  the  Illinois 
River,  he  complained  of  being  thirsty  and 
asked  permission  to  set  a  drink.  Having 
the  darbies  on,  Mr.  Kelly  deemed  it  safe, 
and  accompanied  him  to  the  river's  edge. 
Iloran  laid  down  and  drank  heartily,  but 
while  lying  there  he  worked  his  hands 
through  his  hand  cuffs,  and  as  he  rose  to 
his  feet  he  sprang  into  the  river,  swam 
across  to  the  otiier  side,  and  made  good  his 
escape,  and  stayed  away  until  after  the  next 
term  of  court,  at  which  no  indictment  was 
found,  as  his  wife  refused  to  go  before  the 
Grand  Jury  to  testify  against  him.  She 
died  soon  afterward,  and  Anthony  returned 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


193 


to  Morris,  where  lie  remained  until  some 
years  afterward,  when  he  went  to  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  living  at  last 
advices.  Perry  A.  Claypool  built  a  cabin 
about  wliere  Ray's  store  now  stands,  in 
18J:2,  and  occnpied  it  with  his  family  for 
about  a  year,  when  Samuel  Ay  res  and  fam- 
ily took  possession  of  the  cabin  and 
kept  boarders.  During  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Ayres  here  he  held  the  office  of  cor- 
oner and  deputy  sheriff.  He  was  a  capital 
good  fellow  and  had  an  interesting  familv- 
He  left  about  the  year  1S4S  and  went  to  Tex- 
as, much  to  the  regret  of  our  people.  With 
full  confidence  that  this  point  would  ulti- 
mately be  the  county  seat,  Mr.  Armstrong, 
of  his  own  volition  and  at  his  own  expense, 
commenced  the  erection  of  a  frame  build- 
ing near  tlie  northwest  corner  of  the  pub- 
lic square,  for  a  court  house,  in  the  win- 
ter of  lS-il-2.  This  building  was  probably 
20x40  feet,  two  stories  high.  As  there  was 
no  pine  lumber  to  be  had  short  of  Chicago, 
and  then  it  would  have  to  be  hauled  by 
tean^s,  he  used  hardwood  lumber.  It  was 
an  old  fashioned  heavy  frame,  thoroughly 
braced,  with  oaken  floors  and  siding.  The 
siding  was  undressed  and  hence  could  nev- 
er be  painted.  This  siding  was  sawed  from 
a  very  indeiiendent  kind  of  trees  and  liad  a 
decidedly  snarlish  disposition,  and  little  re- 
gard for  the  confining  influence  of  nails; 
lience,  the  clajiboards  or  siding  turned  up 
their  noses  or  heels  in  the  most  provoking 
manner — resembling  somewhat  the  bristles 
of  the  hedgehog.  This  building  was  virtu- 
ally accepted  by  the  county'  commission- 
ers as  and  for  a  court  house  in  the  tall  of 
1842,  and  forty  dollars  were  paid  to  Mr. 
Armstrong  as  part  pay,  and  in  June,  1843, 
tliey  ])aid    liiin   another  county    order    for 


$310.06,  making  a  total  of  $350.06.  This 
was  for  the  building,  before  it  was  lathed 
and  plastered.  That  cost  $175.30,  making 
the  total  cost  of  the  court  house  $525.36. 
Rather  a  cheap  building  for  such  a  pur- 
pose, yet  it  served  the  purpose  for  whick 
it  was  erected  until  superseded  by  the  pres- 
ent fine  stone  one  in  1856,  a  period  of  thir- 
teen years.  The  lower  story  was  done  off 
for  a  court  room,  with  a  door  on  each  side 
near  the  center  and  opposite  each  other,  for 
ingress  and  egress,  and  the  upper  story  was 
divided  into  three  rooms  of  nearly  equal 
size,  with  stairway  at  southeast  corner. 
In  the  upper  story  were  the  offices  of  the 
clerks  of  the  Circuit  and  County  Commis- 
sioners' Courts  and  recorder's  office,  but 
not  used  as  such. — L.  W.  C.  Our  sheriff. 
Mr.  Armstrong,  had  charge  of  the  court 
room,  and  being  a  very  liberal  man  in  his 
religious  views,  this  courtroom  was  always 
free  for  religious  services,  no  matter  of  what 
denomination.  It  was  equallj'  free  for  tem- 
perance meetings,  singing  schools.  Sabbath 
schi^ols,  lectures,  legerdemain,  or  for  the 
exhibition  of  learned  pigs,  bears,  natural 
monstrosities,  or  that  greatest  of  humbugs, 
mesmerism. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1841-2 
Robert  Peacock'  erected  a  small  frame 
building  for  a  hotel  on  the  spot  where  the 
Clifton  House  now  stands  and  christened 
it  the  "  Plow  Inn."  His  sign  was  the  rep- 
resentation of  a  plow  painted  upon  a  board, 
and  underneath  the  letters  "  Inn."  Mr. 
Peacock  was  a  man  of  fair  education,  honest 
and  fair  but  slightly  addicted  to  gossip; 
hence  he  was  very  liable  to  be  occasionally 
duped.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  and 
a  good  one.  In  the  absence  of  the  coroner, 
a  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  precinct  where 


194 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


a  dead  body  may  be  found  was  required  to 
hold  an  inquest.  In  the  summer  of  1842 
P.  P.  Chapin  (a  natural  wag)  was  running 
a  brick  yard  near  where  tlie  Gas  Factory  is 
located  on  the  bank  of  East  Nettle  C  reek. 
An  English  family,  of  the  name  of  Bandly, 
with  three  or  four  daugliters,  ranging  from 
six  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  lived  near  b}' 
his  brick  yard.  Tiiese  little  girls  had  an 
enormously  large  rag  doll  baby,  and  while 
playing  on  the  bank  of  the  creek  which  is 
very  abrupt  and  high,  either  by  accident  or 
intent,  they  let  this  doll  tall  into  the  creek, 
and  as  they  could  not  reach  it  to  pull  it  out, 
they  left  it  floating  down  stream.  Mr. 
Chapin  rescued  it  from  its  watery  grave 
and  carefully  laid  it  out  to  dry  upon  a  large 
stump  close  by.  Here  was  a  rare  chance 
for  "  Pete  "  (as  he  was  called,  although  his 
Christian  name  was  Paschal)  to  gratify  his 
ever  ready  wit  and  propensity  for  fun,  even 
at  the  expense  of  friendship.  A  couple  of 
elderly  maidens  lived  "'  all  alone  "  in  a  cab- 
in near  by,  with  whose  reputation  the  busy 
tongue  of  scandal  was  dealing  insidious  in- 
uendoes — though  in  all  human  probability 
very  unjustly.  It  was  therefore  an  easy  mat- 
ter to  start  the  inference  of  infanticide  in  that 
locality,  and  Squire  Peacock — good,  honest 
soul,  would  be  among  the  very  first  to  jump 
at  a  conclusion  from  the  most  obscure  hint 
or  gesture.  With  a  serious  countenance  he 
approached  the  Squire,  and  in  a  solemn 
voice  informed  him  of  the  corpus  delicti. 
How  his  attention  was  attracted  to  the 
creek  by  the  high  bluff,  near  the  residence 
of  these  old  maidens;  how  he  saw  the  dead 
body  of  a  babe  in  the  water;  how  he  had 
carefully  drawn  tlie  body  out  all  dripping 
with  water,  and  carefully  laid  it  on  a  stump 
awaiting  an  inquest.     All  confidingly  the 


Squire  was  entrapj)ed,  exclaiming,  "I  told 
you  nothing  wood  would  come  of  those  two 
women  living  there  alone."  He  consulted 
the  statute  relative  to  holding  inquests, 
and  then  proceeded  to  summon  a  jury.  L. 
"\V.  Claypool  and  Samuel  Ayers  had  been 
let  into  the  secret  by  Chapin.  The  former 
declined  to  serve  on  the  jury,  but  the  latter 
wanted  to  see  the  fun.  Having  obtained 
his  jury  of  twelve  "good  men  and  true," 
he  repaired  to  the  stump  to  examine  the 
corpse,  when  lo!  there  was  nothing  there 
but  a  bundle  of  rags.  The  Squire  laid  up 
a  hickory  in  oil  for  Chapin's  use,  but  really 
never  got  quite  even  with  him. 

On  the  loth  of  April,  1842,  having 
reached  the  age  of  nineteen,  with  all  our 
worldly  goods  and  possessions,  consisting, 
of  a  few  home-made  clothes  and  Blackstone 
"done  up  in  two  volumes,"  all  ensconced 
in  a  "cotton  bandana,"  with  two  Spanisii 
quarters  in  our  pocket  like"Japhet  in 
search  of  a  father,"  we  struck  out  from  the 
paternal  nest  in  the  town  of  Deer  Park,  La 
Salle  County,  Illinois,  and  "  on  foot  and 
alone  like  the  girl  that  went  to  get  married" 
we  wended  our  wav  to  the  new  town  of 
Morris,  with  great  expectations  of  achiev- 
ing a  fortune  and  of  building  up  a  name 
that  would  be  the  envy  of  the  old  and  the 
emulation  of  the  young.  We  toiled  along 
cheerily  and  manfully  for  the  first  half  of 
the  road — somefifteen  miles.  From  thence 
on,  those  ponderous  words  of  Blackstone, 
or  the  amount  of  paper  used  to  print  them, 
grew  in  weight  step  by  step  until  each 
seemed  to  outweigh  a  common  sized  anvil. 
Night  spread  her  sable  wings  over  wood- 
land and  prairie  long  ere  we  reached  our 
goal.  On  striking  the  point  where  Messrs. 
Kenrick  &  Kennedv  no.v  live  we  gave  com 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


195 


]iletelv  out.  Tlie  roads  were  in  a  horrid 
condition  and  tlie  mud  was  lialf  leg  deep. 
Tiie  arguments  of  tlie  le^al  saoje  were  too 
lieavy  for  ns  and  lience  we  deposited  tlieni 
in  a  hollow  oak  tree  and  covered  them  over 
with  leaves  and  mud,  to  be  exhumed  at  a 
more  convenient  season.  At  about  nine  p. 
M.,  we  reached  the  Grnndy  Hotel,  though 
it  was  then  far  from  being  finished.  Here 
we  received  a  hearty  welcome,  with  many 
proffers  of  a  drop  of  wliisW,  with  the  assur- 
ance that  it  would  do  us  good.  "We  received 
the  welcome  without  the  whisky.  Mor- 
ris had  been  located  and  christened  just 
three  days  before  we  cast  our  lot  within  its 
precincts.  "VVe  have  been  inseparable  com- 
panions since  tiiat  time  and  have  grown 
old  together.  It  has  grown  larger,  stronger 
and  better.  We,  too,  have  grown  larger, 
but  alas,  weaker  and  more  wicked.  Hope 
deferred  for  forty  years,  and  still  our  expec- 
tations seem  no  nearer  realization  than 
when  we  came.  Some  davs  after  our  arri- 
val here  we  returned  to  the  hollow  tree  for 
our  books.  They  were  safe  and  uninjured. 
Our  first  day  in  Morris  as  a  citizen  was  full 
of  adventure  and  decidedly  discouraging. 
We  came  here  ostensibly  to  keep  the  books 
of  account  of  the  firm  of  Armstrong  &  Hart, 
who  were  canal  contractors  and  built  the 
canal  through  Morris,  but  our  main  object 
was  to  study  law,  and  as  we  were  informed 
before  coming  that  the  book-keeping  would 
occupy  but  a  small  portion  of  our  time,  we 
expected  to  literally  absorb  the  contents  of 
Blackstone.  We  were  to  board  at  the 
Grundy  Hotel,  of  which  Mr.  Armstrong 
■was  proprietor.  On  the  day  after  our  ar- 
rival we  were  placed  in  charge  of  said  hotel 
as  well  as  of  the  books  of  the  firm, while  Mr. 
Armstrong  and  family  started   to    Ottawa 


for  a  short  visit.  Early  in  the  day  wo 
were  informed  by  the  cook  of  the  boarding 
house  for  the  canal  hands  that  he  was  "out 
of  meat,"  and  as  none  could  be  obtained 
short  of  Dresden,  we  mounted  a  horse  and 
went  thither  and  made  a  purchase  of  sever- 
al barrels  of  pork  from  Antoine  Peltier  and 
returned  towards  evening.  There  was  a 
cubby-hole  under  the  stairway  of  the  hotel 
in  which  was  stored  a  barrel  of  cheaj) 
brandy,  the  door  to  which  we  locked  and 
put  the  key  in  our  pocket.  During  our 
absence  some  thirsty  soul  broke  open  this 
door  to  get  at  the  brandy.  Having  taken 
a  few  drinks  he  imagined  that  he  was  the 
owner  of  the  entire  barrel.  Soon  it  was 
known  all  over  the  village  that  brandy  was 
free  at  the  Grundy  Hotel.  Once  fairly 
started,  brandy  was  carried  in  pails,  dip- 
pers, pitchers  and  tin  cups  to  the  men  on 
the  work,  and  as  a  natural  result  a  sober 
man  was  the  exception  and  fighting  was 
general. 

As  we  approached  the  hotel  the  engineer 
in  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  canal 
and  the  boss  carpenter  on  the  erection  of 
the  court  house  were  stripped  for  a  fight, 
each  insisting  that  he  would  knock  the 
other  over  the  Alleghany  mountains  if  he 
could  only  get  a  fair  lick  at  him.  They 
had  a  scratch  across  the  road,  which  they 
vainly  endeavored  to  toe,  but  were  so  drunk 
that  when  they  attempted  to  straighten  up, 
they  lost  their  equilibrium,  and  were  forced 
to  step  back,  so  a  collision  was  impossible,  so 
long  as  they  respected  the  road  mark.  We 
had  seen  but  little  drunkenness  thus  far,  and 
were  horrified  and  pained  at  the  sight. 
Here  was  a  man  of  intellect  and  education, 
a  first-class  gentleman,  so  muddled  witii 
the  accursed  liquor  that  he  forgot  who  he 


196 


HI.-JiORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


was  and  what  he  was  trying  to  do.  By  the 
joint  use  of  persuasion  and  physical 
streniith  we  got  the  engineer  in  bed,  when- 
he  soon  went  to  sleep,  and  came  out  the 
next  day  humiliated  and  humble  and  es- 
chewed cheap  brandy  ever  after,  as  a  bev- 
erage. Having  thus  disposed  of  the  engi- 
neer, we  started  in  search  of  a  sober  man, 
but  failed  in  the  effort.  As  we  left  the  ho- 
tel a  fight  was  in  progress  between  Mat 
Catlin,  the  plasterer,  and  Johnnie  May,  a 
teamster.  They  were  of  the  banty  order 
and  fought  lively  with  the  advantage  in  fa- 
vor of  May,  who  soon  got  Catlin  down  and 
was  pummelling  him  in  the  most  apjiroved 
style.  We  went  to  the  rescue  of  Catlin  and 
released  him  from  his  perilous  condition, 
and  fortius  kindly  act  he  became  highly  in- 
censed at  us  and  turned  the  vials  of  his 
wrath  upon  our  poor  head.  The  result  was 
a  slight  conflict,  with  a  pair  of  badly-dam- 
aged eyes  to  the  plasterer.  We  then  went 
into  the  office  to  post  up  books  when  Kurtz, 
the  carpenter,  came  in  and  demanded  more 
brandy.  We  had  none  to  give  him  if  we 
had  wished  to  do  so,  as  the  barrel  had  been 
completely  emptied  before  our  return  from 
Dresden,  and  had  we  had  it  to  give 
we  should  most  certainly  have  declined  to 
give  him  any,  as  he  was  still  quite  tipsy. 
Our  refusal  roused  him  to  a  towering  rage. 
We  ordered  him  out  of  the  room,  to  which 
he  replied:  "  I  know  you  are  the  boss  here, 
but  you  are  too  small  for  a  boss.  I  will  go 
out  if  you  can  put  me  out,  but  not  other- 
wise." We  thereupon  went  for  him  and 
rushed  to  the  door  when  he  caught  hold  of 
the  door  jambs  with  his  hands.  This  we  ex- 
pected, but  were  in  no  way  disconcerted  by 
it.  We  had  seen  such  tricks  before  and 
well  knew  how  to  defeat  them.     We  seized 


him  around  the  legs  and  ended  him  over, 
when  he  fell  on  the  flat  of  liis  back  into 
the  bar  room.  He  sprang  quickly  to  his 
feet  and  came  at  us  for  fight,  striking  out 
with  both  fists  wildly.  We  dodged  the 
blows  and  gave  him  a  hip  lock,  land- 
ing him  across  the  flared  edge  of  an  old- 
fashioned  Franklin  stove,  which  settled 
him,  and  at  the  same  time  broke  one  of  his 
ribs,  when  he  was  ready — yes,  anxious,  of 
being  put  in  his  "  little  bed."  Gilman,  the 
teamster,  was  the  next  to  make  trouble.  He 
got  up  in  the  night  to  interfere  with  the  cook 
whose  room  was  down  stairs.  We  heard  him 
getting  up  and  knew  his  design.  Stealing  to 
the  head  of  the  stairway  in  the  dark  hall  we 
were  ready  for  action.  As  he  reached  the 
first  step  we  gave  him  a  violent  push.  He 
had  no  time  to  count  the  steps  or  open  the 
door  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  He  stopped 
very  suddenly  with  his  head  in  the  bar 
room  and  his  body  in  the  stairway.  The 
stairway  door,  however,  was  demoralized, 
and  minus  a  panel.  He  was  satisfied  that 
"  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard,"  and 
very  willingly  returned  to  his  bed.  When 
Mr.  A.  returned  from  Ottawa,  he  found  the 
work  on  the  court  house  suspended  and  his 
team  idle  for  want  of  a  driver.  Upon  in- 
quiring the  cause  of  Mr.  Catlin,  he  was 
informed  that  "we  got  on  to  a  bit  of  a  tan- 
trum, when  Picayune  like  to  have  kilt  the 
whole  of  us." 

This  was  the  way  a  new  name  was  given 
to  us.  Not  a  very  elegant  one,  but  one 
that  stayed  by  us  for  several  years.  Thus  we 
had  a  busy  day,  even  though  it  was  our  first 
day  in  Morris.  We  established  our  reputa- 
tion  as  a  ^^ fighter"  and  have  rested  since. 

William  E.  Aemsteong,  the  founder  of 
Morris,  was  born  in  Licking  County,  Ohio, 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


197 


Oct.  25.  ISU,  and  died  Nov.  1,  ISoO. 
Witli  his  niotlior's  family  lie  moved  over- 
laud  Irom  Ohio  to  Illinois  in  the  spring  of 
1831,  and  located  near  where  Lacon  now 
stands,  in  April  of  that  year.  In  August,  of 
the  same^'ear,  the  family  moved  to  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Deer  I'ark,  La  Salic  County.  A 
man  of  great  mental  and  physical  strength, 
he  was  a  born  leader  of  men.  In  Septem- 
ber, 184:1,  he  was  elected  sherift',  and  was 
re-elected  several  times  thereafter.  So 
great  was  his  influence  that  he  was  gener- 
allj'  called  "  the  emperor  of  Grundy." 
He  alwaj's  had  a  host  of  friends,  who 
looked  upon  him  as  their  leader.  Yet  lie 
never  appeared  to  seek  their  leadership.  It 
was  acconled  him.  In  energy,  persever- 
ance and  business  tact,  he  had  few  equals. 
lie  could  plan  and  execute  great  under- 
takings, where  the  common  man  and  mind 
could  see  nothing  to  do.  He  was  probably 
the  ablest  man  Grundy  County  ever  had. 
lie  with  his  wife  and  two  daughters  moved 
from  Ottawa  here  in  March,  1841,  and 
took  possession  of  the  Chapin  log  cabin 
before  described.  With  him  cameGEOKOE 
H.  KiEESTED,  a  graduate  of  South  College, 
Kentucky.  Mi.  Kiersted  was  a  man  of  lib- 
eral education  and  magnificent  physical 
form,  a  man  who  would  attract  attention 
and  admiration  among  a  crowd  of  hundreds 
of  fine  looking  men.  There  was  a  peculiar 
dignity — yea,  majesty  in  his  very  step, 
whilst  every  motion  of  his  fine  form  was 
graceful  and  easy.  About  six  feet  in 
height,  with  broad  shoulders  and  powerful 
liinbs,  yet  he  was  as  active  as  a  cat;  even 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
but  a  few  years  since,  he  could  turn  ahand- 
epring  on  the  barn  floor.  AVith  clear  blue 
eyes,  finely  shaped  head  and  remarkably 


pure  complexion,  he  was  a  veiy  handsome 
man.  Fond  of  music,  poetry  and  fiowers, 
and  a  poet  himself  of  no  common  type, 
yet  too  modest  to  let  his  poetry  see  the 
light  of  publication.  Possessed  of  a  fine 
tenor  voice,  and  master  of  the  flute,  and  of 
great  conversational  powers,  he  was  a  wel- 
come guest  and  leader  of  society.  His  life 
and  history  here  are  parts  and  parcels  of 
the  history  of  Morris.  Ha  was  generous 
to  a  fault,  and  acquired  money  only  for  its 
use.  Next  to  Mr.  A.  no  man  ever  excelled 
him  in  influence  in  Grundy  County,  lie 
was  defeated  for  the  oftice  of  recorder  by 
Mr.  L.  W.  Claypool,  May  24,  1841,  and 
then  accepted  a  position  as  assistant  engi- 
neer on  the  canal,  making  his  home  still 
here.  He  married  Miss  B.  KoUey,  the  ac- 
complished sister-in-law  of  James  Nagle, 
and  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Nagle  succeeded 
him  as  clerk  of  the  county  commissioners, 
court,  June  5,  1843,  which  oflice  he  con- 
tinued to  hold  until  the  oflice  was  changed 
to  county  clerk,  in  1849.  He  also  held  the 
office  of  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  from  1842 
to  1853,  and  postmaster  a  short  time  under 
Polk's  administration,  but  resigned  it  in 
favor  of  the  writer  in  the  spring  of 
1864.  He  died  poor,  leaving  a  large 
family — all  daughters.  The  eldest,  Anna, 
is  the  wife  of  D.  0.  Huston,  Esq.;  the 
second,  Abbie  M.,  is  the  wife  of  Alex- 
ander Burrell,  Esq.,  both  of  Morris. 
Both  are  ladies  of  fine  physique  and  intelli- 
gence. Paschal  Paola  Chapin,  before 
mentioned,  was  a  brother  of  John  P.  Cha- 
pin, one  of  the  proprietors  of  Morris  and 
came  here  in  1842  to  look  after  his  brother's 
interest.  A  natural  wag,  yet  handsome 
and  accomplished.  We  find  him  acting  as, 
clerk  ^?'o  tem.  of  the  county  commissioners 


198 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


court  in  the  fall  of  184:2.  He  was  the  first 
clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  county  and 
"  a  liale  fellow  well  met,"  in  all  the  public 
gatiierings  t'f  the  time.  He  went  by  the 
name  of  P'Flora  P'Nellie  or  P.  Chapin,  and 
left  here  about  the  year  1845  and  died  in 
Wisconsin  lately.  He  was  "a gay  and  fes- 
tive old  bach,"  ever  ready  for  sport  and 
fun.  Of  medium  size,  dark  complexion,  jet 
black  iiair  and  whiskers,  he  was  decidedly 
handsome.  James  IIakt  came  here  with 
his  family  in  the  fall  of  1841  and  located 
his  cabin  near  tiie  Cedar  Poleon  Wanponsee 
street.  He  was  a  giant  in  size  and  strength 
and  possessed  of  good  executive  ability.  In 
company  with  Mr.  Armstrong  he  took  one 
or  two  contracts  on  the  canal,  one  of  them 
being  that  portion  which  passes  tiirough 
Morris.  Teams  and  scrapers  in  digging 
canals  had  not  come  into  use  at  that  time, 
and  if  they  had,  they  could  not  liave  been 
obtained,  for  they  were  not  in  the  countrj'. 
The  work  was  done  with  the  shovel  and 
barrow,  a  very  slow  and  expensive  mode 
of  digging  a  canal.  In  this  slow  mode  of 
canal  building,  Mr.  Hart  was  well  educated, 
and  would  have  made  money  on  their  con- 
tracts if  the  State  had  not  gone  into  jirac- 
tical  bankruptcy  and  paid  their  estimates  in 
scrip,  worth  only  about  33^  cents  on  the 
dollar.  Notwithstanding  this  ruinous 
depreciation  in  the  funds,  Messrs.  Arm- 
strong &  Hart  finished  up  their  contracts 
at  a  heavy  financial  loss.  At  the  regular 
election,  Aug.  7,  1843,  Mr.  Hart  was  elect- 
ed school  commissioner  of  the  county  and 
qualified  as  such  Sept.  4th,  giving  a  $12,000 
bond,  which  oSice  lie  held  to  the  time  of 
liis  death,  which  occurred  in  1844.  He 
left  quite  a  family,  of  whom  Mrs.  Thomas 
Reynolds,    Mrs.    Wm.  Teller    and    John 


Hart,  our  popular  blacksmith,  still  reside 
in  Morris.  Michael  DePrenueoast  came 
here  from  Ottawa  in  the  winter  of  1843-4 
and  built  a  double  log  cabin  where  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Morris  now  stands. 
Elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace 
soon  after  coming  here,  he  held  that  office 
up  to  August,  1846,  when  lie  was  elected 
probate  justice  of  the  peace.  For  him 
nature  did  but  little,  education  much.  He 
made  a  good  justice  of  the  peace  and  by  no 
means  a  bad  probate  judge.  He  had  been 
admitted  to  the  bar,  but  never  practiced  as 
a  lawyer.  A  man  of  inordinate  vanity,  he 
was  extremely  susceptible  to  flattery,  but 
his  honesty  and  integrity  were  never  ques- 
tioned. He  built  the  fine  brick  block  at 
the  corner  of  "Washington  and  Wanponsee 
streets,  known  now  as  the  Bank  Block,  but 
during  his  life-time  as  the  "  Pendegrass 
Block."  It  was  asserted  by  some  that  his 
name  when  became  from  Ireland  was  Pen- 
degrass and  that  for  style  he  changed  it  to 
"DePrendegast"  to  make  it  Frenchy  and 
aristocratic.  He  died  about  the  year  1870, 
leaving  his  widow  and  one  son  surviving; 
both  of  whom  died  shortly  after,  leaving  an 
estate  for  litigation  without  direct  heirs. 
LuTHEK  S.  EoBBiNS,  M.  D.,  moved  to  Mor- 
ris trom  the  Sulphur  Springs,  south  of  this 
city,  in  1842,  and  took  possession  of  the 
Chapin  cabin  when  Mr.  Armstrong  moved  to 
the  Grundy  Hotel.  Dr.  Robbins  was  doubt- 
less the  first  regular  physician  of  Grundy 
County,  having  located  at  the  Sulphur 
Springs,  now  owned  by  George  Harold,  in 
1834.  He  was  elected  probate  justice  of 
the  peace  in  1843  which  he  held  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  April  1, 1845.  He  was  a  man 
of  good  acquirements  with  considerable 
skill  as  a  physician. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


199 


Bartholomew  McGratii  came  here  from 
Dresden  and  built  the  "  Morris  Hotel  "  in 
1843,  which  stood  at  southwest  corner  of 
Main  and  Liberty  streets  where  the  Gib- 
bard  brick  block  now  stands.  A  natural 
mathematician  and  fine  business  man,  he 
had  been  engaged  for  several  years  preceding 
as  a  canal  contractor,  and  was  elected  one 
of  the  county  commissioners  to  succeed 
Henry  Cryder,  Esq.,  Aug.  7,  1843.  This 
office  lie  filled  with  credit  to  himself,  and 
satislaction  to  the  county  for  sevei-al  years, 
and  died  of  consumption,  very  generally 
regretted,  in  1846,  leaving  a  widow  and 
three  children,  two  of  whom  now  survive, 
viz.:  Thomas  E.  and  Samuel  D.  McGrath, 
the  former  of  this  city,  the  latter  a  com- 
positor on  the  Chicago  Times.  His  widow 
became  the  wife  of  Col.  James  H.  O'Brien, 
and  died  here  in  1850. 

John  McNellis,  or  black  Jack,  as  he  was 
sometimes  called,  came  herefrom  Ottawa 
in  1844,  and  built  a  frame  house,  on  the 
spot  now  occupied  by  Brown's  drug  store, 
for  a  boarding  house  and  saloon.  Unable 
to  read  or  write,  yet  nature  supplied  this 
defect  by  giving  him  a  large,  well  balanced 
and  active  brain.  He  did  a  good  business, 
and  accumulated  some  means  so  that  when 
the  canal  was  opened  in  1848  he  was  able 
to  purchase  a  fine  canal  boat,  and  chris- 
tened it  the  General  Shields.  "With  this 
boat  and  the  exercise  of  good  judgment  in 
the  purchase  and  sale  of  grain,  he  made 
considerable  money.  What  would  have 
seemed  to  others  a  misfortune  not  nnfre- 
quently  proved  to  him  fortunate.  For  in- 
stance, on  one  occasion  he  bought  several 
thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  which  were 
shipped  on  the  General  Shields  for  the 
Chicago  market;  while  on  its  waj'  a  break 


in  the  canal  detained  the  boat  some  fifteen 
days,  during  which  time  the  price  of  wheat 
went  up  several  cents  per  day,  so 
that  he  nearly  doubled  his  money  on 
this  venture.  AVhen  the  canal  trustees 
held  their  public  sale  here,«Mr.  McNeills 
purchased  sixty  acres  of  land,  all  now 
within  the  corporate  limits  of  the  city  of 
Morris.  He  also  purchased  at  that  sale 
several  other  tracts  of  land.  Honest  in  his 
dealings  with  thefarmershegained  their  con- 
fidence and  good  will  to  such  a  degree,  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  he  got  their  grain. 
Erecting  a  warehouse  where  the  McEwen 
warehouse  now  stands,  he  did  the  leading 
grain  business  for  many  years.  Having 
purchased  the  fine  farm  lying  northwest 
of  Morris,  now  owned  by  William  Stephens 
and  occupied  by  his  son  Charles,  he  built 
the  fine  brick  dwelling  thereon,  and  other- 
wise improved  the  place  so  as  to  make  it 
one  of  the  best  farms  of  the  county.  A 
devout  Catholic  in  religion,  and  feeling  the 
want  of  education  liimself,  he  erected  afine 
four  story  brick  building,  and  with  ten 
acres  of  land  surrounding  it,  he  donated  it 
for  a "  Catholic  School  forevery  Thus 
was  St.  Angela's  Convent,  which  is  an  honor 
to  our  city — founded.  It  was  the  munifi- 
cent gift  of  John  McNeills.  Nor  were  his 
church  donationscontined  to  his  own  church; 
liavine  also  given  to  the  Catholic  church 
two  acres  of  land  for  a  church  building 
and  parsonage,  he  also  subscribed  and  paid 
$3,000  toward  the  erection  of  the  splendid 
Catholic  Church  edifice,  and  then  gave 
$250  to  the  Congregational,  $100  to  the 
Presbyterian,  §100  to  the  Baptist,and  $250  to 
the  Episcopal  Churches  of  Morris.  Dona- 
tions whose  aggregate  amount  would  make 
a  moderate  fortune  to  any  individual.     Bu'; 


5W 


ET5T0EY  OF  GBI^SPT  O 


be  met  irith  re-rerses  and  is  nc'^  ; ! "  a- d 
pc»C!>r.  Higii'sin^,  ai  one  time  durlr.^  tie 
war,  went  op  to  a  high  Vigare,  which  in- 
d»ced  him  to  ereci  a  disnilerr  at  the  An 
Sable:,  some  ai  miies  east  of  Morris.  This 
|wv»ve>i  his  downfall  Of  the  practical 
workin»  of  a  dlsnllerx  be  bad  do  knoirl- 
ed-  -^  --?Tier.  He  tried  to  operate  it 
••sr  :  dndin^  it  was  proving  a  heavy 

loss,  be  then  leased  it  to  parties  who  raa 
"Cfoofced."  wh«i  his  property  was  seized 
by  tlie  "ovemment  and  virraally  connsca- 
ted.  What,  between  litigation  and  hope  of 
the  property  being  restored  to  him  by  tl»e 
govern  meat,  be  has  become  broken  down, 
mentally  and  physically,  and  is  compiled 
to  live  on  small  means  and  cheaply.  No 
man  has  done  more  toward  the  material 
prosperity  of  ICorris,  than  John  McXellis. 
His  bn>tber-in-law,  Jitdge  Pateick 
Htjois,  came  here  also  in  IS-H.  bnilt  and 
started  a  blacksmith  shop  (the  first  in  the 
pLace  t  on  the  lot  just  north  of  the  present 
residence  of  his  widow.  He  was  elected 
Jnstiee  of  the  Peace  soon  after  eoniins: 
boe.  and  soeh  was  his  fine  sense  of  even- 
ts- '  ''-::ce  that  be  gave  very  general 
Si:  -  as  sneh.     Indeed,  his  decisions 

we»ie  seldom  if  ever  reversed  on  appeaL 
His  fine  jadgment  pointed  him  ont  as  a 
snitable  persim  t<3  nil  the  vacancy  in  the 
(^ce  <4  Connw  Jndge  on  the  resignation 
of  Jndge  Y  -    rr.  in  155L     In  that 

year  be  w.  ri  Connty  Jndge  at  a 

special  deetioB  and  re-elected  in  1^5-3  at 
_    '       "ion.     Xotwithsti         _      e 

.:  -adacommonla'^    -..;^.;- 

tion  to  the  amoirat  of  $1,000,  and  ei- 
escased  eertaln  ehancery  jurisdietion,  he 
dis^targed  the  duties  ther&jf  very  satisfac- 
toriiy  to  the  bar  and  the  people,  though  be 


was  not  a  lawyer,  nor  indeed  had  he  ever 
read  law.  He  die  J  of  consumption  in  lS6<i>, 
leaving  a  widow  and  three  children,  all  of 
whom  are  still  living.  Jndge  Hynds  was 
in  many  respects  a  remarkable  man.  He 
was  a  warm  tme  friend,  of  pjsitive  charac- 
ter, generous  impulses  and  high-toned 
honor.  "WTiat  he  promised,  that  he  did. 
There  was  do  halfway  business  in  his  com- 
position. His  rule  of  life  and  conduct 
were  based  upon  this  thought :  Whatever 
is  honest  must  be  right — whatever  is  dis- 
honest is  a  crime  that  should  be  punished. 
Mahlox  p.  Wilsox,  whose  adz  and 
driver  have  been  heard  from  early  morn 
to  dewy  eve  for  nearly  forty  years,  was  the 
first  cooper  of  Morris.  Indeed,  we  may 
say  the  only  one,  except  his  brother  Alex- 
ander, who  came  many  years  later.  On 
tiie  iMth  of  May.  IS-tL  Mahlon  P.  with  his 
wife  and  one  child  moved  into  the  double 
log  cabin  erectei  for  a  boarding  house  for 
canal  bands,  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by 
the  fine  residence  of  S.  S.  Strong,  Esq. 
Here  he  opened  his  shop  Mid  commence«i 
the  manufacture  of  barrels,  firkins,  etc, 
which  he  has  carried  on  continuously  in 
Morris  for  over  thirty-eight  years.  In  1S15 
he  erected  a  small  frame  house  on  the  spot 
DOW  i>ocnpie<i  by  the  McCann  brick  bnild- 
iri2  on  Washington  street,  and  moved  his 
&mily  into  it  and  opened  a  boarding  house. 

~    - .^  but  16  by  24  feet,  if  we 

-    _  _    :     When  Messrs.  LeE-jy  «fc 

Hannah  built  the  brick  building,  this  house 
">ras  removed  and  is  still  standing  as  a  part 
of  the  Clifbon  House  (forming  the  kitchen, 
we  believe).  For  many  years  past,  his  shop 
has  been  on  Canal  street,  east  of  the  court 
house,  where  from  mom  till  late  at  i  i_'ht 
his  driver  and  aiz  are  in  constant  motion. 


its  :=  2<: 


ladosmavs,  and  or 

jet  lie  never  nude  a  : 

saeceeded  io  fceepc:. 

aod  edatattng  a  lar. 

axtr-five  Tears  of  a^  -"  - 

ae  dim  as  a  s&ad,  Te' 

TlMragfc  not  aa  Epcs<'; 

Eeotnl  IB  politf 

••jo^bt  nor  ati- 

teaded  a  ciuncfc,  Iwt  fer  ail  dia£  be  s 

Bwcal  Ban  and  a  g,oad  nttaem. 

PxrzKx:  Keixet. a  maa  of  lacze  axe  me.-i 
great  pbraeal  stienst&,  evened  a  sl^mo — 
or  grocery  as  diai  called — in  a  ^oatr  cii 
de  eocBO-  of  Hain  and  Waaspysaee  street*. 
He  «;k  diefmly  AaiS  nzfiec  Mr.  A?m- 
^nm^  and  at  tie  der&m  oi  ISM  be  ws.- 
dee&ed  leeoeder  ova- HJesTT  StoRV  >I^OT^ 
be  received  few  or  no  voces  ootadeof  fise 
Umkcts  oa  Ae  canaL  In  tluee  dajs  t&e 
canal  Tote  wae  (rr  no  means  an  araeQCtain 
or  donbcfid  defneat  in  deetiong  of  eovntr 
officers  in  Grmdr  Conntjr.  Th^  een^d.- 
tnted  a  dear  B^ontj- rf  ^  I^al  vtitors  of 
&e  eonntf  ,  and  vfaen  nmsed  tber'^Ecked 
tibe  platter  dean."  In.  154o  t&e  canal  t^:sc 
swept  tke  boari  -rC    Mr. 

AiBtefauiig  sncK  _•  a  part  of 

dkeir  vtice,  and  vsts  r^  Mr.  XciL^. 

\rr  &e  aaastan<:-~i 

^ed  to  do  die  re.  - — _  ^  _  ~  I-t 
doctor  in  Aoee  daj:  vsc  sll^-ij  stvesi  s> 
tbe  epeead  ea^is.  and  deeocafied  aevoai 
paries  ct  d«e  records  vidt  aovmSsrSeii  pre^ 
sentaKBts  ei^Aak  &aons  bod.  Mr.  KeZej 
vas  a  nnaoa  by  trade  and  a  good  one.  He 
died  in  Ak  cEtr  9oae  Tears  since,  leaving 
two  k^Uf  edncatfd  and  aceomplisbed 
dan^bets. 

At>xx  LtxB.  or  more  •eaeralh-  kB#«m 
as  Sctxdi  Lankily  wns  a  canal  «oa&rarbar 


-Ml 

jd- 


rgfftsc  s&£  TanLz  it 


.€  E&e 


ICE  tie: 


IS* 


<3T^    in     a»l     -l:r      .=; 

"V-  Lamb  was  aaC  oolj  a  ripe  ^rfiafar  BnK 

sKBiba-of  tiseeiabaf  ££niKr5k  oiiies. 
HewKabM:&darwS&  j^  Ma^  ksrad 
-viii-kETs.  widt  ^EreoapfeaBOB] 
raeal  SKm;  be  was  wnrirfriE 
HelE&bece  SvCksoeo  aa 
njerer  ledmed.  LeaTfrtg  a  Sarse  mnrrt  si 
T-ropectT  and  s^aecdad  bcBaaes&.  Qf  was 
±ee  dent  debt  and  ka£  em^ia&Ue  nooe^ 
OS  bis  person  w&Qz  he  scaroed  s>  C^eeo. 
He  "y-is  ieard  mxa.  in  Xev  Tai  «£st. 
w&ere  xZ:nri<ae<if  ki^ee^eiL  Ii  was  sip^ 
posed  ^asbe  Q»ka  soi&ien  notian  i»re- 
tnra  do  -^Bimase  Scadand'^  mr  a  Tiat,  bnc 
he  nerer  isae&ed  Aere:  he  wk  praba&lT 
killed  and  robbed  in.  i;ae  cl^t  of  X^w  York. 
"Ibis  w^  in  154^  an': 
bis  b^sinese  iere  aati  :^-  -_      ^:  _ .  ; 

Weaie  nso3Ta!nw3e£nifr  ;a53 


202 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


stock  of  goods  or  that  of  Col.Wm.  L.  Perce, 
was  the  first  brought  to  Morris.  They  were 
both  opened  in  18i5  and  were  mere  supply 
stores  for  the  accommodation  of  the  canal 
hands. 

Col.  "William  L.  Perce  took  the  con- 
tract of  building  the  aqueduct  across  Net- 
tle Creek  on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  and 
came  here  with  his  family  in  1845,  occupy- 
ing a  frame  house  built  by  Geo.  H.  Kiersted 
where  the  residence  of  John  F.  Hamilton 
now  stands.  He  was  an  elderly  man  of 
considerable  means  and  large  experience  as 
a  contractor.  With  him  came  Charles  H. 
Goold,  now  president  of  the  Grundy  County 
National  Bank,  as  book-keeper,  and  Alex- 
ander Morrison,  now  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate  of  Michigan  and  a  leading 
capitalist  of  that  State,  as  foreman.  The 
stone  for  this  aqueduct  was  quarried  some 
seven  miles  below  Morris,  near  the  river 
bank  and  hauled  by  teams.  It  was  a  red- 
disli  sandstone  of  inferior  quality  and  dis- 
integrated so  that  the  aqueduct  had  to  be 
rebuilt.  Col.  Perce  opened  a  stock  of  dry 
goods  in  a  room  in  the  American  House, 
with  C.  H.  Goold   as  manager,  in  the  fall 


of  18i5,  wliich  was  probably  the  first  store 
in  Morris.  He  left  here  when  the  canal 
was  finished  and  has  been  dead  many  years. 
Passionately  fond  of  euchre  he  was  a  good 
partner  if  you  understood  his  signs,  and  a 
dangerous  rival  in  a  four-handed  game. 
He  was  bald  iieaded  and  had  large  ears, 
which  he  could  move  forward  or  backward 
at  will,  and  by  means  of  his  ears  he  could 
indicate  to  his  partner  whether  he  had  one 
or  more  trumps,  and  in  case  the  dealer 
turned  down  the  trump  card  he  told  his 
partner  what  he  desired  for  trump,  by  the 
motion  of  his  ears.  To  those  who  did  not 
know  of  this  peculiarity  his  playing  and 
luck  were  marvelous.  Eli.tau  Walker 
opened  a  boot  and  shoe  shop  in  a  log  cabin 
where  Alex  Miller's  residence  now  stands, 
in  1841.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees,  under  the  special  charter 
of  the  town  of  Morris  in  IS.JB,  and  served 
one  term  as  sheriff  of  the  county  and  was 
supervisor  of  the  town  in  the  county  board. 
Defeated  for  re-election  as  slieriff,  by  John 
Galloway,  in  185G,  he  became  disgusted 
with  politics  and  went  to  Iowa. 


CHAPTEE    Yll.* 


MORRIS  CITY— THE  SECOND  PERIOD— GROWTH  OF  THE  CORPORATION— OFFICIAL  RECORDS- 
INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS— 1842  TO  1850. 

S.  Woolsej,  Jacob  Jacoby  and  Eobert  Kel- 
ley  were  tlie  successful  ones,  each  receiving 
about  fifty  votes,  while  their  opponents  re- 
ceived only  about  half  that  number. 

On  the  2d  of  September  of  that  year,  the 
first  village  council  met  and  organized  by 
the  election  of  E.  P.  Seeley,  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  Henry  Storr, 
Clerk.  Beyond  being  swoni  in  aiid  organ- 
izing the  board,  and  defining  the  boundaries 
as  follows:  "  Ordered  that  the  jurisdiction 
be  extended  over  and  embrace  tiie  follow- 
ing territory,  viz. :  The  southwest  quarter 
of  section  3;  S.  E.  i  of  Sec.  4;  N.  fr.  of  K 
E.  i  Sec.  9;  N.  fr.  N.  W.  i  Sec.  10,  in  town 
33,  R.  7  east,  3d  P.  M.,  and  also  that  por- 
tion of  the  Illinois  River  lying  opposite  to 
the  N.  fr.  N.  E.  i  Sec.  9,  and  the  N.  fr.  N. 
W.  i  Sec.  10  as  aforesaid,  and  extendino- 
four  rods  on  the  margin  of  the  south  bank 
of  said  river,  to  be  measured  from  the  top 
of  the  bank,"  no  business  was  transacted 
at  this  first  meeting  of  the  Town  Council 
of  Morris. 

Of  these  five  trustees  Mr.  Cane  onlv  sur- 
vives. Old,  yet  hale  and  hearty.  He  has' 
retired  from  business  and  is  spending  his 
time  in  reading   and  conversing  witii  his 


FROM  April  12,  1842,  to  August  15, 
1850,  Morris  was  a  kind  of  go-as-you- 
please  town  organization,  under  general 
act  and  special  charter.  As  before  shown, 
the  county  seat  of  Grundy  County  was  lo- 
cated and  named  April  12,  1843.  It  re- 
mained without  being  incorporated  into  a 
municipality  a  little  over  thirteen  years. 
On  the  15th  of  August,  1850,  an  election 
in  conformity  with  ciiapter  25  of  the  stat- 
ute then  in  force,  was  held  at  the  old  court 
house  in  Morris,  to  vote  upon  the  question 
of  incorporation,  under  the  section  of  the 
statute  referred  to:  "  the  free  white  male 
residents  of  lawful  age,  *  *  who  may 
have  resided  six  months  in  said  proposed 
incorporation,  as  a  freeholder  therein," 
were  entitled  to  vote  provided  that  said 
town  or  village  contained  150  inhabitants. 
At  this  election  L.  P.  Lott  was  chairman 
or  president,  and  P.  A.  Armstrong,  clerk  of 
said  election,  who  certify  that  "  there  were 
in  favor  of  incorporation  Ibrtj'-nine  votes, 
and  against  it  no  vote;  a  beggarly  vote  for 
a  city,  but  it  was  all  that  were  cast.  On 
the  22d  day  of  that  month  an  election  was 
held  for  five  trustees,  with  the  same  elec- 
tion board,  when  there  were  seventy-six 
votes  cast.  As  party  lines  were  drawn  at 
this  election,  this  vote  was  very  nearly  a 
full  one.    Orville  Cane,  Ezra  P.  Seeley, Wm. 

*  By  Hon.  P.  A.  Armstrong. 


olden  time  friends.  An  old  settler  of  the 
county,  he  was  its  second  sheriff,  and  has 
lived  on  his  farm,  a  few  miles  west  of  the 
city,  for  many  years  past,  and  returned  to 
Morris  some  two  years  ago. 


204 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Tlie  second  meeting  of  tlie  Board  of 
Trustees  was  lield  at  the  court  house  Janu- 
ary 13,  1851,  when  they  passed  an  ordi- 
nance establisliiiig  the  boundaries  of  the 
board  as  in  the  previous  order,  and  fixed 
the  reffuhir  mectinjj  of  tiie  board  for  second 
Monday  of  eacli  month  at  6  p.  m.,  creating 
the  appointive  officers  of  the  board  as  fol- 
lows: One  constable,  pound  master,  street 
commissioner,  fire  warden,  clerli  and 
treasurer,  defining  their  duties,  and  then 
appointed  George  Gillett,  constable,  Charles 
L.  P.  Ilogan,  street  commissioner,  A.  W. 
Newell,  treasurer,  and  Robert  Peacock,  fire 
warden.  At  this  meeting  the}'  passed  a 
general  code  of  ordinances  for  the  police 
regulations  of  the  town,  many  of  which 
are  stil!  in  force  with  but  little  alteration, 
and  ordered  them  published  b^'  posting  up 
three  copies  in  public  places  in  Morris. 
Tiie  next  meeting  of  this  board  was  held 
at  the  court  house  February  10th,  1851, 
when  Capt.  Charles  L.  Starbuck  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  board,  to  fill  the  va- 
cancy of  Henry  Storr,  resigned. 

Under  the  impression  that  the  charter 
granted  by  the  Legislature  to  the  late  Wm. 
E.  Armstrong,  February  27, 1811,  to  estab- 
lish a  ferry  across  the  Illinois  River  on  sec- 
tion seven  or  nine,  T.  33,  R.  7,  and  grant- 
ing him,  his  heirs  and  assigns  the  exclusive 
riofht  to  cross  said  river  within  a  mile  of 
tiie  point  where  he  may  establish  said  ferry 
for  ten  j-ears,  was  either  inoperative  or 
had  expired,  the  board  passed  an  impracti- 
cable, long  ordinance  to  license  and  regu- 
late the  running  of  a  ferry  across  the  river 
here.  There  are  seven  sections  in  this  or- 
dinance prescribing  the  duties  of  ferrymen, 
and  the  running  of  the  boats,  their  kind 
and  size,  and  giving  precedence  to  physi- 


cians, surgeons  and  midwives,  prescribing 
fines  and  penalties  for  the  violation  of  any 
provisions  of  said  ordinance. 

Upon  the  passage  of  this  ordinance.  Col. 
Eugene  Stanberry,  Byron  Stanberry  and 
George  II.  Kiersted,  submitted  to  the  incip- 
ient city  fathers  a  proposition  to  pay  into 
the  town  treasury  for  a  license  to  run  a 
ferry  across  the  river  at  Morris  during  the 
period  of  three  years,  $305,  viz. :  for  the 
first  year  $100,  second  $101,  and  third 
$10i,  subject  to  the  terms  and  conditions 
of  the  ordinance  on  that  subject.  For  the 
consideration  of  this  proposition  a  special 
meeting  of  the  trustees  was  held  March  1, 
1851,  when  the  ofier  was  accepted,  and  peti- 
tioners executed  and  delivered  to  the  board 
a  $500  bond  for  the  faithful  observance 
of  the  ordinance  and  performance  of  the 
duties  therein  prescribed.  Big  with  expec- 
tation of  golden  rewards  from  this  ferry  li- 
cense. Col.  Stanberry  ordered  La  Salle 
County's  popidar  rope  maker,  Ole  Johnson, 
to  make  him  a  ferry  rope,  some  700  feet  in 
length,  at  a  large  cost,  purchased  an  old 
flat  boat  and  started  his  fen-y.  They  kept 
it  running  just  three  days  when  they  dis- 
covered that  they  had  one  lawsuit  on  their 
hands  with  a  fine  prospect  for  several  oth- 
ers. Geo.  W.  Armstrong  as  the  adminis- 
trator of  "Wm.  E.  Armstrong,  brought  suit 
against  the  firm  of  Stanberry  &  Kiersted, 
for  damages  for  intruding  upon  his  "  'tater 
patch,"  and  received  judgment;  while 
several  parties  whom  the  company  had 
ferried  over  and  charged  the  regular  rates 
of  toll  allowed  under  the  Armstrong  char- 
ter, when  the  license  only  allowed  them 
to  charge  one  fifth  of  that  toll,  were  threat- 
ening to  bring  suit  for  extortion.  Indeed, 
the  Colonel    came  to   the  conclusion  that 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUXTY. 


205 


five  cents  for  ferrj'ing  a  double  team 
and  wagon,  and  taking  them  back  free  on 
the  same  or  succeeding  day,  was  ratlier  too 
small  a  business  to  ever  be  reniuneratis'e. 
He  and  his  company  became  sad,  melan- 
choly, disheartened  and  abandoned  it. 
Thus  was  Morris  robbed  of  the  services  of 
three  Charons,  and  the  ferry  license  was 
"  consigned  to  the  tomb  of  the  Capulets." 
It  died  of  neo-lect  and  was  buried  without 
a  mourner,  and  the  Board  of  Trustees  never 
after  attempted  to  run  a  ferry. 

At  the  April  meeting  of  the  board  sev- 
eral licenses  to  vend  spirituous  and  vinous 
liquors  were  granted,  the  ]irice  being  $-25 
per  year,  with  a  $500  bond.  Four  saloons 
were  granted  licenses  at  this  meeting.  An 
election  for  trustees  was  held  August  22, 
1851.  At  the  meeting  of  the  board  August 
11,  each  member  of  the  board  had  been  paid 
three  dollars  for  his  services  as  trustee 
for  one  year  preceding.  An  exceedingly 
modest  board  was  this.  At  this  election  the 
old  board  (except  that  James  B.  Jones  was 
elected  in  place  of  Mr.  Kelley)  was  re- 
elected, and  Mr.  Seeley  was  elected  presi- 
dent. The  treasurer's  report  for  the  pre- 
ceding year  showed  the  sum  of  $160  col- 
lected as  grocery  and  circus  license,  and 
$74.30  paid  out  as  the  expenses  of  running 
the  "city  government"  per  year.  A  cor- 
poration tax  of  fifteen  cents  on  each  $100 
worth  of  taxable  property  was  levied  at 
their  meeting  Sept.  8,  1851,  "  fi^r  establish- 
ing a  grade  of  the  town  and  defraying  the 
other  expenses  of  the  corporation."  Oliver 
S.  Newell  was  re-appointed  treasurer  on 
bond  of  $200.  Dr.  Xewell  died  a  few  days 
later,  and  L.  P.  Lott  was  appointed  his 
successor  Nov.  10th,  and  the  bond  raised 
to  $300.     The  board    did    not  meet    atrain 


until  January  27,  1852,  when  the  only 
business  transacted  was  the  drawing  of  the 
per  diem  of  the  board  and  town  officers, 
amounting  to  $17.  This  was  rather  a  cheap 
town  board.  The  next  meeting  was  held 
April  7th,  when  printed  hand-bills  were  or- 
dered to  tiie  value  of  $1.50,  "  cautioning  a'l 
persons  against  the  danger  of  small-pox  at 
the  Franklin  House  in  Morris."  Onl}'  tliis 
and  nothing  more  was  done.  The  first 
sidewalk  ordinance  was  passed  April  17, 
1852.  At  this  meeting  Mr.  Kiersted  made 
a  written  ])roposal  "to  establish  grades  on 
all  the  streets  and  alleys  of  the  town  of 
Morris,  and  additions  placing  stones  of 
grade  at  the  intersection  of  the  several 
streets,  and  making  profiles  and  a  map  of 
the  same  for  $50."     The  record  says: 

"After  mature  consideration  the  above 
proposition  was  accepted  and  a  contract 
entered  into,"  etc.,  and  an  order  was  drawn 
on  the  treasurer  in  favor  of  Mr.  Kiersted,  as 
an  advance  payment,  for  $6.  But  as  Mr. 
K.  was  rather  backward  in  coming  forward 
with  his  grade,  this  contract  was  rescinded 
August  9,  1852.  At  this  meeting  the 
salaries  of  the  town  officers  for  the  past  six 
months  were  ordered  paid,  amounting  to  the 
sum  of  $13.  Tiius  the  total  expense  of  the 
municipal  government  of  Morris  for  one 
year  was  just  $30.  The  clerk  of  the  board 
received  $7  for  his  j'ear's  salary,  whilst  the 
street  commissioner  and  fire  warden  were 
paid  by  the  honor  conferred  by  the  title. 
The  election  for  a  new  board  was  held  An,'. 
23,  when  George  Fisher,  Eugene  Stan  berry, 
Henrj'  Benjamin,  Orville  Cane  and  James 
Barrett  were  elected  trustees — a  new  board 
except  Mr.  Cane.  Mr.  Fisher  was  jnade 
President,  and  Wells  F.  Stevens,  Clerk. 
We  do  not  now  remember  what   were  the 


206 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


issues  in  tliis  election,  but  from  tlie  clean 
sweep  of  the  old  board,  there  must  liave 
been  some  cause  of  com])laint.  Some  po- 
litical petard  or  bomb  wliicli  over-slaughed 
and  retired  them  to  private  life.  This  new 
boiird  held  its  first  meeting  Sept.  21.  1852, 
and  appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  Fisher,  Cane  and  Stanberr}',  "  to 
prejiare  and  report  an  amendment  to  the 
cliartcr  more  fully  defining  the  limits  of 
the  corporation  of  the  Town  of  Morris." 
Messrs.  J'^isher,  Staiiberr}',  Cane  and  Bar- 
rett were  appointed  as  a  committee  to  pro- 
cure a  "  bnring  "  ground.  The  latter  com- 
mittee reported  an  ordinance  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  E.  i,  S.  W.  i,  Sec.  27,  T.  34, 
K.  7,  on  Sept.  27,  which  was  passed.  At 
tiiis  meeting  Geo.  Parmelee  was  appointed 
lire  warden,  and  John  Galloway,  town 
constable;  and  a  tax  of  fifteen  cents  on  each 
$100  of  taxable  property  for  municipal 
purposes  was  levied.  The  treasurer's  report 
submitted  and  approved,  showed  $180.28 
received  the  past  year  from  all  sources,  and 
$31  50  paid  out  on  orders  di'awn.  Surely 
these  were  economical  times.  Up  to  this 
date  not  a  dollar  had  been  expended  to  en- 
force police  regulations  or  for  assessing  or 
collecting  revenue. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board,  Oct. 
2,  1852,  James  Jacoby  in  company  with 
the  street  commissioner  and  town  constable 
wero  appointed  to  kill  and  destroy  ail  dogs 
running  at  large  contrary  to  the  form  and 
effect  of  this  ordinance.  This  committee 
were  probably  inefficient,  as  no  pay  was 
provided  for  their  services,  nor  were  the 
kind  of  dogs  to  be  "killed  and  destroyed" 
very  clearly  defined — whether  biped  or 
quadruped.  On  the  23d  of  October  Thomas 
Kcynolds   was    appointed    street   com-nis- 


sioner,  and  it  was  "  ordered  that  the  fees 
of  the  street  commissioner  be  the  same  as 
those  of  town  constable  for  like  service." 
Now  what  similarity  there  could  be  between 
the  duties  of  street  commissioner  and  con- 
stable we  will  not  attempt  to])oint  out.  If  it 
is  meant  to  apply  to  the  amount  of  fees  or 
salary  paid  to  the  town  constable  then  tlie 
whole  thine:  "is  clear  as  mnd,"  for  from 
Sept.  13,  1850,  to  the  date  of  this  lueeting 
the  town  constable  worked  for  nothing  and 
boarded  himself  so  far  as  drawing  any 
money  from  the  town  treasury  is  concerned. 
At  this  meeting  the  town  clerk's  salary  was 
fixed  at  one  dollar  per  meeting  for  record- 
ing the  proceedings  and  ordinances.  At  a 
special  meeting,  Dec.  13,  1853,  Eugene 
Stanberry  was  appointed  street  commis- 
sioner (Mr.  Reynolds  not  qualifying),  and 
was  paid  by  an  order  of  the  treasurer  $15 
for  services,  cleaning  streets,  etc.  This 
was  the  first  money  paid  by  the  board  for 
work  on  the  streets  of  Morris.  At  this 
meeting  the  land  purchased  for  a  cemetery 
(beino-  what  is  known  as  the  Old  Catholic 
Cemetery,  north  of  Morris)  was  ordered 
sold  and  $29  was  appropriated  toward  a 
hook  aTid  ladder  for  the  Fire  Company.  In 
February,  1853,  there  was  a  mad  dog  scare, 
and  a  proclamation  issued  on  that  subject. 
This  appears  to  have  been  the  first  scare  of 
that  kind.  Liquor  licenses  were  raised  to 
$50  at  the  March  meeting  of  the  board, 
1853,  and  four  licenses  granted.  On  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1853,  a  special  charter,  incorpo- 
rating the  town  of  Morris,  was  passed,  sub- 
mitting the  same  to  the  people  of  Morris 
for  adoption.  This  election  was  held  May 
2,  1853,  and  the  record  says  "  Eugene 
Stanberry  was  Juge,  and  W.  F.  Stevens, 
Clerk,"  who  certify    that   there   were  141 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


209 


votes  cast  at    said    election,  of  wliicli    101 
were  for  and  40  against  said  charter. 

Tiiis  new  charter  did  not  change  the 
name  or  style  of  the  corporation,  but  in- 
creased the  number  of  trustees  to  six 
instead  of  five,  and  cut  oft'  their  per  diem. 
It  divided  tlie  town  into  tliree  wards.  All 
soutli  of  Washiui^ton  street  constituted  the 
First;  north  of  Wasliington  and  west  of 
Liberty,  the  Second;  and  north  of  Wasli- 
ington and  east  of  Liberty,  the  Third  ward; 
each  ward  to  have  two  trustees,  the  presi- 
dent to  be  elected  on  general  ticket;  so  the 
council  would  consist  of  seven  instead  of  live 
members.  Under  this  charter  the  treas- 
urer and  town  constable  were  elected  by 
the  people.  The  treasurer  was  ex-officio 
assessor,  and  the  town  constable  was  col- 
lector. The  old  board,  however,  remained 
in  oflice  until  Sept.  2(5,  1853,  when  they 
canvassed  the  votes  cast  at  an  election  held 
Sept,  24th  under  the  new  charter,  and  de- 
clared Elijah  Walker  elected  president, 
Geo.  E.  Parmelee,  treasurer  and  assessor; 
James  B.  Jones,  constable  and  collector; 
L.  P.  Lott  and  George  Turner,  trustees  of 
the  1st  ward;  Geo.  W.  Lane  and  Charles 
H.  Goold  of  the  2nd;  David  LeEoy  and 
John  Antis  of  the  3rd.  The  retiring 
board,  not  one  of  whom  had  been  re-elected, 
audited  their  own  accounts  for  services  for 
the  past  year  at  $.5  each,  and  a  like  sum  to 
their  clerk  for  his  year's  services.  The 
record  book  of  the  board  of  trustees,  iu 
which  were  kept  the'proceedings  and  ordi- 
nances of  the  board  for  three  years,  was  a 
two-quire  paper-back  ledger,  costing  as  per 
price  mark  75  cents,  and  the  record  covers 
42  pages,  while  the  entire  cost  of  running 
the  municipal  government  for  the  three 
vears  was  less  than  $100,  all  told.  One  of  the 


last  official  acts  of  this  old  board  reads  as 
follows:  " Ordered,  that  an  order  for  thi-ee 
and  I'JJi  dollars  be  drawn  in  favor  of  L.  P. 
Lott  for  paper  and  candles  furnished  the 
board."  Tiiis  was  before  the  days  of  kero- 
sene or  gas,  or  indeed  of  camphene,  and 
yet  but  twenty-nine  years  have  elapsed. 

At  the  first  election  under  the  new  char- 
ter there  were  only  136  votes  cast,  all  of 
which  Mr.  Walker  received.  Indeed  there 
was  little  or  no  opposition  to  those  elected 
from  president  to  constable.  The  new 
board  met  at  the  office  of  C.  II.  Goold 
Sept.  27, 1853,  and  elected  Nathan  B.  Dod- 
son,  clerk,  and  Messrs.  Lott,  Lane  and  Goold 
were  appointed  a  committee  on  "  Rules  of 
Order."  Messrs.  Goold,  Lott  and  Lane 
were  appointed  as  a  committee  to  receive 
the  books  and  papers  of  the  former  board, 
examine  the  same,  and  make  a  condensed 
report  thereon."  Their  first  regular  meet- 
ing should  have  been  held  Oct.  10,  1853, 
but  there  was  not  a  quorum  present,  and 
they  adjourned  to  Oct.  15th  to  meet  at  the 
office  of  Drs.  Hand  &  LeEoy.  No  quorum 
present  at  that  time,  and  adjourned  to  the 
17th,  when  a  full  board  were  present,  when 
Mr.  Lott,  from  committee  on  rules  of  order, 
reported  a  series  containing  twenty-four 
rules  of  order,  which  was  adopted.  Messrs. 
Lott  and  Lane,  from  the  committee  to  receive 
and  examine  the  books  of  the  late  board  of 
trustees,  submitted  a  report  accompanied 
with  a  resolution,  which  was  also  adopted. 
Among  the  suggestions  of  this  report  they 
say,  "  We  carefully  inspected  said  books, 
etc.,  and  find  nothing  contained  therein 
that  will  need  any  action  of  this  board  for 
the  present.  The  books  and  papers  have 
been  kept  in  a  somewhat  careless  and  loose 
manner,"  etc.     Mr.  Lott,  as  late  treasurer, 


210 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


submitted  his  report  of  receipts  and  dis- 
bursements, showing  total  receipts  from 
January  15,  1852,  to  Sept.  28,  1853,  to  be 
$473.71,  with  the  sum  of  8420.61  paid  out, 
leaving  a  balance  of  $53.10.  He  also  re- 
ports the  receipt  of  notes  from  Patrick 
Terry  (now  Dean  Terry,  of  Chicago) 
amounting  to  $162.59,  for  sale  of  forty  acres 
of  cetnetery  land  sold  him.  and  a  note  for 
$25  given  by  Dominic  Henry  for  liquor 
license.  Here  the  old  board  was  very 
obliging  to  the  liquor  vender,  granting  a 
license  "on  tick."  At  a  meeting  of  tiie 
board  Nov.  28th  an  ordinance  was  passed 
selling  the  west  half  of  the  southwest  J  of 
township  27,  3,  4,  and  7,  to  Patrick  Terry, 
for  $300,  and  the  money  to  be  derived  there- 
from was  appropriated  to  tlie  purchase  of  a 
Potter's  Held  to  bury  the  poor  in  the  Morris 
cemetery.  They  also  passed  two  other 
ordinances  at  this  meeting,  the  one  entitled 
"Hogs,"  the  other  "Dogs." 

Though  a  body  politic,  the  town  of 
Morris  had  no  ofBcial  seal  until  the  spring 
of  1854.  iSTor  did  the  Board  of  Trustees 
have  a  finance  committee  untilJan'y,  1854. 
Messrs.  Lott,  Antis  and  Le  Koy  being  the 
first.  It  would  seem  that  absenteeism  in 
the  board  was  becoming  a  serious  question 
about  this  time,  and  at  a  meeting  Jan'y  12 
the  record  says:  "  Mr.  Lane  offered  his 
excuse  for  absence  at  last  meeting;  Mr. 
Goold  came  in;  Mr.  Turner  was,  by  order 
of  the  president,  summoned  to  appear  be- 
fore the  board  immediately;  John  Antis 
was  deputized  to  serve  the  summons."  At 
this  meeting  an  ordinance  entitled  "  Com- 
pensation of  Town  Officers  "  was  passed 
containing  nine  sections.  Messrs.  Goold, 
Lott  and  Lane  were  also  appointed  to  suggest 
amendments  to  the  charter.     At  the  next 


meeting  Feb'y  13,  this  committee  reported 
"  that  they  had  taken  legal  advice,  and  got 
Col.  Bennett  to  draw  up  a  code  of  amend- 
ments, and  submitted  the  same  to  our 
membei-,  Captain  Starbnck,  who  had  re- 
quested to  have  the  whole  matter  left  to 
him."  This  report  was  adopted  and  com- 
mittee discharged.  At  this  meeting  one 
"  Henry  Fay  applied  for  a  license  to  sell 
liquor  by  the  small,  which  was  unanimously 
refused."  The  clerk  presented  his  bill  for 
services,  $38.53 — a  sum  larger  than  any 
previous  year's  entire  expenses  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  corporation.  At  the  March 
meeting,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Lane,  the  board 
purchased  blocks  nine  and  twelve,  in  the 
Morris  Cemetery  for  the  sum  of  $200  for 
"  burial  purposes."  J.  M.  Goold  was  paid 
"fifty  cents  for  killing  a  dog."  Mr.  Le 
Roy  moved  that  the  president  and  clerk  be 
authorized  to  provide  a  supper  to  be  given 
to  tlie  present  board,  and  the  new  members 
elected  at  the  coming  election,  and  that  an 
order  be  drawn  on  the  treasurer  for  the 
cost  thereof."  But  tiie  board  sat  down  on 
the  motion  instead  of  sitting  down  to  the 
supper. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1854,  the  charter 
of  the  town  of  Morris  was  amended  by  the 
General  Assembly,  fixing  the  time  of  elec- 
tion on  the  first  Monday  in  April.  At  this 
election  the  following  were  elected:  B.  M. 
Atherton,  president;  Levi  Hills,  assessor 
and  treasurer;  Alban  Bennett,  police 
magistrate;  John  Galloway,  constable  and 
collector;  N.  B.  Dodson,  clerk;  and  the 
old  aldermen,  Lott,  Turner,  Lane,  Goold, 
LeRoy,  and  Antis.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
board  April  10th,  for  the  organization  of  the 
new  board,  six  standing  committees  were 
appointed  as  follows:     Finance  and  claims, 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


211 


L.  P.  Lott;  Fire  department,  G.  W.  Lane; 
Streets  and  alleys,  Georjre  Turner;  Health, 
David  Le  Roy;  Judiciary,  C.  H.  Goold; 
License,  John  Antis. 

These  were  the  Urst  set  of  standinij  com- 
mittees in  the  town  council  of  Morris. 
There  were  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
votes  cast  at  this  election,  and  in  the  3d  ward 
David  Le  Roy  and  E.  P.  Seeley  each  received 
thirty-two  votes  for  alderman.  Instead  of 
deciding  which  was  elected,  by  drawing 
cuts,  it  was  referred  to  the  board,  and  by 
the  board  referred  to  its  president.  At 
the  second  meeting  of  this  new  board  April 
17,  lS5i,  the  record  says:  "The  president 
issued  an  order  for  tlie  attendance  of  Antis, 
Turner  and  Goold,  served  by  E.  Stanberry, 
who  reported  Mr.  Goold  sick,  Mr.  Turner 
absent  from  town,  and  Mr.  Antis  present, 
wliich  formed  a  quorum."  Whether  this 
order  was  a  summons,  notice,  attachment, 
or  capias  ad  respondendum,  the  record  fails 
to  show.  At  this  meeting  President  Atlier- 
ton  submitted  a  long  report  upon  the  tie 
vote  between  Messrs.  Le  Roy  and  Seeley, 
finding  in  favor  of  Le  Roy  on  the  ground 
of  a  failure  to  elect  his  successor.  This  re- 
port was  laid  on  the  table  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Lott,  and  no  further  action  seems  to  have 
been  taken  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Le  Roy 
continued  in  the  council  during  the  year. 
At  this  meeting  C.  R.  Parmelee,  Patrick 
Hynds  and  H.  P.  Gillett  were  elected 
street  commissioners,  and  P.  A.  Armstrong, 
city  surveyor.  This  was  a  somewhat 
noted  board  in  the  introduction  and  pas- 
sasje  of  ordinances,  and  then  enforcinj;  or 
suspending  them  by  resolution,  thej'  were 
never  excelled  if  equaled.  Indeed,  this 
board  assumed  legislative  jurisdiction  over 
everyrliing   animate   or  inanimate   within 


the  limits  of  the  corporation,  and  put  on 
more  style,  "  than  a  country  school  ma'm." 
Let  us  give  a  little  copy  from  their  record, 
viz.:  "  Mr.  Le  Roy  asked  leave  to  present 
a  bill.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Lott  tlie  bill  was 
read  by  its  title,  and  referred  to  the  last 
named  committee.  The  committee  ap- 
pointed to  draft  an  ordinance  on  revenue 
reported  with  a  bill  which  was  read  for  the 
first  time.  On  motion,  the  second  reading 
was  by  its  title.  The  bill  was  then  referred 
to  a  committee  of  the  whole,  and  made  the 
order  of  to-morrow."  We  suppose  to- 
morrow meant  the  next  regular  meeting  of 
the  board,  but  can  only  guess  at  it.  It  was 
a  monster  ordinance  covering  21  sections, 
and  was  passed  April  24,  1854.  At  a 
special  meeting  April  29,  the  board  by  a 
vote  of  five  to  one  refused  to  grant  liquor 
licenses;  what  was  the  effect  of  that  action 
we  do  not  remember,  but  are  inclined  to 
the  belief  that  whisky  was  about  as  free  as 
usual  that  year.  At  the  May  meeting  the 
record  says:  "  It  was  ordered  by  the  board 
that  Mr.  Turner  be  fined  for  absence  at  the 
meeting  of  May  6th;  Mr.  Turner  came  in 
quarter  to  nine  o'clock."  But  we  are  giv- 
ing too  much  in  detail,  and  must  hurry 
along  with  our  chronicle.  A  corporate  seal 
was  not  adopted  until  May  29,  1854.  The 
revenue  collected  this  year  was  $1,274.97. 
The  city  surveyor  completed  a  general 
system  of  trade,  and  an  ordinance  establish- 
ing the  same  was  passed  July  10, 1854. 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  coolness 
about  this  time  between  President  Ather- 
ton  and  the  trustees,  and  at  the  August 
meeting  "  President  Atherton  tendered  his 
resignation.  Mr.  Antis  called  for  ayes  and 
nays.  Messrs.  Le  Roy  and  Lane  voted  aye, 
Messrs.  Lott,  Antis  and  Turner  nay,  where- 


212 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


upon  the  president  withdrew  his  vesitrna- 
tion."  At  tlie  October  meeting  Chapin  Park 
was  ordered  to  be  inclosed.  It  is  now  known 
as  the  Public  Park.  Mr.  Uodson  resigned 
and  Alban  Bennett  was  elected  clerk,  Nov. 
13,  1854-.  At  the  April  election,  1855, 
there  were  227  votes  cast,  and  the  following 
were  elected:  Win.  T.  Hopkins,  president; 
B.  F.  Hall,  A.  n.  Bishop,  Bobert  Long- 
worth,  Nathan  B.  Dodson,  James  N.  Read- 
ing and  E.  B.  Hanna,  trustees;  H.  B.  At- 
water,  clerk;  Geo.  E.  Parinelee,  assessor 
and  treasurer,  and  Abel  Longworth,  con- 
stable and  collector.  This  was  another 
clean  sweep  of  the  old  board  and  a  new  deal 
throughout — except  assessor  and  treasurer. 
Mr.  Atwater,  however,  did  not  accept  the 
office  of  clerk  and  Mr.  Bennett  held  over. 
Before  the  next  election  a  new  charter  had 
been  granted  by  the  Legislature,  creating 
another  ward.  The  election  was  held 
April  7,  1856,  and  resulted  in  the  election 
of  the  following:  "W.  T.  Hopkins,  re-elected 
president;  L.  P.  Lott,  B.  F.  Hall,  S.  C. 
Bliss,  Geo.  W.  Lane,  J.  B.  Jones,  Patrick 
Hynds,  A.  Kirkland  and  Samuel  Fatsinger, 
trustees;  J.  W.  Wood  row,  clerk;  W.  S. 
Gibson,  constable  and  collector,  and  Hiram 
Mallory,  assessor  and  treasurer.  Another 
clean  sweep  except  on  president.  This  retir- 
ing board  had  learned  to  vote  aye  on  ap- 
propriations and  salaries,  the  clerk's  fees 
allowed  being  $128.5-1,  for  the  year;  the 
treasurer  reported  receipts  for  the  year, 
$2,877.29;  disbursements  $2,456.25,  and  his 
fees  for  collecting  and  paying  out  the  same, 
$53.33.  During  this  year  another  charter 
was  obtained,  creating  Morris  a  city  with 
a  mayor  and  common  council,  a  police 
magistrate,  street  commissioner,  etc. 

At  the  April  election,  1857,  the  following 


officers  were  elected:  F.  S.  Gai'dner, 
mayor;  Elijah  Walker,  marshal;  Patrick 
Hynds,  treasurer;  Wni.  Skehan,  collector, 
T.  A.  Henry,  street  commissioner ;  A. 
Clark,  J.  B.  Davidson,  Wm.  B.  Grenell,  S. 
W.  Harris,  Philip  Hart,  S.  Fatsinger,  L. 
P.  Lott  and  L.  Ashton,  aldermen.  This 
council  elected  J.  M.  P.  Butler,  clerk.  At 
the  April  election,  1858,  the  following  of- 
ficers were  elected:  C.  K.  Parmelee,  mayor; 

F.  S.  Goold,  marshal;  George  Selleck, 
treasurer;  H.  P.  Gillett,  collector;  J.  L. 
Dow,  street  commissioner,  J.  P.  South- 
worth,  police  justice,  and  one  alderman 
from  each  ward,  viz.:  Miles  Gordon,  C.  H. 
Goold,  Geo.  F.  Brown,  E.  S.  Webber  and 
C.  Storr  were  elected;  Jiio.  AV.  Woodrow, 
was  elected  city  clerk;  Oscar  Bangher,  city 
attorney.  The  collector  collected  $3,588.19 
of  taxes  this  j'ear.  At  the  next  election, 
April,  1859,  the  following  were  elected: 
J.  W.  Newport,  mayor;  F.  S.  Goold,  mar- 
shal;  F.  K.  Hulburd,  treasurer;  J.  L. 
Dow,  street  commissioner;  John  Barr, 
collector;  H.  C.  Goold,  J.  W.  Massey,  Jno. 

G.  Armstrong  and  David  Pratt,  aldermen. 
The    taxes     collected    this     year     were 

$3,777.70.  L.  P.  Lott  was  elected  city 
clerk  by  the  council.  At  the  April  elec- 
tion, ISCO,  the  officers  elected  were  Wm.  C. 
Hammill,  mayor;  Alex  Bushnell,  marshal; 
James  McWilliams,  collector;  Geo.  W. 
Lane,  treasurer;  James  H.  Oliver,  street 
commissioner;  E.  B.  Hanna,  Hiram  Plimp- 
ton, Daniel  Matteson,  Wm.  A.  Kiersted  and 
G.  Storr,  aldermen.  Messrs.  James  Eear- 
dan,  H.  C.  Goold  and  J.  W.  Massey,  hold- 
ing  over. 

The  council  at  their  meeting  of  April  23d 
elected  L.  P.  Lott,  city  clerk;  David  Le  Roy 
city  attorney  ;  Nathaniel  McBride,  survey- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


213 


or  ;  and  C.  H.  Goold,  assessor,  who  declined, 
and  H.  P.  Gillett  was  elected  in  his  place. 
Siininel  B.  Thomas  and  Ca!(^uhann  Grant 
were  designated  as  police  justices.  George 
Fisher  was  appointed  health  officer.  Drs. 
Mathews,  Hand  and  Antis,  healtli  commis- 
sioners, and  James  Miller,  chief  of  the  tire 
department,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  municipal  government  of 
Morris,  standing  committees  of  three  mem- 
bers each  were  appointed.  May  U,  ISCO: 
six  standing  committees  were  established, 
finance  and  claims,  streets  and  alleys,  licen- 
ses, judiciary,  lire  and  water,  and  health. 
The  fiscal  report  of  the  finance  committee 
shows  total  receipts  for  the  year  ending 
April  15,  1S60,  were  Si,09S.6S,  of  which 
$855.00  was  for  liquor  licenses,  and  $80.00 
for  billiard  table  licenses.  The  expendi- 
tures were  fire  dep  ; :  tment,  $311.26  ;  streets 
and  alleys,  $827.05  ;  street  commissioner's 
services,  $256.29  ;  cit}'  marshal,  $56.00  ; 
city  clerk,  $212.31  ;  printing  charter  ordi- 
nances, etc., $364.32, etc.  The samecommit- 
tee  reported  $1,175.81  in  hands  of  the  late 
treasurer.  This  city  council  seem  to  have 
gotten  down  to  business  and  reduced  every- 
thing to  rule,  while  tiieir  records  were  well 
kept,  and  are  very  full.  Alderman  H.  C. 
Goold  having  moved  out  of  his  ward,  L. 
B.  Ray  was  elected  in  June  of  tiiat  year  as 
his  successor.  The  late  treasurer's  bond, 
if  any  he  ever  gave,  could  not  and  never 
Las  been  found.  The  city,  however,  ob- 
tained some  Iowa  land  for  the  $1,475.81  in 
his  hands,  but  were  the  losers.  In  the 
early  spring  of  1861  a  new  charter  for  the 
city  had  been  obtained.  It  was  very  long, 
and  indeed  a  copy  of  the  charter  of  Chicago. 
It  was,  however,  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the 
people  March   23d,   and   literally   snowed 


under,  there  being  224  votes  against  and 
only  26  for  its  adoption. 

At  the  city  election,  April  2,  1861,  there 
were  440  votes  cast.  This  was  by  far  the 
largest  vote  ever  cast  before  that  time  and  re- 
sulted in  the  election  of  John  Antis,  mayor; 
Geo.  W.  Lane,  treasurer;  F.  M.  Robinson, 
(now  member  of  the  Legislature)  marshal; 
Wm.  A.  Rogers,  .street  commissioner; 
William  McFarland,  Jr.,  collector;  and  L. 
P.  Lott,  Eli  F.  Johnson,  Charles  Comer- 
ford,  and  C.  G.  Conklin,  aldermen.  The 
fiscal  report  for  the  year  ending  April  15, 
1861,  shows  total  receipts,  $4,667.83,  of 
which  liquor  licenses  furnished  $1,385; 
show  licenses,  $61;  ball  alley  licenses,  $48; 
billiard  tables,  $40,  and  fines,  $76.  Total 
liabilities  of  the  city,  $4,422.19,  with  assets 
of  $10,943.05,  which  was  certainly  a  fair 
showing.  Charles  Turner  was  elected  city 
clerk;  John  P.  South  worth,  city  attorney; 
H.  P.  Gillett,  assessor,  and  C.  Grant  and 
Samuel  B.  Thomas  were  designated  as 
city  justices;  James  Miller  was  elected 
chief  engineer  of  the  fire  department, 
with  Daniel  Matteson  and  John  Barr,  as- 
sistants. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1862,  there  were  462 
votes  cast  and  Uri  B.  Couch  was  elected 
mayor;  Geo.  F.  Brown,  treasurer;  John  C. 
Jones,  marshal;  Jacob  Gorich,  street  com- 
missioner; John  Vesly,  collector;  with  the 
following  aldermen:  E.  B.  Hanna,  Ilirani 
Plimpton,  M.  K.  Keller,  and  Alex.  Bush- 
nell.  The  receipts  for  the  year  were 
$4,300.77  of  which  liquor  licenses  were  but 
$650.00,  a  falling  off  of  one  half  from  the 
previous  3'ear.  The  city  clerk  got  $169.30 
for  his  year's  service,  an  income  of  $162.30 
over  Capt.  Starbuck  for  like  duties  ten 
years    before.      Charles    Turner    was    re- 


214 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


elected  clerk;  AVilliam  Grant,  city  at- 
torney; A.  M.  Cleveland,  surveyor,  and 
Thomas  Reynolds,  assessor;  Juo.  W.  Wood- 
row  was  elected  chief  engineer  of  the  tire 
department,  with  David  Conlong  and  John 
Gunlock,  assistants.  The  officers  for  1863 
were  Geo.  F.  Brown, 'mayor;  Wni.  McFar- 
lan,  Jr.,  collector;  Jacob  Gorich,  street  com- 
missioner; Geo.  W.  Lane,  treasurer;  Wm. 
Zimmerman,  marshal;  and  S.  B.  Thomas, 
D.  O.  Goodrich,  Geo.  Fisher  and  Charles 
Comerford,  aldermen.  The  retiring  Coun- 
cil for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
corporation  tendered  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
retiring  Mayor  Conch  "for  the  impartial, 
prompt  and  efficient  manner  in  which  he 
has  presided  over  the  deliberations  of  the 
Council  during  the  past  year."  C.  Turner 
was  re-elected  city  clerk;  Hiram  C.  Goold 
was  elected  assessor;  James  N.  Heading, 
city  attorney,  and  Jno.  W.  Woodrow 
chief  of  the  fire  department,  with  David 
Conlong  and  Charles  B.  Ingersoli,  as- 
sistants. B.  M.  Atherton  and  Thomas  Al- 
ford  were  designated  as  city  justices.  This 
new  council  seem  to  have  been  one  of  great 
ability  in  auditing  accounts  and  drawing 
orders  on  its  treasurer.  It  was  also  pretty 
heavy  on  dogs,  as  a  large  number  of  bills 
were  presented  for  "  burial  of  dogs,"  and 
allowed  at  fifty  cents  each. 

At  the  next  election,  April  5,  ISGi,  E. 
B.  Hanna  was  elected  mayor;  Charles  Sparr, 
treasurer  ;  E.  T.  Hopkins,  marshal  ;  J.  H. 
Oliver,  collector ;  Wm.  H.  Eogers,  street 
commissioner,  and  H.  E.  Eeinhart,  W.  U. 
Parmelee,  N.  C.  Petteys  and  T.  Donnovan, 
aldermen.  The  finance  committee  report  re- 
ceipts by  the  treasurer  for  past  year  $4,687- 
.82.  Expenditures  $4,502.84.  The  amount 
received  for   liquor   licenses   was  $1,055  ; 


shows    $83.00.     Bridge    stock    dividends, 
$441.00;  fines,  $75.00.     This  was  a  good 
year  for  the  city  attorney,  as  he  got  $212.00 ; 
city  clerk,  $151.57.     The   fire    dejiartment 
cost  $323.72,  and  the  sum  of  $1,254.49  was 
expended  on  street  repairs.     The  adminis- 
tration of  justice   this  year  was  expensive. 
In  addition  to  the   $312.00  paid  to  the  at- 
torney, there  were  $331.70  paid  to  justices 
and  constables  for  fire  and  police  services. 
W.  H.  Parker  was  elected  city  clerk  ;  T.  B. 
Rice,  attorney  ;  J.    W.  Massey,  assessor  ; 
Jno.  W.  Woodrow,  chief  of  the  fire  de])art- 
raent,  with  D.  Conlong  and  Jacob  Meyer, 
assistants,    and    Nathaniel    JNIcBride,    in- 
spector of  weights  and  measures.    Whether 
Mc  ever  performed  service  in  this  office  or 
not  the  record   fails   to  state.     George    H. 
Kiersted  was  elected    surveyor.    Mr.  Par- 
ker, the  new  clerk,  kept  a   very   full   and 
well-arranged    record    of  tlie  ciiuiieil  pro- 
ceedings.    At  the  meeting  of  the  council, 
Dec.  19,  1864,  a    bill  of  two  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  was    paid   for  "remi>vini:"  five 
dogs,  and    one  dollar  for  hauling  tboni  to 
the  boneyard.     Did   the  assassin    (jiiiteau 
steal  this    term  from   the   common  council 
of  the  city  of  Morris  ?     Page  358  of  the 
record  is  as  follows:  "To  the  memory  of 
Timothy  Donnovan,  who  received  injuries 
from  the  explosion  of  an  anvil  while  firing 
a   national    salute   on    the    22d    Feb'y,  of 
which  injuries  he  died    Feb'y  26,  1865." 
Mr.  Donnovan  was  an  alderman,  and  while 
endeavoring  to  fire  ofi^  an  anvil  on  the  news 
of  the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  on  the  22d 
of  Feb'y,  he  was  fatally  injured,  and  John 
P.  Mannahan,  one  of  our  best  business  men, 
was  instantly  killed  by  the  bursting  of  the 
anvil.     Many  other  people  stood   near  the 
spot,  but  fortunately  no  others  were  injured. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


215 


Tlie  writer  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  Man- 
nalian  when  he  was  instantly  killed  by  a 
piece  of  tiie  anvil  striking  his  head.  Mr. 
Donnovan  was  a  blacksmith,  and  it  was  his 
own  anvil  that  killed  liim. 

The  total  receipts  by  the  city  treasurer 
for  the  year  were  $5,450.10.  Of  this  sum 
$1,275  were  from  liquor  licenses,  $215.4:4 
from  fines  and  judgments.  The  clerk's 
salary  was  $195.32;  attorney's,  $163; 
marshal's,  $170.21;  fire  department  cost 
$.J5G.14,  and  police  $188.04.  At  the 
April  election,  1865,  E.  B.  Hanna  was 
re-elected  mayor,  and  Geo.  W.  Gran  by, 
Geo.  W.  Lane,  Geo.  Fisher  and  C.  G. 
Conklin  were  elected  aldermen.  Colquhann 
Grant  was  elected  clerk;  J.  W.  Massey, 
assessor;  J.  N.  Reading,  attorney;  and  Geo. 
H.  Kiersted,  surveyor.  Judge  Grant  made 
an  excellent  city  clerk.  David  Conlong 
was  elected  chief  of  the  fire  department, 
with  Miles  Gordon  and  Jacob  Geisen,  assist- 
ants. Onr  friend  Geisen  must  have  been 
many  pounds  lighter  then  than  now.  He 
would  make  a  decidedly  weighty  fireman 
now.  Deacon  Bross  was  elected  collector. 
The  assessor,  Mr.  J.  W.  Massey,  gave  a 
bond  in  the  sum  of  $10,000,  conditioned 
that  he  would  well  and  faithfully  perform 
the  duties  of  assessor,  etc.  Under  no  cir- 
cumstances could  the  assessor  handle  the 
money  of  the  city, — not  a  dollar  came  to 
his  hands, — hence  we  fail  to  see  any  reason, 
good  or  bad,  requiring  a  $10,000  bond 
from  a  town  assessor.  At  the  next  city 
election,  April  3,  1866,  E.  B.  Hanna  was 
again  elected  mayor;  E.  T.  Hopkins,  mar- 
shal; Charles  Sparr,  treasui-er;  J.  R.  Combs, 
collector;  Abram  Bogart,  street  commis- 
sioner; N.  McBridc,  police  magistrate;  and 
James  Miller,  Edward  Sauford,  Wm.  Shee- 


han,  aldermen.  This  council  elected  F.  C. 
Mayo,  clerk;  A.  Bennett,  attorney;  Thomas 
Reynolds,  assessor;  and  Joseph  Hicks, 
health  oflicer. 

Total  receipts  of  the  treasurer  for 
past  year  were  $9,436.51;  disbursements, 
$8,167.30;  liqnor  licenses,  $1,150;  ex- 
pended on  streets,  $2,380.89;  gutters,  $2,- 
339.41.  This  was  a  year  of  taxes  and  im- 
provements. Mr.  Mayo  did  not  qualify  as 
city  clerk,  and  Judge  Grant  seems  to  have 
held  over. 

The  receipts  for  the  year  ending  April, 
1867,  were  $10,240.80,  and  expenditures, 
$9,717.10.  The  liquor  license  money  this 
year  was  $1,614.30.  The  total  assets  of  the 
city  were  reported  as  follows  : 

In   banfls  of  Treasurer S  523  70 

Bridge  sti>ck 6,!)00  00 

S.   W.  Harris'  note 4  33 

Fire  King  enijiue,  hose  and  carriage 2,500  00 

Niagara  do       do  1,200  00 

Lots  ill  Morris  Cemetery  ,  ,   200  00 

Furniture  in  Council  room  30  00 

Tools  in  street  Commissioner's  hands  50  00 

Real  estate— Iowa   lands,  160  acres 8O0  00 

Engine  building  and  lot 700  00 

Total S9,30S  03 

Liabilities  were  stated  at  "  outstanding 
orders,  $209.50."  This  was  surely  a  fine 
showing.  The  city  clerk  received  for  his 
year's  services  $299.75. 

At  the  election  April  2,1867,  S.  B.  Thomas 
was  elected  mayor;  E.  T.  Hopkins,  mar- 
shal; C.  Sparr,  treasurer;  J.  R.  Combs, 
collector;  and  A.  Bogart,  street  com- 
missioner; with  Wra.  B.  Field,  Charles 
H.  Goold,  D.  R.  Holmes,  James  B. 
Jones,  Joseph  Hicks,  Wm.  Selleck,  and 
Samuel  Jordan,  aldermen.  A  fifth  ward 
having  been  added,  thus  increasing  the 
number  of  aldermen  to  ten — Mr.  Holmes 
having  been  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the 


216 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


second  ward, — Judge  Grant  was  unani- 
mously re-elected  clerk;  Charles  Turner 
was  elected  attorney;  L.  Whitney,  assess- 
or; A.  M.  Cleveland,  surveyor;  and  E.  T. 
Hopkins,  health  ofBcer.  At  this  city  election 
nearly  500  votes  were  cast.  The  total  re- 
ceipts of  the  year  ending  April,  1868,  were 
reported  to  be  $12,839.50;  expenditures, 
$8,111.27;  leaving  a  balance  in  treasury, 
$5,251.93.  Total  assets  are  given  at  $9,- 
141.26,  with  liabilities  for  outstanding  or- 
ders, $80.03.  At  the  election  April  7, 1868, 
E.  B.  llanna  was  again  elected  mayor;  John 
(Jnfred,  marshal;  Nelson  Carpenter,  col- 
lector; Abram  Bogart,  street  commission- 
er; and  L.  P.  Lott,  George  Galloway,  and 
Jl  Olin,  aldermen,  with  a  tie  between  E. 
Pyle  and  B.  F.  Hall  in  the  second  ward, 
and  between  John  Vesley  and  Jacob  Gouch 
in  the  third  ward.  These  gentlemen  "cast 
lots"  for  the  position,  when  Pyle  and  Gouch 
were  the  successful  ones. 

This  council  elected  Lucius  Whitney, 
clerk;  Gen.  Wm.  Birnoy,  city  attorney; 
Thomas  Reynolds,  assessor.  The  total  re- 
ceipts of  the  treasurer  for  the  past  j'ear 
were  $12,843;  disbursements,  $8,246.21. 
The  sum  of  $1,937.08  was  expended  on 
street  repairs,  and  $736  for  night  watch  ser- 
vices. The  amount  received  from  liquor 
licenses  was  the  large  sum  of  $3,126.47. 
The  amount  of  fines  collected  was  $473- 
.55,  which  was  probably  the  largest  amount 
ever  collected  in  one  year  in  Morris. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1868,  Alderman 
Olin  resigned,  and  Edward  Sanford  was 
elected  to  till  the  vacancy.  Mr.  Unfred, 
the  city  marshal,  resigned  in  October  of 
that  year  and  E.  T.  Hopkins  was  appointed 
by  the  council  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

At  the   council    meetina;  of  the  8th  of 


March,  1869,  the  committee  on  fire  and 
water  submitted  a  long  report  on  the 
expense  of  the  fire  department,  from 
which  we  glean  the  following  items.  That 
Shaboneh  steam  engine  cost  $4,500;  nec- 
essary hose,  $2,925.  That  the  city  hall 
building  together  with  engine,  hose  and 
fire  apparatus  cost  $14,927.82. 

This  committee  was  composed  of  Alder- 
men Lott,  Selleck,  Field  and  Jones,  with 
Mayor  Hanna.  To  raise  the  means  to 
meet  these  expenditures,  interest-bearing 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $9,250  were  issued 
and  sold.  At  the  election  of  April  6, 1869, 
E.  B.  Ilanna  was  again  elected  mayor;  E. 
T.  Hopkins,  marshal;  Joel  W.  Ellis,  col- 
lector; Jacob  Geisen,  treasurer;  Alex.  Bnsh- 
nell,  street  commissioner,  and  the  follow- 
ing named  aldermen:  Oliver  Hanlen,  A. 
M.  Cleveland,  J.  S.  li.  Scovill,  and  Charles 
Wilkins.  There  being  a  tie  in  the  3d 
Ward,  between  James  Honie  and  George 
Baum,  lots  were  cast  and  Honie  won. 

The  financial  statement  shows  the  total 
receipts  for  the  past  year  were  $16,575.66, 
of  which  "  spirit  licenses  "  were  $2,625.68, 
and  show  licenses  $309.00  with  $5,251.93 
in  the  treasury  at  commencement  of  the 
year,  making  a  total  of  $21,837.59,  with 
disbursements  of  $20,408.70,  leaving  in 
the  treasury'  $1,430.89.  This  was  a  large 
sum  of  money  for  one  year's  municipal 
transactions.  J.  H.  Pettit  was  elected 
clerk;  A.  R.Jordan,  attorney;  H.  Piiin]>- 
ton,  assessor. 

The  city  election  of  April  5,  1870,  was 
a  warm  one,  and  nearly  600  votes  were  cast, 
resulting  in  the  election  of  David  D.Spen- 
cer, of  State  Savings  notoriety.  Major  E.  T. 
Hopkins,  marshal;  C.  W.  Card,  collector; 
Jacob  Geisen,  treasurer;  Wm.  Mason,  Jr., 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


217 


street  commissioner;  N.  McBride,  police 
magistrate,  with  E.  Gift'ord,  A.  P.  Buckley, 
A.  F.  Hand,  Geo.  W.  Hussite)  and  E.  San- 
ford,  aldermen;  J.  II.  Pettit  was  re-elected 
clerk;  A.  E.  Jordan,  attorney:  Tlios.  Rey- 
nolds, assessor;  E.  Ridgeway,  cliief  en- 
gineer of  the  fire  department,  with  II.  L. 
Miller  and  Geo.  Green,  assistants.  The 
fiscal  report  of  the  year  ending  April  11, 
1870,  shows  receipts,  $ll,181t.91,  with 
amount  in  treasury  at  commencement  of 
the  year,  §1,430.89,  making  a  total  of  §12,- 
620.80.  The  liquor  licenses  for  the  year 
were  $2,706.99;  show  licenses,  $334.33. 
The  disbursements  were  $9,491.07,  leaving 
$3,129.73  in  the  treasury.  Among  the  ex- 
penditures were  $956.75  for  repairs  on  Lis- 
bon road,  and  $350  for  AYauponsee  road, 
south  of  the  bridge  across  the  Illinois  river, 
and  $1,107.82  on  street  repairs. 

At  the  next  election,  April  4, 1871,  John 
S.  R.  Scovill  was  elected  mayor;  E.  T. 
Hopkins,  marshal;  C.  W.  Card,  collector; 
Leander  Irons,  treasurer;  Ale.x.  Bush- 
nell,  street  commissioner;  with  D.  W. 
Burry,  James  McKeen,  George  Baum,  Wm. 
M.  Collins,  and  Wm.  Mason,  aldermen. 

This  was  the  most  hotly  contested  elec- 
tion our  little  city  ever  had,  and  the  judi- 
ciary committee  assumed  judicial  functions 
in  canvassing  the  aldermanic  vote,  and  re- 
ported that  neither  Mr.  Burry  nor  Mr.  Mc- 
Keen, aldermen  elect,  was  eligible  to  the 
oiBce — Mr.  Burry,  "  because  he  is  not  a  nat- 
uralized citizen.  The  papers  under  which 
he  claims  citizenship,  were  issued  about 
the  last  days  of  March,  1871,  by  the  coun- 
ty court  of  Grundy  County,  Illinois,"  cit- 
ing Mills  etal.  V.  McCabe,^  111.  Reports, 
195,  which,  upon  examination,  it  will  be 
found,  has  no  sort  of  bearing  upon  the  case 


whatever.  Ilence,  the  opinion  of  the  ju- 
diciaiy  committee  of  the  common  coun- 
cil of  the  city  of  Morris,  that  county 
courts  under  the  statute  laws  of  Illinois, 
have  no  jurisdiction  over  naturalization  of 
aliens,  was  a  little  "  too  previous."  In  the 
case  of  Mr.  McKeen,  the  committee  say 
he  has  not  resided  in  the  city  limits  one 
year  next  preceding  his  election  as  required 
by  the  city  ordinance.  Now,  it  so  hap- 
pened that  Mr.  McKeen  had  been  a  resi- 
dent of  the  county  nearly  forty  years,  and 
of  the  second  ward  in  the  city,  from  which 
he  was  elected,  several  years,  having  pur- 
chased a  lot  and  built  a  nice  residence 
there,  but  had  been  temporarily  absent 
with  his  wife  visiting  his  son  in  the  town 
of  Mazon,  on  his  old  homestead.  This 
report  was  however,  adopted  b}'  the  old 
council,  and  Aldermen-elect  Burry  and 
McKeen,  by  a  vote  of  five  to  four,  were 
declared  ineligible,  and  Messrs.  Coy  and 
Bliss,  by  a  like  vote,  were  declared  elected, 
though  both  were  defeated  at  the  polls. 
Mayor  Scovill,  having  qualified  as  such, 
called  a  special  meeting  of  the  council 
April  17,  1871,  for  the  purpose  of  electing 
city  clerk,  attorney,  assessor,  etc.  The  rec- 
ord of  this  meeting,  as  kept  by  the  clerk, 
shows  a  want  of  accord  between  the  mayor 
and  the  clerk.  "We  give  one  extract  to  show 
the  general  tenor.  It  says:  "The  meeting 
was  called  to  order  by  J.  S.  R.  Scovill, 
ma>or,  who  immediately  commenced  call- 
ing the  names  of  individuals,  some  of 
whom,  as  appears  from  the  record,  are  al- 
dermen, and  others  not,  omitting  the  names 
of  Aldermen  Hamlin  and  Bliss,  and  sub- 
stituting the  names  of  Messrs.  Burry  and 
McKeen.  The  mayor  proceeded  to  read  a 
paper,  no  copy  of  which  has  been  handed 


218 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


the  clerk,  and  then  proceeded  to  read  the 
ap])ointiueiit8  of  certain  persons  as  the 
several  committees,  some  of  wlioiri  appear 
from  the  records  to  be  aldermen,  and  some 
do  not,  but  no  copy  of  said  appointments 
Las  been  filed  with  the  clerk."  The 
record  of  this  meeting  shows  a  first-class 
■wrangle  covering  two  full  pages,  and  at  a 
meeting  of  the  council,  May  15,  1871,  the 
entire  record  of  this  meeting  was  ordered 
to  be  expunged,  and  the  words,  "Ex- 
punged by  resolution  passed  by  the  com- 
mon council  of  the  C5ity  of  Morris,  May  15, 
1871.  George  W.  Howard,  City  Clerk." 
Mr.  Howard  gives  his  version  of  that  cele- 
brated meeting  of  April  17tli  on  the  follow- 
ing page  of  the  record.  It  is  a  very  dif- 
ferent record.  At  this  meeting  Messrs. 
Burry  and  ifcKeen  were  admitted  to  their 
seats,  and  Geo.  W.  Howard  was  elected 
clerk,  W.  T.  Hopkins,  attorney,  and 
Thomas  Reynolds,  assessor.  The  fiscal 
report  for  year  ending  April,  1871,  shows 
receipts  of  $10,279.75,  with  balance  over 
from  previous  year,  $3,129.73,  making  to- 
tal of  $13,109.48.  The  spirit  licenses 
amounted  to  $2,724.00;  shows,  $322.50;  ex- 
penditures, $12,679.78;  leaving  in  the 
treasury,  $729.70.  Mayor  Scovill  was  re- 
elected April  2,  1872,  E.  T.  Hopkins  was 
elected  marshal ;  Valentine  Zimmerman, 
collector;  Jacob  Geisen,  treasurer;  Alex. 
Buslinell,  street  commissioner;  and  Henry 
Rutherford,  L.  Irons,  A.  F.  Hand,  Geo.  W. 
liossiter  and  A.  Harrison,  aldermen.  Mr. 
Howard  was  elected  clerk;  P.  A.  Arm- 
strong, attorney;  T.  Reynolds,  assessor. 
The  receipts  for  year  ending  April  8, 1872, 
were  $8,661.62,  including  amount  from 
former  treasurer  ($729.70);  disbursed, 
§8,648.71,  leaving  $1,291  in  treasury. 


On  April  1,  1873,  Mayor  Scovill  was  re- 
elected; Mr.  Hopkins  was  also  re-elected 
marshal;  Geisen,  treasurer;  Bushnell, 
street  commissioner,  and  L.  P.  Lott,  T.  W. 
Tupper,  J.  C  Carr,  Wm.  Handwork  and 
Michael  Gormley  were  elected  aldermen; 
F.  B.  Handwork  was  elected  clerk;  P.  A. 
Armstrong,  attorney.  The  financial  report 
for  year  ending  April  7,  1873,  shows  re- 
ceipts $7,549.18,  of  which  spirit  licenses 
furnished  only  $1,500.00.  The  expendi- 
tures were  $6,917.61,  leaving  $631.57  in 
the  treasury;  the  total  assets  of  the  city 
are  given  at  $20,847.39,  with  liabilities  for 
outstanding  orders.  $1,009.10;  Mr.  Hand- 
work made  a  very  fine  clerk;  his  record  is 
clear  and  full.  At  the  April  election,  1874, 
Mr.  Scovill  was  again  elected  mayor,  and 
E.  T.  Hopkins,  marshal;  Thomas  Jlernan, 
treasurer;  T.  Reynolds,  assessor;  Val  Zim- 
merman, collector;  Alex.  Bushnell,  street 
commissioner;  N.  jNIcBride,  police  magis- 
trate, and  the  following  aldermen:  H. 
Rutherford,  H.  C.  Gifibrd,  J.  Gorich,  G.  A. 
Acton  and  A.  Harrison;  F.  B.  Handwork 
was  elected  clerk,  and  A.  R.  Jordan,  attor- 
ney. The  fiscal  report  of  the  cleik  shows 
total  receipts,  including  $631.57  on  hand, 
at  beginning  of  the  year,  $33,535.81,  of 
which  liquor  licenses  furnished  $1,716.16; 
other  licenses  $390.00;  expenditures,  $28,- 
940.57,  leaving  balance  in  treasury,  $4,086- 
.14;  among  the  items  of  expenditures  are 
two  entries  of  permanent  improvements 
amounting  to  $18,200.00;  this  was  for 
investment  in  the  Sherwood  School  Furni- 
ture Manufacturing  Company,  and  bonus 
to  obtain  its  location  here.  We  find  there 
were  expended  this3'ear  upon  street  repairs, 
$3,216.41.  and  $990.50  in  the  fire  depart- 
ment.     The  assets  of  the  city   are  given 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


219 


at  $21,815.01,  and  liabilities  $20,049.19; 
among  tlie  assets  are  engine  house,  $5,786- 
.43;  fire  department,  $10,961.95;  real  es- 
tate, $1,301.50,  and  $4,US6.14  in  the 
treasurer's  hands,  and  $877.16  in  hands  of 
F.  K.  Ilulburd,  late  treasurer;  outstanding 
bonds,  $18,000.00,  the  last  eight  of  which 
($4,000.00)  mature  Feb'ry  1,  1884.  Alder- 
man Carr  having  moved  out  of  the  3d  ward, 
P.  A.  Armstrong  was  imanimously  elected 
to  fill  the  vacancy  in  November,  1874. 

At  the  next  election  of  city  officers  in 
April,  1875,  Mayor  Scovill  was  re-elected; 
E.  T.  Hopkins  was  again  elected  marshal; 
Alex.  Bushnell,  street  commissioner;  Thos. 
Mernan,  treasurer;  T.  lieynolds,  assessor, 
and  Geo.  M.  Jones,  collector,  with  the  fol- 
lowing named  aldermen:  John  W.  Miller, 
Ono  Earnshaw,  Geo.  Baum,  J.  O.  Levitte 
and  John  Barr;  M.  S.  Prindle  was  elected 
clerk;  P.  A.Armstrong,  attorney;  Dr.  E. 
Kidgeway,  who  had  been  for  several  years 
chief  engineer  of  the  fire  department,  was 
again  appointed  to  that  office,  with  H.  S. 
Beading  and  James  Johnson,  as  his  assist- 
ants. Mr.  Handwork,  the  retiring  city 
clerk,  submitted  an  elaborate  trial  balance 
of  the  books;  from  this  and  the  report  of 
the  finance  committee,  a  very  clear  state- 
ment of  the  financial  standing  of  the  city 
is  made;  the  total  receipts  were  $12,474- 
.24,  expenditures,  exclusive  of  permanent 
improvements  and  interest  on  bonds  and 
loan  orders,  $9,073.70.  The  assets  of  the 
city  are  given  at  $22,136.24,  and  liabilities 
at  $21,169.03;  of  this  latter  amount  city 
bonds  make  the  sum  of  $19,000.00,  and 
outstanding  orders,  $2,169.03. 

Amount  in  the  treasury  $1,357.72;  again 
was  Mayor  Scovill  re-elected  at  the  April 
election,  1876;  E.  T.  Hopkins,  marshal;  T. 


Mernan,  treasurer;  Geo.  M.  Jones,  collector; 
Thomas  Reynolds,  assessor,  and  Geo.  Tay- 
lor, street  commissioner,  with  R.  L.  Scho- 
field,  C.  J.  1.  Murray,  Henry  Fey,  Thomas 
Owen  and  Wm.  Rolley,  aldermen;  Mr. 
Prindle  was  re-elected  clerk;  Armstrong, 
attorney;  E.  Ridgeway,  chief  engineerof  the 
fire  department,  wjth  H.  A.  Cleveland  and 
L.  Irons  as  his  assistants.  Mr.  Prindle  pi'e- 
pared  and  submitted  a  full  and  detailed  state- 
ment of  the  fiscal  year,  showing  receipt  for 
the  year  $17,879.86,  with  amount  in  treas- 
ury at  close  of  previous  year,  $1,357.72,  total, 
$19,237.58;  paid  out  on  orders,  $17,865.02; 
leaving  on  hand,  $1,372.56.  The  saloon 
licenses  amounted  to  $2,117;  other  licenses, 
$471.10.  The  expense  of  the  fire  depart- 
ment this  year  was  $2,496.30,  and  for  street 
repairs,  $640.47.  The  city  assets  are  given 
as  $23,181.52,  and  liabilities  at  $19,107.09; 
being  for  city  bonds,  $19,000;  orders  out- 
standing, $107.09.  At  the  next  election, 
April,  1877,  Dr.  John  Antis  was  elected 
mayor;  Timothy  Rodd,  marshal;  Win. 
Jones,  treasurer;  and  Fred  Johnson,  street 
commissioner;  with  Wm.  Humble,  James 
McHoran,  Dr.  A.  E.  Palmer,  O.  J.  Nelson, 
J.McCambridge  and  Wm.  Mason,aldermen. 
The  fiscal  report  shows  receipts,  $18,- 
198.20;  with  amount  from  former  treasurer, 
$1,372.56;  total,  $19,570.82.  Disburse- 
ments, $18,659.27, leavinga  balance  in  treas- 
ury of  $911.56.  Total  assets,  $24,503.48; 
liabilities,  $16,183.97;  outstanding  city 
bonds,  $16,000.  This  was  a  discordant 
council.  L.  Irons  was  appointed  and 
confirmed  as  chief  engineer,  with  II.  S. 
Reading  and  James  W.  Willard,  assistants. 
His  Honor  the  mayor's  appointments  of 
clerk  and  attorney  were  not  concurred  in, 
whereupon  he  issued  a   manifesto   to   the 


220 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


council,  whereupon  the  council  adjourned 
without  action.  Geo.  W.  Lane  was  finally 
confirmed  as  clerk,  and  C.  Grant  as  attor- 
ney, when  matters  moved  along  smoothly. 
At  the  November  meeting  a  petition  signed 
by  99  legal  voters  of  Morris  was  presented 
to  the  council,  praying  that  an  election  be 
called  to  vote  for  or  against  abandoning 
the  special  charter  and  organizing  under 
Chapter  2-1  of  the  Statute  entitled  "Cities, 
Villages  and  Towns."  The  petition  was 
granted,  and  an  election  held  for  that  pur- 
pose on  the  ISth  day  of  December,  1877. 
The  vote  resulted  in  favor  of  the  reorgan- 
ization under  the  general  law  by  sixty  ma- 
jority in  a  light  vote  cast.  Minority  rep- 
resentation in  the  council  was  defeated  by 
a  larger  majority. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  council  Jan'y 
21, 1S7S,  Aldermen  Eolley,  Humble  and 
Fey,  a  committee  to  divide  the  city  into 
wards  as  required  bylaw.  This  committee 
reported  to  the  council  at  their  next  regu- 
lar meeting  Feb'y  11, 1878,  dividing  the 
city  into  four  instead  of  five  wards,  when 
an  ordinance  was  passed  entitled  "An  or- 
dinance dividing  the  city  into  wards,"  as 
follows:  "All  that  part  of  the  said  city 
which  lies  south  of  the  south  line  of  Main 
street  and  east  of  Nettle  Creek  shall  con- 
stitute the  First  Ward. 

"  All  that  part  of  the  said  city  which  lies 
west  of  Liberty  street,  south  of  the  Chi- 
cago, Rock  Island  and  Pacific  railroad,  and 
included  in  the  First  Ward,  shall  constitute 
the  Second  Ward. 

"  All  that  part  of  the  said  city  which  lies 
east  of  Liberty  street,  and  between  the  south 
line  of  Main  street  and  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  and  Pacific  railroad,  shall  constitute 
the  Third  Ward. 


"  All  that  part  of  the  said  city  which  lies 
north  of  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pa- 
cific railroad  shall  constitute  the  Fourth 
Ward." 

At  the  regular  March  meeting  of  the 
council,  an  ordinance  was  passed  making 
the  marshal  and  superintendent  of  streets 
(as  called  in  the  statute)  elective  by  the 
people  annually,  on  the  third  Tuesday  of 
April,  being  the  time  filed  under  the 
statute  for  city  elections.  By  the  reorgan- 
ization Mayor  Antis  held  over  another 
year  while  an  entirely  new  council  had  to 
be  elected.  At  this  election,  April,  1878, 
N.  McBride  was  elected  police  magistrate; 
Fred  Johnson,  superintendent  of  streets; 
E.  T.  Hopkins,  marshal; and  Geo.  M.  Jones, 
Francis  Hall,  Wm.  Mason,  L.  W.  Claypool, 
O.  J.  Nelson,  Henry  Fey,  T.  Owen  and  J. 
O.  Levitte  were  elected  aldermen.  The 
fiscal  report  of  the  preceding  year  shows 
receipts  including  amount  from  for- 
mer treasurer,  $12,839.32,  disbursements, 
$11,897.85,  leaving  balance  in  treasury 
$9-41.47.  During  this  year  there  was  a 
general  revision  of  the  ordinances  made,  so 
as  to  conform  more  nearly  to  the  provis- 
ions of  the  statute. 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  council 
April  21,  1S79,  an  ordinance  was  passed 
fixing  the  salary  of  the  mayor  at  $100  per 
year  payable  quarterly  and  allowing  alder- 
men $2.50  for  each  meeting  actually  at- 
tended by  them. 

At  the  election  April  15,  1879,  John 
Barr  was  elected  mayor;  Geo.  W.  Lane, 
clerk;  Wm.  Jones,  treasurer;  Thomas  Mur- 
ray, marshal;  Fred  Johnson,  superintendent 
of  streets;  A.  L.  Doud,  attorney,  and  A.  E. 
Palmer,  Wm.  Mason,  O.  J.  Nelson  and 
Charles  Oanahan,  aldermen.     At  a  meeting 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUJS'TY. 


221 


of  the  council  April  30,  1S79,  Mayor  Antis 
read  a  veto  of  the  ordinance  allowin;^  the 
major  and  aldermen  compensation  for 
their  official  services.  Tiiereupon  the  vote 
by  which  said  ordinance  was  passed  at  the 
last  meeting  was  reconsidered,  and  the  or- 
dinance again  jmt  upon  its  passage  not- 
withstanding the  mayor's  objections.  But 
it  failed  to  pass,  ayes  5,  noes  3.  Not  a  two- 
thirds  vote,  as  required  to  pass  an  ordinance 
over  the  mayor's  veto. 

The  receipts  for  the  year  were  $13,459.15, 
disbursements  811.604.07,  leaving $1,855.08 
in  the  treasury.  The  expense  of  the  police 
were  unusually  heavy,  being  $68(3.25.  Geo. 
W.  Lane  was  re-appointed  clerk,  and  Henry 
S.  Reading  chief  of  the  fire  department, 
with  11.  L.  "Miller  and  Win.  Gibhard  assist- 
ants. This  city  council  was  a  "  go-as-you- 
please  one."  It  was  harmonious,  though 
by  no  means  orderly  or  dignified.  At  the 
next  election  Fred  Johnson  was  re-elected 
superintendent  of  streets,  Thomas  Murray 
marshal,  and  Geo.  M.  Jones,  Wm.  Stephens, 
Henry  Fey  and  R.   M.  Wing,  aldermen. 


the  mayor  holding  over  (under  the  law  the 
mayor  is  elected  for  two  years).  The 
mayor  re-appointed  Mr.  Lane  clerk,  IT.  S., 
Reading  chief,  and  H.  L.  Miller  and  Wm. 
Gibhard  assistants  of  the  fire  department. 
Tiie  receipts  of  the  year  were  $9,993  59,  of 
which  spirit  licenses  furnished  $2,258.70; 
billiard  tables  $150.00.  The  expenditures 
were  $8,880.16.  Of  this  the  police  depart- 
ment cost  $1,127.20.  An  amount  which  is 
startlingly  large,  and  makes  a  bad  showing 
for  the  peace  and  order  of  our  really  quiet 
and  orderly  city. 

This  brings  us  down  to  the  election  of 
our  present  mayor,  Hon.  John  S.  R.  Sco- 
vill  in  April,  1881,  who  is  now  on  his  ninth 
vear's  service  in  that  capacity.  We  close 
this  branch  of  our  history  with  an  apology 
for  its  length.  Indeed,  we  bit  off  a  larger 
slice  than  we  intended,  when  we  started  on 
this  subject.  It  was  rather  more  than  we 
could  chew.  Quite  too  much  to  be  easily 
digested  or  profitably  swallowed.  Mr. 
Prindle  is  again  the  clerk,  and  is  one  of  the 
best  the  city  ever  had. 


CHAPTEE   YIIL* 


MORRIS  TOWNSHIP— ITS  ORGANIZATION,  BOUNDARIES  AND  CHANGES— THE  NEW  COURT 
HOUSE— SCHOOLS  OF  MORRIS— EARLY  TEACHERS— THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 


TURN  we  now  from  the  noise,  bustle  and 
confusion,  of  the  city  to  the  country. 
Tiie  question  of  adopting  township  organi- 
zation having  been  submitted  to  a  vote  of 
tlie  people  and  carried  by  a  large  majority, 
the  county  court  at  its  December  term, 
ISil),  appointed  George  II.  Kiersted,  Philip 
Collins  and  Robert  Gibson,  commissioners, 
to  divide  the  county  into  towns  or  town- 
ships. This  committee  submitted  their 
report  in  writing  to  said  county  court  at 
its  March  meeting,  1850,  which  report  was 
approved  by  said  county  court,  March  -i, 
1850.  Under  and  b}'  virtue  of  this  report, 
and  its  approval,  the  township  or  town  of 
Morris  embraced  the  following  territory: 
"Tiie  whole  of  the  north  fraction  of  Con- 
gressional Township  No.  thirty-three  (33) 
north,  of  R;mge  No.  seven  (7)  east,  to- 
gether with  that  portion  of  Section  No.  six 
(6)  in  Township  No.  tiiirty-three  (33)  nortli. 
Range  eight  east,  lying  north  of  the  Illinois 
River;  also  the  island  in  said  river,  with 
the  exception  of  that  portion  of  Waupecan 
Island  lying  on  the  south  half  of  Section 
No.  seven  (7)  in  Township  No.  thirty-three 
(33)  north.  Range  No.  seven  (7)  east,  et  ■.  to 
constitute  one  division  to  be  known  hy  the 
name  of  Morris."  The  territory  embraced 
in  the  township  of  Morris,  as  established 
by   the    commissioners,    contained    about 

*By  Hon.  P.  A.  Armstrong. 


4,000  acres  of  land  as  follows:  All  that  por- 
tion of  Sec.  6,T.  33,  R.  8,  lying  north  of  the 
Illinois  River;  also  so  much  of  Sections  1, 
2,  7,  8,  9  and  10,  as  lie  north  of  said  river, 
with  Sections  3,  4,  5  and  6  entire.  But 
since  then  Morris  has  been  badly  shorn  of 
her  territory  by  taking  from  the  Sections  5, 
6,  7,  and  8,  and  attaching  or  adding 
them  to  tlie  town  of  Erienna,  leaving 
Morris  but  a  small  town  in  point 
of  territory.  The  fraction  on  Section  6, 
T.  33,  R.  8,  and  the  north  fractions  of 
Sections  1  and  2,  and  a  part  of  the  east 
half  of  Section  three,  compose,  witli  the 
lands  embraced  in  the  city,  our  entire  ter- 
ritor}'  as  a  township.  The  town  of  Morris 
was  fully  organized  by  the  election  of  town 
officers,  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April, 
1850.  At  this  election  P.  A.  Armstrong 
was  elected  supervisor;  E.  W.  Hulburd, 
town  clerk;  Thomas  Reynolds,  assessor, 
etc.  The  first  board  of  supervisors  of  the 
county  convened  at  the  old  court  house  in 
Morris,  June  12,  1850,  and  oi-ganized  by 
the  election  of  Philip  Collins,  chairman. 
At  this  meeting  of  the  county  board, 
George  II.  Kiersted  and  Robert  Gibson 
were  each  paid  $11.00,  and  Philip  Collins 
^1.25,  for  their  services  as  commissioners  in 
dividing  the  county  into  towns.  Wliy  the 
services  of  Messrs.  Kiersted  and  Gibson 
were  worth  so  much  more  than  those  of 
Mr.   Collins  the  record   fails   to   disclose. 


HISTORY  or  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


223 


This  was  a  very  economical  board.  At 
their  November  meetiiiij  they  appointeil  a 
committee  consisting  of  P.  A.  Armstrong, 
Geo.  H.  Kiersted  and  L.  W.  Chiypool  "to 
count  the  assessment  rolls  and  carry  out  in 
appropriate  columns  the  several  aniouuts 
of  taxes  in  dollars  and  cents,  and  also  to 
prepare  the  collector's  warrants  for  the  dif- 
ferent towns  of  this  county,"  fi.xing  the 
compensation  at  one  dollar  and  a  half  per 
day.  Thus  the  board  took  fiom  the  county 
clerk,  Mr.  E.  W.  llulbnrd,  abi>ut  the  only 
paying  work  of  his  office.  The  books  used 
by  tins  committee  for  collector's  books  are 
a  curiosity.  They  are  small  sized  account 
bo()ks  costing  about  twenty-five  cents  each, 
and  are  laid  away  among  the  archives  as  a 
witness  to  the  over  zealous  disposition  mani- 
fested by  this  first  county  board  to  be  very 
economical.  Tliej'  never  repeated  the  ex- 
periment. This  board  also  attempted  to 
make  each  town  maintain  its  own  paupers, 
and  passed  a  resolution  to  that  effect;  but 
as  it  was  diametrically  opposed  to  the  stat- 
ute, the  resolution  was  "  more  honored  in 
the  breach  than  in  the  observance."  At  the 
November  meeting,  18.50,  Mr.  Armstrong- 
presented  a  petition  of  Jacob  and  L.  W. 
Claypool  for  a  license  to  establish  a  ferry 
across  the  Illinois  river  at  Morris,  accom- 
panied with  a  resolution  granting  the  same 
for  a  period  of  five  years,  npon  condition 
that  they  execute  a  bond  in  $500,  to  keep 
the  same  in  accordance  with  the  statute, 
and  pay  into  the  count}'  treasury  ten  dol- 
lars per  year  as  tax,  establishing  the  rates 
of  toll  at  fifteen  cents  per  team  over  and 
back  the  same  day,  and  ten  cents  for  cross- 
ing one  way.  For  man  and  horse  over 
alone  on  the  flat  boat,  ten  cents,  all  owing 
double  ferriage  after  8  p.  m.,  etc.,  which  was, 


after  various  attempts  were  made  to  raise 
tlie  auKPiint  of  tax  payable  to  the  county, 
adopted,  witliout  amendment,  by  a  vote  of 
six  to  three. 

Fearing  that  the  county  officers  might  be 
extravagant  in  the  purchase  of  stationerv, 
on  motion  of  Supervisor  Jacob  Claypool, 
Mr.  Armstrong  was  appointed  "special  . 
agent  to  purchase  and  provide  stationery 
for  those  officers  entitled  to  the  same,  and 
that  the  board  would  audit  no  bills  for  sta- 
tionery presented  by  any  othei-  person." 
Mr.  Jacob  Claypool,  a  member  of  the  first 
County  Board  in  18-il,  and  the  first  Board 
of  Supervisors  in  1850,  has  been  d  ad  sev- 
ei'ul  years,  but  his  gramJson,  Henry  C. 
Claypool,  now  wears  the  toga  and  repre- 
sents the  town  of  Wauponseo  so  long  rep- 
resented by  his  grandfather  in  the  Board 
of  Supervisors.  What,  between  Jacob 
Claypool,  L.  W.,  his  son,  John  and  Henry, 
his  grandsons,  Wauponsee  has  been  repre- 
sented in  the  County  Board  by  a  Claypool, 
the  greater  portion  of  time,  for  thirty-two 
years  past.  At  the  fall  election,  1853,  P. 
A.  Armstrong  was  elected  connty  clerk, 
and  as  in  his  judgment  the  old  court  house 
had  no  suitable  place  to  keep  the  books  and 
pajiers  of  the  office,  or  afford  comfortable 
quarters,  he  rented  the  north  room  on 
the  second  story  of  a  frame  building 
standing  where  the  (JIaypool  block  now 
stands,  and  then  known  as  Goold's  bank 
building,  and  moved  the  office  to  that  room. 
This  was  a  severe  shock  to  the  nerves  of 
the  economical  Solons  of  the  County  Board. 
There  was  a  special  meeting  of  the  board 
A])ril  17,  1854.  They  met  at  the  old  court 
lionse  instead  of  the  county  clerk's  office. 
The  clerk  alone  had  the  right  to  organize 
them.      After  some  parleying  the  mountain 


22 1 


HISTORY  OF  GRTJI^DY  COUNTY. 


went  to  Mahomet,  and  held  their  meeting, 
as  the  motion  was  "  to  Mr.  Armstrong's 
office."  AVhen  the  rent  for  the  use  of  the 
othce  fell  due,  they  paid  it,  however.  At 
the  Septemher  meeting  that  fall,  Mr.  E. 
Walker,  supervisor  of  the  town  of  Morris, 
offered  a  resolution  declaring  in  favor  of 
hiiilding  a  new  court  house.  On  the  pas- 
sage of  which,  the  a3'es  and  nays  were 
called,  and  it  was  adopted,  ayes,  9,  nays,  2. 
Messrs.  Augustine,  Walker  and  Kenne, 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare 
plans,  etc.,  who  reported  in  favor  of 
building  a  court  house  forty  by  seventy 
feet,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  $8,000.  On 
motion  of  Supervisor  Justice  Renne,  "  the 
clerk  of  the  board  was  appointed  to  pro- 
cure from  some  good  architect  a  plan  and 
specifications  of  a  building  for  a  court  house, 
of  nearly  the  dimensions  of  the  one  pro- 
posed by  the  building  committee,  to  be 
presented  for  action  at  the  next  meeting  of 
the  board."  But  the  clerk  enlarged  the 
plan  or  size  of  building  to  tifty-four  by 
eiirhtv-four,  and  obtained  from  J.  M.  Van 
Osdell,  of  Chicago,  the  plan  of  the  present 
court  house,  which  was  adopted  by  the 
board,  April  17,  1855,  and  a  loan  of  $5,000 
was  ordered  to  raise  funds  to  help  build  the 
same.  The  building  committee,  having 
advertised  to  let  the  contract  to  build  such 
a  building  of  brick,  found  the  lowest  bid 
was  over  $18,000.00,  and  therefore  was 
afraid  to  let  the  contract. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  board  was  called 
June  15,  1855,  when  Supervisor  L.  W. 
Clay  pool  offered  a  resolution,  limiting  the 
amount  to  $18,000,  exclusive  of  superin- 
tendence. Supervisor  Walker  offered  an 
amendment  to  strike  out  $18,000  and  insert 
$20,000,  which  amendment  was  carried  by 


ten  to  four,  and  the  resolution  of  Mr.  C'lay- 
pool,  as  amended,  was  adopted  by  a  like 
vote.  The  old  court  house  was  ordered  to 
be  sold;  the  log  jail  had  already  been  sold 
for  $14.  Mr.  Miles  Hills  having  resigned, 
as  a  member  of  the  building  committee, 
Mr.  L.  W.  Claypool  was  appointed  in  his 
place,  which  committee  consisted  of  Super- 
visors C.  Grant,  E.  Walker,  and  L.  W. 
Claypool.  This  committee  awarded  a  con- 
tract, to  build  said  court  house  of  brick,  to 
R.  J.  Cunningham  &  Co.  for  $19,360,  who 
built  the  foundation  and  commenced  on 
the  brick  walls.  The  brick  were  of  an  infe- 
rior qnalit3\  The  clerk  becoming  disgusted 
with  the  appearance  of  the  work,  called  a 
special  meeting  of  the  board  Oct.  9,  1855.* 


*  Mr.  L.  W.  Claypool  adds:  "After  various  pre- 
liminaries, the  board  decided  on  building  the  court 
house  of  brick  with  stone  trimmings;  and  in  June, 
1-55,  the  building-  committee,  consisting  of  C,  Grant, 
Miles  Hills  and  E.  Walker,  let  the  contract  to 
Cunningham,  Foster  and  Williams  for  $19,:j60 
($20,000  being  the  limit). 

At  the  September  m9eting,  1855,  Superintendent 
Grant  tendered  the  resignation  of  Miles  Hills,  and 
L.  W.  Claypool  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

At  this  time  the  foundations  were  all  built  to  the 
top  of  the  water  table,  and  the  brick  were  being  de- 
livered for  the  main  walls.  Mr.  Claypool  at  once 
declared  that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
building  if  such  brick  were  to  be  used,  and  being 
ably  assisted  by  County  Clerk  Armstrong,  Superin- 
tendent Watkins,  E.  P.  Seeley,  and  p'articularly  Mr. 
Dubreil,  one  of  the  contractors  for,  and  then  engaged 
in  building  the  piers  for  the  Mon-is  bridge,  being  an 
expert  in  stone  work,  in  computing  the  difTerence  in 
cost  between  stone  and  brick,  on  a  careful  estimate, 
found  that  the  additional  cost  of  stone  would 
not  exceed  $3,400. 

The  board  was  called  together  by  the  clerk,  with 
the  advice  of  the  building  committee,  no  doubt,  to 
meet  Oct.  9,  1S.55,  when  Superintendent  Claypool 
offered  the  following  resolution: 

liesolrerl.  That  the  court  house  building  commit- 
tee be,  and  they  are  hereby  authorized,  to  change 
the  plan  of  the  court  house  with  the  contractors 
thereof,  so  that  said  building  shall  be  built  of  stone 
on  exterior  walls,  after  the  manner  and  of  similar 
stone  and  dimensions  as  the  Joliet  court  house ;  provid- 
ed, however,  that  the  cost  thereof  shall  not  exceed  $3,- 
400,  the  original  contract  price,  and  that  any  order  oi 


^^^^^^^^ 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


227 


The  record  reads  as  follows:  "Tuesday, 
October  9,  1855.  The  Board  of  Supervisors 
met  at  the  county  clerk's  office  tliis  day 
pursuant  to  a  call  from  the  county  clerk, 
for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  propriety 
and  exjiediency  of  usin<j  stone  entirely  in 
lieu  of  brick  in  the  construction  of  the 
courthouse."  Mr.  L.  "W.  Claypool  offered 
a  resolution  for  such  change,  "  provided  the 
cost  should  not  exceed  ^3,400  over  the  orig- 
inal contriict  price  and  that  any  order  of  the 
board  previously  passed  llni  'ding  the  cost  of 
the  court  liMise  to  S-0,000  be  and  the  same 
is  altered  to  8l'3,4:00,  to  suit  the  above  pro- 
posed change,  if  lUcule  by  the  committee" — 


the  board  heretofore  passed,  limitingr  the  entire  cost  of 
court  house  to  |20,0^)ii,  be,  and  the  same  is  altered  to 
$23,400,  to  suit  the  above  proposed  change,  if  made 
by  the  committee :  ami  if  not  made,  the  committee 
ui-e  hereby  instructed  to  have  the  exterior  walls  of 
said  court  house  built  of  first-class  common  brick, 
such  as  are,  or  should  b'  used,  in  constructing  build- 
inss  of  that  dimension  and  cost,  being  in  accordance 
with  plan  and  specifications  now  on  file.  And 
should  .said  commi;tee  make  such  change,  the  con- 
tractors are  hereby  allowed  until  the  2oth  of  Septem- 
ber (next)  to  complete  said  building."  Adopted 
without  division. 

At  th's  time  no  good  brick  were  being  made  in  or 
near  Morris;  the  contractors  would  be  obliged  to 
ship  tliem  quite  a  distance,  at  great  expense;  hence 
were  quite  willing  to  accept  the  proposition  of  the 
committee,  to  construct  of  stone  at  the  cost  of  $3,400. 

Nov.  19,  liSoo,  board  met.  E.  Walker  resigned  as 
member  of  the  committee,  and  F.  S.  Watkins  was 
elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Nov.  20,  Superintendent 
Walker  moved  to  retire  Grant  from  the  building 
committee,  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  nominated 
Superintendent  Keune  in  his  place;  adopted. 

April  22,  18.56,  Mr.  Kenne  was  retired,  and  L.  P. 
Lott  substituted. 

Till'  tmilding  committee,  now  consisting  of  Clay- 
pool,  Watkins  iind  Lolt,  completed  the  building,  and 
March  6,  18o8,  made  final  settlement  with  contractors, 
and  accepted  the  building;  entire  cost,  $22,700;  and 
as  the  contract  was  missing,  it  was  stipulated  in  the 
settlement  that  if  found  at  any  time  thereafter,  all 
errors  should  be  corrected,  and  money  over-paid  to 
be  i-efunded,  the  committee  believing  that  the  con- 
tract price  was  $22,:!60.  The  contract  was  never 
found,  and  no  money  refunded. 

Miles  tiordon  assisted  the  committee  as  superm- 
tfndeut,  and  his  bill  was  $44.50.'' 


which  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  board, 
and  the  building  committee  succeeded  in 
effecting  a  change  from  brick  to  Joliet  stone 
in  tiie  contract  without  increasing  the  cost 
but  three  thousand  four  hundred  dollars. 
Thus,  by  the  action  of  the  county  clerk,  Mr. 
L.W.  Claypool,  and  a  few  other  liberal  men, 
did  Grundy  County  obtain  a  building  54 
by  84,  instead  of  40  by  70,  and  at  a  cost  of 
$22,760,  instead  of  not  exceeding  $8,000 
and  lastly,  a  permanent  stone  building,  in- 
stead of  a  tun  b  e-down  soft  brick  struct- 
ure— for  at  that  time  no  good  brick  had 
ever  been  made  at  or  near  Morris.  We 
confess  that  it  required  a  good  deal  of 
finessing  and  skill  to  work  the  country  So- 
lons  up  to  the  liberal  point  required  to  vote 
for  so  large  an  approjjriation  at  that  time. 
An  appropriation  equal  to  $100,000,  now. 
It  was  accomplished,  however,  and  the 
county  has  a  court  house  that  will  serve  all 
the  purjioses  required  for  half  a  centurv. 
The  old  court  house  was  in  the  way  of 
building  the  new  one,  hence  it  had  to  bo 
taken  away,  leaving  the  county  with  no 
place  to  hold  courts.  The  clerks  of  the 
circuit  and  county  courts  had  taken 
possession  of  the  two  offices  of  the  brick 
jail,  which  had  "been  built  in  the  fall  and 
winter  of  1854,  at  a  cost  of  $3,180.  The 
Court  House  Committee  had  sold  the  old 
court  house  to  Messrs.  Foster  &  Williams 
(who  had  the  contract  for  the  carpenter 
work  of  the  new  court  liouse)  for  $255,  and 
they  had  sold  it  to  II.  L.  Smith  (better 
known  as  Husband  Smith),  who  had  moved 
it  to  his  fiirm,  W.  i,  S.  W.  i  S.  31,  T.  34, 
II.  7,  some  three  miles  northwest  from 
Morris,  when  after  re-clothing  and  paint- 
ing, it  presented  quite  a  respectable  ap- 
pearance as  a  farm  dwelling,  and  where  it 


228 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


still  stands  as  a  painted  ghost  of  former 
times.  The  building  committee  rented  the 
carpenter  shop,  now  occupied  by  the  Mor- 
ris Cutlery  Company,  for  the  purpose  of 
liolding  the  fall  and  spring  terms  of  the 
circuit  court,  and  said  court  was  there 
held.  The  first  jail  of  the  county  was 
ordered  built  by  the  county  commissioners 
at  their  December  meeting,  1845.  Jacob 
Clay])Ool  and  George  H.  Kicrsted  were  ap- 
pointed as  a  special  committee  to  prepare 
plans  and  specifications,  and  let  the  contract 
to  build  a  jail  to  be  located  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  court  house  square.  They 
were  men  of  genius  as  well  as  ability,  with 
a  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous.  The}'  knew 
that  the  county  board  expected  a  jail  to  be 
built  which  Would  cost  not  to  exceed 
§200  when  completed.  Both  had  a  strong 
prejudice  against  building  a  jail  inde- 
pendent of  a  court  house,  or  before 
building  a  court  house.  Hence  they  de- 
cided to  make  the  thing  as  ridiculous 
as  they  conveniently  could,  and  accord- 
ingly decided  to  buiM  a  jail  of  green 
logs,  with  the  bark  on.  The  size,  as 
we  now  remember,  was  14  by  16.  The 
bottom  logs  were  placed  some  ten  feet  be- 
low the  surface,  a  hole  Ixaving  been  first 
dug  and  the  bottom  covered  with  logs,  as 
nearly  straight  as  possible,  so  that  they 
could  be  placed  closely  side  by  side.  Then 
the  log  walls  were  carried  up  to  the  surface, 
when  another  log  floor  was  laid  and  then 
extended  up  some  ten  feet  above  ground. 
A  trap-door  (iron  lattice  work)  was  placed 
in  or  near  the  center  of  the  upper  floor, 
hung  at  one  side  with  heavy  iron  hinges 
and  a  heavy  staple  and  clasp  on  the  opposite 
side,  to  be  fastened  by  a  mammoth  pad- 
lock.    The  underground  compartment  was 


to  form  the  cells,  where  the  prisoners  were 
to  be  put  at  night,  and  the  upper  part  was 
for  corridors.  To  put  the  prisoners  in  the 
cell,  the  jailor,  after  throwing  back  the  trap- 
door, would  cause  the  prisoner  to  let  hiin- 
self  down  by  suspending  himself  through 
the  trap  hole  the  length  of  his  arms,  and 
then  letting  go,  alighting  on  his  feet.  To 
get  them  out  in  the  morning,  the  jailor, 
who  was  physically  very  powerful,  would 
reach  down,  and  taking  hold  of  their  wrists, 
pull  them  u]i  by  main  strength.  True, 
they  had  a  ladder,  which,  however,  was  sel 
dom  used.  This  jail  was  let  to  the  lowest 
bidder,  and  our  old  friend,  Dominic  Mc- 
Grath,  was  the  successful  one.  His  bid  was 
$202.60,  just  $2.60  more  than  the  county 
commissioners  felt  like  investing  in  the  jail 
business.  But  as  it  was  so  near  to  it, 
the  committee  let  the  contract,  to  be  paid 
for  in  county  orders.  Mr.  McGrath  used 
hickory  logs  in  the  construction  of  the  jail, 
and  soon  had  it  completed,  but  when  he 
applied  for  his  county  order,  the  county 
board  cut  him  down  to  $162.60,  simply  on 
the  ground  that  the  contract  price  was  too 
high.  Rather  than  go  to  litigation,  "  Old 
Dom."  accepted  this  price  and  was  paid  in 
county  orders,  worth  about  75  cents  on  the 
dollar.  This  jail  was  sold  for  $14  in  1855. 
As  a  place  to  keep  prisoners,  this  jail  was 
a  dead  failure.  Capt.  Jeremiah  Cottrell, 
who  had  been  charged  with  the  larceny  of 
almost  everything,  from  a  trace  chain  to  a 
threshing  machine,  in  Cook  county,  took 
a  change  of  venue  to  this  county.  Com- 
phxining  of  rheumatism.  Sheriff  Armstrong 
was  too  humane  to  put  him  down  in  the  un- 
derground cell,  where  there  war.  no  light, 
save  that  which  came  throus-h  the  grated 
trap-door,  hence  he  was  put  in  the  corridor 


HISTOEY  OF  GRUKDY  COUNTY. 


229 


or  upper  part.  IIo  soon  mauaffed  to  get 
out  aad  report  liiinself  for  duty  at  the  ferry 
across  the  river  at  Morris,  telling  the  sheriff 
tiiat  lie  was  an  old  and  experienced  boat- 
man and  could  and  would,  if  permitted, 
make  himself  useful  in  that  cajiacity. 
Struck  with  the  impiulent  boldness  of  the 
man,  and  iiis  unquestionable  desire  to  be 
of  use,  the  sheriff  trusted  him,  not  only 
M-ith  his  entire  libert3-,  but  soon  entrusted 
the  entire  manngoment  and  control  of  the 
forry  to  him.  This  trust  he  never  attempted 
to  betray,  but  he  used  his  position  as  the 
trusted  agent  of  the  sheriff  to  manage  the 
ferry,  in  niakiiig  friends,  and  protesting  his 
innocence  of  the  crime  charged  against 
him.  so  that  when  his  trial  came  off  he  was 
acquitted,  notwitiistanding  the  proofs  of  his 
o-uilt  were  clear  and  overwhelming.  Hon. 
1>.  C.  Cook  was  the  prosecutor,  and  ever 
after  held  that  the  fact  of  a  juror  being  on 
the  Cottrell  jury  was  a  better  cause  for 
challenge  than  any  defined  in  the  statute. 
His  first  question  to  a  juror  was,  "  Were  you 
a  juror  on  the  Cottrell  trial?"  If  the 
answer  was  in  the  affirmative,  Mr.  Cook's 
reply  was,  "stand  aside."  And  this  he 
kept  up  as  long  as  he  practiced  law  in  our 
court. 

THE    SCUOOLS    AND    EDrCATIONAL    FACILITIES 
OF   MOERIS. 

That  Mrs.  Ann  Xagle,  widow  of  James 
i^agle,  the  first  clerk  of  the  commissioners' 
court  of  Grundy  County,  opened  and 
taught  the  first  school  in  Morris,  there  is 
no  doubt.  After  the  death  of  her  husband 
in  184:3,  she  opened  a  private  school  (for 
in  those  days  we  could  have  no  other  as 
we  had  no  school  fund)  in  her  double-log  ■ 
cabin,  which  stood  a  little  southeast  of  the 


present  depot  of  the  C.  R  I.  &  P.  E.  R. 
in  Morris.  Of  her  scholars  several  survive, 
among  whom  are  Thomas  J\rernan,  John 
Hart,  widow  Reynolds,  Jacob  Griggs,  John 
Claypool,  etc.,  all  living  now  in  Morris. 
She  continued  her  school  for  a  year  or  over. 
The  next  school  was  taught  bv  Miss  Ade- 
lia  "Wilkes,  now  the  widow  of  E.  P.  Seeley, 
deceased,  and  residing  on  Washington 
street.  The  next  was  Miss  Mary  Hyslap, 
now  Mrs.  J.  Biauding,  and  al^o  living  on 
East  Washington  street  in  this  city.  The 
next  was  diaries  M.  Lee,  afterward  coun- 
ty judge  of  Livingston  County,  Ills.  The 
next  was  Charles  R.  Starr,  who  has  since 
been  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Kanka- 
kee County.  All  of  whom,  except  Mrs. 
Naglc,  occupied  the  old  court  house.  Of 
course,  there  was  a  school  vacation  during 
court  weeks.  The  first  record  we  can  find 
of  any  school  board  bears  date  Dec.  21, 
1843,  when  Peter  Griggs,  Perry  A.  Clay- 
pool  and  William  Brown  (who  signed  his 
name  by  making  a  cross)  met  at  the  record- 
er's office  in  Morris,  and  divided  township 
33,  R.  7,  as  follows:  "  Ordered,  that  the  E. 
^  of  T.  33,  of  R.  7  E.  3d  P.  M.,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Illinois  River,  shall  com- 
pose one  school  district  to  be  known  and 
designated  by  the  name  of  the  Mazon  Dis- 
trict, and  that  the  west  ^  of  said  township 
on  south  side  of  the  Illinois  River  shall 
compose  one  school  district,  to  be  known 
and  designated  by  the  name  of  the  Wau- 
pecan  District,  and  all  that  portion  of  said 
township  lying  north  of  the  Illinois  Riv- 
er shall  compose  one  school  district,  to  be 
known  and  designated  by  the  name  of  Net- 
tle Creek  District.  Ordered,  that  William 
White,  Sen.,  Barton  Ilalderman  and  Ed- 
mund   TJrown    be  ai^pointed   trustees    of 


230 


H  [STORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


scliools  in  the  Mazou  District.  Ordered, 
that  James  Ilobb,  William  Patteson  and 
James  Thompson  be  appointed  trustees  of 
schools  in  AVaupecaii  District."  In  Janu- 
ary, 1844:,  E.  Warren  was  appointed  "Treas- 
urer of  School  Lands,"  on  bond  of  §200. 
The  first  school  money  received  by  the 
treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees,  seems 
to  liave  been  a  warrant  issued  by  the  Aud- 
itor of  Public  Accounts  on  the  State  Treas- 
ury for  $18.12,  which  the  treasurer  was 
"directed  to  sell  at  ten  per  cent,  discount, 
and  pay  Waupecan  District  §4.89,  Mazon 
District  Si-^iG,  iS'ettle  Creek  District  §8.27, 
in  auditor's  warrants  or  cash,  if  sold  at 
ten  per  cent,  discount,  and  that  he  retain  50 
cents  auditor's  warrants  to  purchase  a 
book  for  the  use  of  the  treasurer."  It 
■would  seem  from  this  that  auditor's  war- 
rants on  the  State  Treasury  were  divisible 
adinfinitum.  At  the  regular  meeting  of 
the  board,  Oct.  5,  1846,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing entry: 

"Whereas  it  appears  that  no  returns  were 
made  in  said  township  except  in  Waupe- 
can district  for  the  year  1845,  and  the  treas- 
urer reporting  $35.34  auditor's  wan-ants, 
therefore  ordered  that  Waupecan  district 
receive  the  sum  of  $35.34,  and  the  treasurer 
is  ordered  to  pay  out  the  money  to  school 
teachers  in  said  district,  entitled  to  it  ac- 
cording to  law,  and  that  the  treasurer  sell 
the  auditor's  warrants  on  hand  at  not  more 
than  20  per  cent,  discount."  This,  then, 
was  the  condition  of  the  oblii;:ations  of  the 
great  State  of  Illinois  thirty-seven  years 
ago.     Twenty  per  cent,  discount. 

On  the  8th  of  January,  1848,  at  a  regu- 
lar election  held  at  the  house  of  James 
Berry,  P.  A.  Armstrong,  John  Antis  and 
A.  G.  Barber  were  elected  trustees.     This 


board  selected  L.  W.  Claypool  as  their 
ti-casnrer.  This  board  chany-ed  the  names 
of  the  three  school  districts  from  I^t'ttle 
Creek  to  District  1 ;  Waupecan  to  District  2, 
and  Mazon  to  District  3,  Jany.  11,  184^. 

At  the  April  meeting,  184S,  the  treasurer, 
Mr.  Claypool,  reported  the  receipt  "  from 
tlie  school  commissioners,  the  school,  college 
and  seminary  fund  appropriated  to  town 
33,  R.  7,  for  1847,  in  cash  $16.34,  auditor's 
warrants  $5.90.  Also  same  fund  for  $18.45, 
in  auditor's  warrants  $1.91;  total  $24.15." 
lie  was  ordered  to  sell  the  auditor's  war- 
rants at  not  more  than  ten  per  cent,  dis- 
count, and  distribute  the  same  in  direct 
ratio  on  returns  of  Dist.  No.  1,  filed  Jan'y 
20,  1848-95  scholars;  Dist.  JSTo.  2— 22 
scholars;  Dist.  Xo.  3 — 48  scholars,"  total 
number  of  scholars  in  the  township,  165. 
This  embraced  Morris,  Wauponsee  and 
part  of  Erienna.  One  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  persons  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
twenty-one  years.  The  apportionment  of 
the  school  fund  was  made  April  5,  1848, 
as  follows:  To  District  1,  $16.68;  District 
2,  $3.17;  District  3,  $6.91.  At  the  January 
(1849)  meeting  of  the  board,  Mr.  Claypool, 
as  treasurer,  reported  that  he  had  on  hand 
eighty-four  cents,  being  one  year's  interest 
on  Thompson's  note.  Ordered,  that  it  re- 
main on  hand  until  next  meeting.  This 
note  seems  to  have  been  for  ten  dollars  and 
eighty-four  cents.     At  the  March  meeting, 

1849,  the  treasurer  reported  the  receipt  of 
$19.60  in  auditor's  warrants,  which  he  sold 
at  ten  per  cent,  discount.  This  with  other 
funds  on  hand  amounted  to  §31,  for  the 
year,  and  was  apportioned  as  follows: 
Dist.  No.  1,  §17.85;  Dist.  No.  2,  $4.14,  and 
Dist.  No.  3,  $9.01.     At  the  March  meeting, 

1850,  Dist.  No.  1  reported  123;  No.  2,  20; 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


251 


Xii.  3,  42  scliool  cliiklren,  and  the  sum  of 
.$14..51  was  apportioned.  Morris  got  §9.20 
of  it. 

Dr.  Antis  went  to  California,  and  llr. 
C.  L.  P.  Ilogan  was  elected  to  till  the  va- 
cancy. In  1S51  L.  W.  Claj'pool  succeeded 
Mr.  Barber  as  trustee,  and  tliere  were 
82[t.07  distributed  to  the  various  school 
districts,  of  which  Morris  got  $18.32.  L. 
P.  Lott  succeeded  Mr.  Claypool  as  treas- 
urer. Tliere  is  no  record  in  1S52  to  be 
found.  In  1853  the  amount  distributed 
was  $140.65,  of  which  Morris  got  $93.90, 
on  227  school  children.  In  1854  Messrs. 
llogan,  Claypool  and  C.  II.  Goold  were 
tlie  trustees,  with  Mr.  Lott  as  treasurer. 
AVe  find  a  plat  of  a  subdivision  of  Sec.  16, 
T.  33,  R.  7,  being  the  school  section  do- 
nated by  Congress  to  eacli  township  for 
the  support  of  schools  posted  in  the  record 
as  of  May  10,  1854,  certified  by  Geo.  II. 
Kiersted,  county  surveyor;  by  P.  A.  Arm- 
strong, deputy.  A  Mr.  Jenkins  did  the 
surveying.  lie  was  afterward  killed  by 
Gen.  Jim  Lane,  in  Kansas,  over  a  claim 
difficulty.  By  this  plat  said  school  section 
was  divided  into  fourteen  lots,  containing 
in  the  aggregate  642  21-100  acres,  whicli 
were  sold  by  Geo.  Fisher,  then  school  com- 
missioner, for  $9,470.08.  This  was  the 
toundation  of  our  fine  schools  of  Morris. 
In  October,  1854,  the  number  of  school 
children  in  Dist.  Xo.  1  (Morris)  was  711, 
and  the  amount  distributed  for  the  year 
ending  Oct.  1,  1854,  was  $79.67,  of  which 
Morris  got  $59.95.  In  1855  the  distribu- 
tion was  $419.96,  of  which  $315.97  went 
to  Dist.  No.  1.  The  law  was  changed  in 
1855,  so  the  distribution  was  made  upon 
the  actual  school  attendance.  At  the  Oc- 
tober  meeting  of  that  year   $520.19   was 


apportioned,  and  Morris  got  $433.35  of 
this  amount.  In  January-,  1856,  Messrs. 
Claypool,  Goold  and  C.  It.  Parmelee  were 
elected  trustees,  who  re-elected  Mr.  Lott, 
treasurer.  In  1856  there  were  $2,013.65 
apportioned  or  distributed,  and  Morris  got 
$1,661.93.  In  1857  the  amounts  were 
about  the  same  as  for  1855.  The  school 
census  for  1858  showed  that  the  total  num- 
ber of  children  between  five  and  twenty-one 
years  was  701;  under  five  years,  419;  total, 
1,120.  School  Dist.  No.  1  was  divided  in 
1849,  forming  Dist.  No.  5,  composed  of 
Sections  5,  6,  7  and  8,  which  now  are  at- 
tached to  and  form  part  of  the  town  of 
Erienna,  or  Aerienna,  as  more  generally 
spelled. 

Hon.  L.  B.  Ray  was  elected  treasurer 
Jan'y  21,  1864,  and  has  continued  in-oftice 
ever  since,  except  the  years  1876  to  1878, 
when  L.  F.  Beach  was  treasurer;  Mr.  C. 
H.  Goold  was  one  of  the  trustees  from 
1854  to  1878,  a  period  of  twenty-four  years  of 
continuous  service.  The  increase  of  school 
children  in  the  county  from  1856  to  1858, 
was  774;  at  the  March  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  1858,  Supervisors  L. 
W.  Claypool,  L.  P.  Lott  and  Wm.  Pierce, 
special  committee  to  settle  with  the 
school  commissioner,  submitted  a  re- 
port in  which  they  use  the  following  lan- 
guage in  relation  to  the  increase  of  school 
children  in  T.  32,  R.  8:  "Your  committee 
are  also  of  the  opinion  that  there  must, 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  be  some  erroi-s 
in  the  returns  of  the  children  as  returned 
to  the  school  commissioner;  the  most 
glaring  of  which  is  in  town  32,  8;  in  their 
return  of  1854  there  appears  but  192  chil- 
dren, whereas  in  1856  it  is  492;  tliis  is  an 
alarming  increase  in  the  short  space  of  two 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


years,  and  if  it  continues  in  tlie  same  ratio 
for  a  few  jears  longer,  it  will  make  this 
town  one  of  the  most  thickly  populated 
towns  in  Illinois."  We  are  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  friend  Claypool  had  not  read 
Fox's  Book  of  ]V[art3-rs,  or  if  he  had  read 
it  he  had  forgotten  John  Rogers  with  his 
"  nine  small  children,  and  one  at  the 
breast."  Braceville  may  have  been  settled 
by  the  descendants  of  this  self-same  John 
Rogers,  which  would  explain  the  "alarm- 
ing increase."  Indeed  this  town  of  Brace- 
ville (32,8)  is  in  main'  respects  a  wonder- 
ful one;  it  has  more  high  priced  poor  land, 
more  railroads,  more  coal  and  more  cliil- 
dreu  to  the  acre  than  any  other  town  in  tiio 
county,  and  is  ready  to  take  a  contract  to 
double  discount  4:92  children  on  short  no- 
tice, but  we  are  drifting  from  our  subject, 

THE  MOKKIS   SCHOOLS. 

Unable  to  iind  the  early  school  records 
we  must  depend  on  our  memory  largely  for 
facts  up  to  1859. 

The  last  teacher  mentioned  by  us  was 
Judge  Starr.  Mrs.  W.  S.  Woolsey,  who  still 
lives  in  Morris,  taught  a  private  school  at 
the  court  house  for  several  months.  Mr. 
Oliver  E.  Parmelee,  a  druggist  (and  wlio 
was  drowned  in  the  canal  here  while  batli- 
ing  in  June,  1850),  erected  the  building 
now  occupied  by  Francis  Hall,  as  a  saloon, 
in  1849;  the  upper  part  was  in  one  room, 
known  as  "  Parmelee  Hall;"  this  room  was 
rented  by  the  school  board,  and  B.  M.  Ather- 
ton,  the  father-in-law  of  Mr.  Parmelee,  was 
engaged  to  teach  school  in  this  room;  lie 
was  a  man  of  education  and  talent;  one  leg 
was  several  inches  sliorter  than  the  other, 
hence  he  used  crutches;  naturally  of  a  dom- 
ineering disposition  and  irascible  tempei'. 


he  was  anytliing  but  a  pleasant  man,  yet 
his  fine  intelligence  and  legal  ability  (fur 
he  was  a  lawyer  by  profession)  gave 
him  a  good  standing  in  the  cominnnity; 
barring  his  severity  of  manner,  he  was  a 
very  iine  teacher,  and  did  much  in  "  teach- 
ing the  young  ideas  how  to  shoot;"  indeed, 
his  school  was  a  sort  of  County  Normal,  to 
which  pupils  from  all  over  the  county  came. 
Parmelee  Hall  was  used  as  a  'sciiool  room 
from  1850  to  the  fall  or  winter  of  1853, 
when  the  district  erected  the  main  part  of 
wliat  is  now  known  as  the  Old  Center 
School  House. 

In  August,  1851,  a  vote  of  tlie  district 
was  taken  upon  the  question  of  building  a 
school-house  and  jJiirchasing  lots  1  and  2, 
B.  11,  Cliapin's  addition  to  Morris,  as  a 
school-house  site,  which  resulted  favorably 
to  both  propositions,  and  on  the  3d  of 
September  of  that  year,  said  lots  were 
purchased  from  Geo.  W.  Armstrong  for 
$175,  and  a  deed  was  executed  by  Mr.  A. 
to  School  District  N"o.  1,  T.  33,  R.  7.  A 
contract  for  the  erection  of  a  school-house 
was  awarded  to  R.  S.  Jones  (as  we  remem- 
ber) to  build  a  school-house  on  said  lots 
thirty  by  sixty  feet,  two  stories  high. 
There  was  a  deal  of  fault  finding  at  what 
was  then  considered  by  some  the  enormous 
size  of  this  building.  So  general  was  this 
feeling  that  the  people  refused  to  vote  the 
necessary  amount  of  tax  to  complete  the 
building  the  next  year,  so  that  work  was 
suspended.  But  at  the  next  vote  upon  the 
subject  tlie  appropriation  or  tax  was  car- 
ried and  the  building  completed.  If  our 
memory  is  correct  a  Mr.  Brooks — better 
known  as  Bully  Brooks — a  young  man 
with  very  red  hair  and  prominent  nose, 
taught,  or  tried  to  teach,  school  in  the  thea 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


233 


HOW  school-house  in  the  winter  of  18.53-4:, 
but  was  forced  to  abandon  tiie  enterprise  by 
the  big  boys  before  his  term  was  out.  Miss 
Sarali  Pariuelee,  or  '"Aunt  Sarah,"  as  slie 
was  called,  taught  a  school  in  one  of  the 
rooms  in  the  spring  of  185i. 

In  Septjniber  of  that  year  Edward  San- 
ford,  A.  13.,  a  graduate  of  old  Yale,  was 
induced  to  accept  the  position  of  princii)al 
of  tlie  Morris  public  school.  A  man  of 
magnificent  executive  ability  and  a  perfect 
model  of  systematic  order,  he  made  a  great 
success  of  tlie  scliool.  However,  he  could 
not  be  induced  to  teach  but  two  years,  and 
closed  liis  duties  as  sucli  principal  July  31, 
1856,  to  enter  the  law  ottice  of  E.  P.  Seeley, 
since  deceased,  as  a  law  student.  Having 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  he  became  the 
law  partner  of  Mr.  Seeley,  and  i-emained  as 
such  until  the  death  of  the  latter.  He  is 
now  one  of  our  wealthiest  citizens.  A  little 
fnssy  fellow  by  the  name  of  Smith,  from 
somewhere  in  "Wisconsin,  succeeded  Mr. 
Sanford.  He  had  as  an  assistant  a  woman, 
supposed  to  be  his  wife,  but  Dame  Eumor 
said  she  was  some  other  man's  wife,  and 
like  the  ''  Heathen  Chinee,  they  had  to  go." 

In  1859  H.  K.  Trask,  A.  B.,  was  princi- 
pal, with  John  Trask,  Anna  Trask,  Eliza 
Ealdwin,  Sarah  Parmelee,  and  Kate  Grant, 
assistants.  Their  salaries  were  as  follows: 
II.  K.  Trask,  §900;  John  Trask,  $750;  and 
$270  to  each  lady.  The  same  corps  of 
teachers  had  charge  in  1800  at  the  same 
salaries,  with  Gertrude  Vincent  as  an 
additional  ff.«sistant.  In  August,  1860, 
the  people  voted  down  the  proposition  to 
levy  a  tax  to  extend  schools  beyond  six 
months  the  ensuing  year.  This  caused  Mr. 
Trask,  who  was,  besides  being  a  first-class 
teacher,  a  first-class  gentleman,  to  decline  a 


re-appointment  here.  He  left  Morris,  and 
went  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  has  remained 
ever  since,  and  is  president  of  a  college 
there. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  directors,  Sept.  14tii, 
it  was  ordered  to  have  six  months  school 
with  seven  teachers,  fixing  the  salary  of 
the  principal  at  $400  for  the  six  months, 
and  placing  the  assistants'  pay  at  $25  per 
month.  School  to  commence  Oct.  7,  1861. 
John  Trask  was  made  principal,  Kate 
Frame,  Anna  Trask,  Sarah  Parmeloe,  Kate 
Grant,  Fannie  A.  Hale  and  Celia  Frarv 
were  selected  as  assistants.  B.  II.  Strceter 
and  B.  F.  Matteson,  two  of  the  directors, 
resigned  April  2d,  1862.  Eobert  Louf- 
worth  and  C.  G.  Conklin  were  elected  to 
fill  the  vacancies  April  14,  1862.  Mr. 
Trask  was  re-engaged  with  Kate  Frame, 
C.  Vanvalkenburgh,  S.  Wright,  K.  Morley, 
C.  Frary  and  A.  A.  Hennessey,  assistants. 
School  commenced  Oct.  6,  1862.  Andrew 
Kirkland  succeeded  Mr.  Conklin  as  director 
this  year.  In  1863,  Mr.  McV^ay  was  ])rin- 
cipal,  but  the  record  fails  to  show  wluit 
his  initials  or  first  names  were,  what  wages 
he  received,  or  who  were  his  assistants 
when  the  school  began  or  closed,  or  indeed 
that  we  had  any  school.  We  find  under 
date  of  Nov.  16,  1863,  Mr.  Longworth 
moved  to  increase  the  salary  of  McVay 
five  dollars  per  month;  whether  the  motion 
was  carried  or  lost,  the  record  fails  to  state. 
In  1864:,  W.  T.  Hopkins  succeeded  Mr. 
McBride  as  director  and  clerk  of  the  board. 
This  board  selected  L.  B.  Searles,  principal, 
on  salary  of  $900,  with  Misses  Morley 
(now  Mrs.  Hamilton),  Longworth,  Hennes- 
sey, Wright,  Hale,  Bross  and  Vincent,  at 
$30  per  month  each.  On  April  1,  1865,  a 
petition  signed    by  0.  Grant,  G.  W.  Lane, 


234 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


D.  D.  Spencer,  and  thirty  others  was  pre- 
sented to  the  school  board  praying  tlie  re- 
moval of  Mr.  Searles.  The  record  says: 
"  After  hearing  the  defenses,  it  is  ordered 
that  Mr.  Searles  be  discharged."  This  dis- 
charge was  clearly  irregular  and  illegal. 
He  left  but  collected  his  salary. 

It  appears  that  a  Mr.  Fisher  was  em- 
ployed to  finish  the  year's  scliool  as  princi- 
pal. TlieVe  is  no  record  of  it  except  of  the 
payment  of  schedules,  July  15,  1S65,  when 
"  Fisher  and  Miss  Morley  were  allowed 
$i40.  Misses  Tinkham,  Bross,  Bean,  Harri- 
son, Hale  and  Wright,  each  8120.  Mr. 
Kirkland  resigned,  when  at  the  election  to 
till  vacancy,  and  elect  a  successor  to  Mr. 
Longworth,  E.  B.  Hanna  and  L.  P.  Lott 
were  elected.  Of  this  board,  Judge  Hop- 
kins was  made  president,  and  L.  P.  Lott, 
secretary,  and  this  was  the  starting  point 
of  keeping  a  record  of  the  board.  Zorodus 
Trask  of  Beaver  Dam,  "Wisconsin,  was  se- 
lected principal  at  $1,200  per  annum,  with 
Misses  Bross,  Bean,  Harrison,  Tinkham 
and  Hale,  assistants,  at  $300  per  annum 
each.  Tiie  school-house  now  was  too  small 
to  accommodate  the  scholars,  and  outside 
rooms  were  engaged,  with  Miss  Iliordan  as 
an  additional  teacher.  In  December  of 
that  year,  the  wages  of  the  female  teachers 
were  raised  to  $360  per  annum.  We  find 
by  the  schedules  paid,  tliat  a  Miss  Wheaton 
was  Mr.  Trask's  first  assistant.  We  liave  no 
personal  recollection  of  the  lady.  Additions 
were  built  to  the  main  building  tliis  year. 

E.  B.  Hanna  was  again  elected  director 
in  1866.  It  was  also  voted  to  build  a  brick 
school-house  in  the  3d  ward.  At  the  Au- 
gust meeting,  1866,  of  the  board  the  school 
year  was  fixed  at  forty  weeks.  Tliis  has 
been  the  rule  ever  since.     Henry  K.  Trask 


was  elected  principal,  with  Misses  Jennie 
Bross,  Belle  Grant,  Sarah  Tinkham,  Alida 
Bliss,  Fannie  Hale,  Alice  R Jordan  and 
Gertrude  Vincent,  assistants,  tor  year  com- 
mencing in  Sept.,  1866. 

The  school  rooms  were  so  crowded  that 
on  the  13th  Oct.,  1866,  the  board  made  a 
contract  with  Mrs.  Bailey,  wife  of  Rev.  G. 
S.  Bailey,  to  teach  from  forty  to  fifty  small 
scholars  at  their  residence,  for  $iOO  for 
forty  weeks.  Mr.  H.  K.  Trask  declining 
to  accept  the  ofier  of  principal,  Mr.  Stet- 
man  E.  Massey  was  selected  as  such  at 
§1,000  per  annum.  Miss  Riordan  did  not 
accept  the  position  offered,  and  ]\Iiss  Mary 
E.  McQiieston  took  her  place.  Miss  Vin- 
cent also  resigned  in  March,  1867,  when  a 
Miss  Fitch  was  appointed  to  the  place. 
Aug.  5,  1867,  C.  Grant  was  elected  to  suc- 
ceed Judge  Hopkins.  It  was  also  voted  to 
build  a  brick  school-house  in  the  ith  ward 
north  of  the  railroad.  The  site  for  3d  ward 
school  was  purchased  Aug.  8th,  1867,  for 
$850.  The  board  also  bouglit  from  Thomas 
Hynds  ninety  feet  south  end  of  lot  3,  B.  11, 
Chapin's  addition  to  Morris,  adjoining  the 
old  school-house,  for  $200  at  this  meeting. 
The  school  was  opened  again  in  Sept.,  1867, 
with  S.  E.  Massey,  principal,  Belle  Grant, 
Jennie  Bross,  Fannie  Hale,  Alida  Bliss, 
Sarah  Tinkham,  Mary  McQueston  and  E. 
B.  Fitch,  assistants.  Gouch  A:  Smith  re- 
ceived the  contract  to  do  the  mason  work 
on  3d  ward  school  for  $1,250.  F.  H.  Will- 
iams &  Co.,  the  carpenter  work  for  $1,500, 
selecting  the  Oliver  brick  as  the  material. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  board  July  11th,  1868, 
lots  6  and  7,  B.  9,  in  Edwards'  addition 
to  Morris,  were  purchased  for  a  school-house 
site  for  a  brick  school-house  in  tlie  4th 
ward  at  the  sum  of  $600.     The  first  mis- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


235 


take  we  note  in  the  action  of  this  board, 
one  of  the  very  ablest  the  city  ever  had,  is 
in  ordering  the  building  of  "a  one  story 
brick  school-house  30  by  40  feet."  On  tlie 
3d  of  August,  1S6S,  Geo.  W.  Lane  was 
elected  to  succeed  Mr.  Lott  as  director.  It 
was  also  decided  to  purchase  a  site,  and 
erect  a  brick  school-house,  in  the  then  oth, 
now  2d  ward.  At  a  meeting  of  the  now 
board  August  12,  18(58,  Mr.  Grant  w;ts 
elected  president  and  Mr.  Ilanna  secretary, 
and  Mr.  Massey  was  reappointed  principal 
of  the  schools,  with  Misses  Bross,  Bliss, 
Hale,  McQueston,  Grant,  Hennessey,  Har- 
rison, Barstow  and  Mrs.  Phillips,  assistants. 
The  principal  to  be  paid  $1,000,  and  each 
assistant  $300.  At  this  meeting  the  board 
ordei-ed  that  the  proposed  school-house  in 
the  4th  ward  be  of  brick  and  one  story  high 
and  30  by  40  feet  in  size;  and  the  contract 
was  let  to  Messrs.  Kntz  and  StoiT  for  the 
carpenter  work  at  $960.  The  brick  and 
stone  work  was  let  to  Wm.  Stage  at  $679. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  board  September  7,  it 
was  decided  to  make  the  4th  ward  school 
building  two  stories  instead  of  one.  The 
lower  story  14,  the  upper  12  feet  high. 
The  old  teachers  were  re-employed  for  en- 
suing year  at  same  salaries.  Mary  Grant 
was  added  to  the  list  of  teachers  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  board. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  1870,  Prof.  H.  H. 
C.  Miller  was  elected  principal,  on  a  sala- 
ry of  $1,300.  His  selection  proved  a  very 
good  one.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  executive 
ability  and  scholastic  acquirements.  On  the 
1st  of  September  the  clerk  submitted  a  sys- 
tem of  grading  the  schools,  which  was 
adopted,  and  has  been  but  slightly  changed 
since,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  yet  it  is  true 
that  this  was  the  first  effort  ever  made  to 


establibh   graded    schools  in  Morris,  so  far 
as  ajjpcars  of  record. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  Sept.  3d,  1870, 
on  motion  of  the  clerk,  the  .salaries  of  tlio 
assistant  teachers  were  raised  from  $300  to 
$340,  and  the  following  were  selected  and 
assigned: 

Center   School. 
Room  'No.  2 — Miss  Emma  Green. 

Carrie  Barstow. 

Dora  Schoon  maker. 

Jennie  A.  Bross. 

Jennie  Wing. 

Myra  Massey. 


5— 
6— 


I- 


In  3d  Ward  Brick  Sciiool  House. 


Koom  No 


cc 


1 — Miss  Mary  Hubbard. 
2 — Miss  Lizzie  Hennessey,prln' 
cipal. 
4th  Ward  Brick. 
1— Miss  Carrie  Bullis. 
2 — Miss  M.  A.  l-li])pan,  princi- 
pal. 
5th  Ward  Brick. 
1— Miss  Alida  G.  Bliss. 
2 — Miss  Minnie  Barstow,  prin- 
cipal. 
Much  feeling  sprang  up  over  this  assign- 
ment of  teachers,  but  it  proved  a  very  ju- 
dicious one,  and  never  did  the  Morris  pub- 
lic  schools  do  better  than  this  year.     Prof. 
Miller  proved  to  be  "  the  right  man  in  the 
right  place,"  while  he  was  ably  assisted  in 
all  the   departments.     This    school   board 
adopted  the  single  seat  system   and  render- 
ed the  principal  active  support  in  building 
up  a    first-class  graded    public  school.     Li 
January,  1871,    Mr.  Brown    resigned,  and 
Mr.  F.  Caspori    was  elected  his  successor. 
At  the  regular  April  election  of  that  year, 
Mr.  Lane  was   re-elected   director  without 
opposition.  - 


236 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


On  the  21st  of  June,  1871,  "  Prof.  Miller 
submitted  his  annual  report  of  the  work- 
ings of  the  several  schools  under  his  charge, 
wliich  showed  a  very  flattering  condition, 
and,  on  motion,  it  was  ordered  that  said 
report  be  published  in  pamphlet  form  and 
that  300  copies  be  printed  for  distribu- 
tion." 

Tliis  was  the  first  report  of  the  Morris 
public  schools  ever  printed. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1871,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Caspori,  Prof,  ililler's  salary  was  raised 
to  $1,500  per  annum,  and  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Armstrong,  the  following  assiarnment  and 
jSaiaries  of  the  assistants  were  made: 
Miss  Bliss,  assistant   to  princijoal,      $375 

Center  School. 

Miss  Jennie  M.  Wing,      Room  6,         375 

"    Myra  Massey,         -         "     5,         375 

"    Dora  Schoonmaker,         "     4,         375 

"    Emma  E.Green,         -     "     3,         340 

"    Gracie  Peirce,  -       "     2,         300 

3d  Ward   School. 

Mrs.  L.  Thayer,  principal,  Room  2,         375 

Miss  Mary  L.  Hubbard,         "       1,         340 

4th  Ward  School. 
Miss  Ella  C.  Harrison,   No.  2,  princi- 
pal,        -        -         -  -         340 
Only  one  room  ready  for  use. 
5  th  Ward  School. 
Miss  Minnie  Barstow,  No.  2,  principal,  $375 
"    Jennie  A.  Bross,  "     1         "  375 
The  teacliers'  salaries   paid  for  previous 
year  was   $5,253.     The  total   cost  of  the 
year's  school  was  $7,828.17,  as  appears  from 
the  clerk's  report.     The  whole  nnraber  of 
persons  under  21  years  residing  in  the  dis- 
trict was  given  at  1,730,  and  those  between 
6  and  21  were  1,200,  of  whom  IS  were  col- 
ored.    The  whole  number  of  enrolled  schol- 
ars was  852;  number  of   teachers,  13 — 12 


females  and  1  male;  with  4  graded  schools, 
with  112  volumes  in  the  public  school  li- 
brary. 

This  was  truly  a  fine  showing.  But  we 
are  extending  this  article  too  long.  The 
teacliers  selected  for  the  year  commencing  in 
September,  1871,  were  Prof.  Miller,  ])rinci- 
pal,  Ada  Brum  back  as  his  assistant,  and 
Misses  Broes,  Bliss,  Green,  Peirce,  Harri- 
son, Mary  Poster,  Mary  J.  Henry,  Emma 
Card,  Schoonmaker,  Hubliard,  and  Mrs.  M. 
L.Thayer.  In  March,  1872,  Miss  Card  re- 
signed on  account  of  poor  health,  and  Miss 
Julia  McFarland  succeeded  her  as  a  teacher. 
At  the  A])ril  election,  1872,  Mr.  Armstrong 
was  unanimously  re-elected  director.  On  the 
15tli  of  June  that  year,  the  salary  of  the 
teacher  of  the  grammar  school  was  raised  to 
$400.  Prof  Miller  was  again  chosen  as  prin- 
cipal at  $1,500;  Miss  Lizzie  Winters,  as  his 
assistant,  $400.  The  salaries  of  the  other 
teachers  were  not  clianged.  The  old  teach- 
ers were  re-engaged  except  Misses  Brum- 
back,  Greene,  Hubbard,  M.  J.  Henry,  and 
Mrs.  Tiiayer,  who  declined  to  re-engage. 
Misses  Irene  Henry  and  Elsie  F.  Hare 
were  employed  in  their  stead.  The  wages 
were  substantially  the  same  as  the  prior 
year. 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1869,  Lot  3,  B  2,  C. 
II.  &  II.  C.  Goold's  addition  to  Morris, 
was  purchased  of  Mr.  Caspori  for  the  site 
for  5th  ward  school  at  $1,030,  and  contracts 
were  awarded  for  the  erection  of  a  two- 
story  brick  building,  30x46  feet,  to  Messrs. 
Massey  &  Jackson,  carpenter  work  and 
blinds  $1,600;  Wm.  Stage,  brick,  stone  and 
plastering  for  $1,878.50.  The  following 
teachers  were  selected  Sept.  13,  1869:  S. 
E.  Massey,  principal;  Myra  Massey,  Susan 
A.   Phillips,    Carrie   Barstow,    Mary   Mc- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY. COUNTY. 


Qiioston,  Emilia  Harrison,  Minnie  Barstow, 
Jennie  A.  ]>ross,  Alida  C.  Bliss,  Lizzie 
Ilennessey,  iS'ellie  Hall,  and  Ada  Harrison. 
Their  salai-ies  were  tixed  at  $1,000  to  prin- 
cipal, and  $300  to  the  assistants.  On  the 
1st  of  Jany.,  1S70,  Mrs.  M.  W.  Lojd  was 
made  principal  of  5tli  ward  school,  and 
Mrs.  Harrison  was  selected  to  take  the 
place  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of 
Miss  McQiieston,  Miss  McQueston  having 
elected  to  take  a  school  of  one  scholar  for 
better  or  for  worse — for  life.  The  school 
law  having  been  amended  or  altered  so  as 
to  bring  the  election  in  April  instead  of 
August,  the  election  was  held  April  4, 
1870,  for  two  directors.  This  was  an  ex- 
citing election,  and  resulted  in  the  election 
of  Messrs.  John  Brown  and  Benjamin  Olin 
to  succeed  Messrs.  Hanna  and  Grant.  Tliis 
new  board  organized  by  electing  Mr.  Lane, 
president,  and  Olin,  secretary'.  ]\Iiss  Kate 
Prideaux  was  selected  April  9,  1870,  to 
succeed  Mrs.  ILirrison  who  had  resigned 
in  Center  School.  Judge  Olin  resigned 
June  1,  1870,  and  moved  to  Joliet,  and  at 
a  special  election  June  7,  1870,  P.  A.  Arm- 
strong was  elected  to  fill  the  vacanc3',  and 
was  elected  clerk  of  the  board.  Tlie  total 
number  of  scholars  attending  the  public 
schools  at  this  time  was  601.  While  the 
total  number  of  males  under  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  was  786,  females,  787: 
total  1,573.  The  division  of  the  sexes  was 
close — one  majority  for  the  girls.  Between 
6  and  21  years  there  were  1,052. 

The  school  law  again  being  changed,  re- 
quiring the  election  of  a  board  of  educa- 
tion, of  six  members,  at  the  election  held 
April  5, 1873,  Wm.  A.  Jordan,  Jolm  Duck- 
wortli,  J.  C.  Carr,  F.  Caspori,  Geo.  W.  Lane 
and  P.  A.  Armsti-ong  were  elected  as  such 


board.  Messrs.  Lane  and  Armstrong  drew 
the  short  term  of  one  year,  Messrs.  Jordan 
and  Carr  the  middle  term  of  two  years,  and 
Messrs.  Cas]iori  and  Duckworth  the  long 
term  of  three  years.  Geo.  W.  Lane  was 
elected  president  of  the  board,  and  Mr. 
Armstrong,  secretary.  In  May,  1873,  Miss 
Lizzie  "Winters  having  married,  resigned, 
and  Miss  T.  H.  Briggs  was  appointed  to 
tlie  vacancy,  as  principal  of  the  grammar 
school,  at  $45  per  month  salary.  At  the 
June  meeting  of  the  board,  Prof.  Miller  was 
again  appointed  principal,  on  the  same 
salary  as  before.  Miss  Dora  E.  Schoon- 
inaker  was  appointed  as  assistant  principal 
at  $500,  Misses  Bliss,  Bross,  Hare  and  Gill 
at  $-1:00,  Misses  Harrison,  Foster  and  M.  E. 
Hare,  $375  each.  The  census  report  showed 
the  whole  number  of  persons  under  21  years 
of  age,  1,715,  of  whom  11  v»-ere  colored. 
Whole  number  of  jiupils  enrolled  in  the 
Morris  public  school,  858.  It  also  showed 
an  excess  of  102  females.  Miss  Gill  de- 
clined and  Miss  E.  F.  Hare  was  made  ]>riii- 
cipalof  the  grammar  school,  and  Miss  Julia 
Pomeroy  was  placed  in  3d  ward  brick 
in  place  of  Miss  Hare,  and  Miss  Alice  A. 
Coulong  was  also  employed  as  a  teacher 
tliat  year;  also  Miss  Lizzie  A.  Hock  as  as- 
sistant in  4th  ward  school,  at  $300  per 
year.  On  the  3d  of  January,  1874,  Miss 
Maggie  Browu  was  assigned  to  the  4th 
ward  school  in  place  of  Miss  Hock,  re- 
signed, and  [Miss  Damon  to  the  3d  ward 
school  in  place  of  Miss  Foster.  On  motion 
of  the  secretary,  tlie  following  was  adopted 
as  an  additional  rule.  viz. :  "Those  teachers 
who  are  most  successful  in  governing  their 
pupils  witliout  resorting  to  corporal  pun- 
ishment, other  fpialifications  being  snlfi- 
cieut,    shall    be  awarded    by   the    board  a 


238 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


higher  degree  of  appreciation,  iind  receive 
the  preference  over  all  others  in  promotion 
and  appointments."  Miss  Damon,  being 
unable  to  manaseher  school,  was  transferred 
to  Center  school,  and  Mrs.  Dukes  was  em- 
ployed as  principal  of  3d  ward  school,  in 
February,  1874.  At  the  April  election, 
1874,  for  two  members  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation, Stilman  E.  Massey  and  Mr.  Arm- 
strong were  elected  (Mr.  Lane  refusing  to 
serve  any  longer).  Mr.  Jordan  was  elected 
president,  atid  Mr.  Armstrong  secretary  of 
the  board.  In  June,  Prof.  Miller  was  again 
selected  principal,  on  salary  of  $1,500. 
Lizzie  Royce,  assistant,  $500.  Miss  Bliss, 
grammar  school,  $450.  The  older  teachers 
were  allowed  $400  each  and  the  newer  ones 
$300  to  §340.  The  new  teaciiers  were 
Misses  Lizzie  Massey  and  Mary  J.  Noble. 
The  fiscal  report  of  the  clerk  for  year  ending 
June  30, 1874,  shows  total  receipts,  $7,707- 
.54.  Expenditures,  $8,203.54.  Tlie  num- 
ber of  teachers  employed,  13 — 1  male; 
12  females.  On  the  7th  of  January,  1875, 
Prof.  Miller  tendered  his  resignation  as 
principal,  to  take  effect  at  the  close  of  the 
school  year.  The  board  assured  him  that 
if  the  only  reason  for  his  leaving  tiie  school 
was  insufficiency  of  salary,  that  should  be 
raised.  At  a  meeting  of  the  board,  June 
9, 1875,  Prof  Miller  was  again  elected  prin- 
cipal by  a  unanimous  vote,  and  his  salary 
increased  to  $2,000  per  year.  Eut  he  had 
already  agreed  to  take  charge  of  the  public 
schools  of  Pittsfield,  III,  and  declined  the 
position  here. 

By  the  secretary's  fiscal  report,  the  re- 
ceipts from  all  sources,  from  June  30,  1874, 
to  June  30,  1875,  were  $10,066.70.  Dis- 
bursements, $9,001.33.  Balance  in  treasury 
$1,065.37.      The   board   of    education,    in 


parting  with  Prof.  Miller,  say  among  other 
things,  June  19,  1875: 

"  As  an  organizer  of  a  thorough  system, 
both  of  studies  and  discipline,  and  a  thoi-- 
ough  educator,  we  consider  him  second  to 
no  man  in  the  State.  *  *  He  adds  to  a 
thorough  classic  education  a  fine  under- 
standing of  the  law  as  well  as  a  practical 
education.  A  man  of  sound  judgment, 
quick  discernment  and  admirable  tempera- 
ment." He  is  now  practicing  law  in  Chi- 
cago. 

At  the  same  meeting  the  old  corps  of 
teachers,  except  principal  and  assistant, 
were  re-elected  with  a  slight  increase  in 
salaries.  On  tlie  6th  of  July,  1875,  Prof. 
Mathew  Waters  was  unanimously  elected 
principal  on  a  salarj'  of  $1,500.  On  the 
25tii  of  June,  a  petition  signed  by  C.  II. 
Goold  and  some  sixty  tax  payers  of  the 
district  was  presented  to  the  boai'd,  praying 
the  erection  of  a  new  school-house  which 
had  been  referred  to  the  committee  on 
grounds  and  buildings,  and  at  the  July 
meeting  this  committee  by  Mr.  Caspori 
made  a  verbal  report  relative  to  eligible 
sites,  etc.,  when  it  was  ordered  to  submit 
the  question  of  building  a  new  school-house 
to  a  vote  of  the  people.  Miss  Flora  Trum- 
bull was  elected  assistant  principal,  at  $600, 
July  20, 1875.  On  the  2d  of  August,  1875, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Carr,  the  series  known  as 
the  "  Independent  series,"  published  by  A. 
S.  Barnes  &  Co.,  were  adopted  to  be  intro- 
duced, as  classes  were  formed,  etc.  This,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  writer,  was  the  most 
foolish  act  of  this  Board  of  Education,  not- 
withstanding we  voted  for  it.  We  con- 
sider the  Independent  series  the  poor- 
est of  all  the  recent  series  of  school 
books  published.     But  there  is  and  always 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


239 


will  be  serious  objections  to  frequent 
changes  in  school  books;  with  all  their  pre- 
tended improvements,  we  have  not  been 
able  to  find  among  tlie  vast  number  of  new 
Keaders  any  one  that  equals  the  old  time 
"  Columbian  Orator,"  or  "  National  Read- 
er." On  the  23d  of  August,  a  vote  was 
taken  on  the  new  school-house  proposition, 
the  new  school-house  to  cost  not  exceeding 
830,000,  which  resulted  in  fa'^or  of  such 
new  school-house  193  votes,  and  120  votes 
were  cast  against  the  pn)])Ositioii.  The 
law  simply  reipiiriug  a  majority  of  the 
votes  cast  to  make  it  obligatorv  on  the 
board  to  act,  said  proposition  was  declared 
carried. 

In  October  of  that  year  tlie  schools  were 
so  full  that  two  rooms  in  the  city  hall  were 
procured,  and  schools  opened  there.  On 
the  30th  of  October,  a  vote  of  the  people 
was  had  upon  the  proposition  to  purchase 
the  east  half  of  block  eighteen,  Chapin's 
2d  addition  to  Morris,  for  $7,000,  which 
resulted  191  for,  and  61  against  said  prop- 
osition; tliis  resulted  in  the  selection  of 
the  present  beautiful  site  of  the  best  and 
among  the  finest  public  school  buildings  of 
this  State. 

The  committee  on  grounds  and  build- 
ings having  visited  many  of  the  best 
school-houses  in  the  State,  reported  ver- 
bally to  the  board,  Nov.  20,  1875,  recom- 
mending the  plan  of  the  new  Jones  school- 
hou.se  of  Chicago,  with  slight  changes. 
Mr.  Bigeh)W,  who  was  the  arcliitect  of  the 
Jones  school-house,  came  before  the  board 
with  the  plans  and  specifications  of  said 
/Jones  school,  and  fully  explained  the 
•  same.  On  Dec.  1,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Carr, 
the  committee  on  grounds  and  school- 
houses  were  instructed  "  to  procure  plans, 


specifications,  and  working  drawings  for  a 
building  nearly  similar  to  the  new  Jones 
school  of  Chicago  as  to  internal  arrange- 
ments, with  exterior  something  like  the 
Rochelle  school  buildings."  Mr.  Duck- 
worth  moved,  "  that  the  new  building  be 
constructed  of  brick  with  stone  trimmings." 
Mr.  Armstrong  moved  to  amend  this  mo- 
tion by  striking  out  the  words  "  brick  with 
stone  trimmings,"  and  insert  the  words 
"  Au  Sable  stone,"  upon  which  motion  the 
ayes  and  naj's  were  called;  those  voting 
aye  were  Messrs.  Massey  and  Armstrong, 
two;  those  voting  nay  were  Messrs.  Caspori, 
Carr  and  Duckworth,  three;  hence,  th« 
amendment  was  lost;  the  vote  recurring  on 
the  original  motion  of  Mr.  Duckworth,  it 
was  carried;  Mr.  Armstrong  alone  voting 
nay;  Mr.  Jordan,  the  president,  was  in  favor 
of  a  stone  building,  but  conld  not  vote  ex- 
ceyrt  upon  a  tie  vote,  which  never  can  occur 
with  a  full  board  of  six. 

Bonds  bearing  not  exceeding  ten  per 
cent,  interest  were  ordered  to  be  issued  to 
pay  for  the  school-house  site,  at  this  meet- 
ing, to  the  amount  of  $7,000,  the  purchase 
price  thereof.  The  next  meeting  of  the 
board  was  on  the  5th  of  January,  1876, 
when  J.  II.  Bigelow,  the  architect,  pre- 
sented plans  and  specifications  which  were 
accepted.  It  was  also  decided  to  advertise 
in  the  Morris  piapers  for  sealed  pro]>osals 
up  to  the  first  Monday  in  FeluMary,  1876, 
to  furnish  material  and  perform  the  labor 
in  the  erection  of  a  school-house  in  con- 
formity with  the  ])lans  and  specifications 
prepared  by  the  architect,  now  in  the  of- 
fice of  the  secretary.  The  first  plan  pro- 
vided for  a  slate  roof.  Bids-  were  solicited 
for  a  brick  building  with  stone  trimmings, 
and  also  for  a  stone  building.      On  Mon- 


240 


HrSTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


day,  February  7ih,  the  board  met,  opened 
and  examined  the  bids,  thirty-three  in  aU, 
and  as  tliere  were  many  bids  for  some 
special  parts  that  reqnired  time  to  arrange 
and  compare,  tlie  board  adjourned  to  the 
9th  of  February,  1«76.  At  this  meeting  it 
was  found  that  the  lowest  bid,  even  for  a 
brick  building,  was  $31,000,  which  was 
above  the  limit  of  the  appropriation. 
The  board  having  reserved  the  right  to  re- 
ject any  or  all  bids,  by  their  advertisement, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Armstrong  it  was:  "  Re- 
solved, That  each  and  every  bid  submitted 
to  this  board  on  the  7th  inst,  pertaining  to 
the  erection  of  the  new  school-house  in  said 
District  No.  1,  be  and  are  hereby  rejected; 
that  the  roof  of  said  proposed  building  be 
changed  to  near  an  eighth  pitch,  and  stand- 
ing groove  iron  be  substituted  for  slate; 
and  that  tin  be  substituted  for  galvanized 
iron  for  the  valleys  and  gutters;  and  that 
the  architect  be,  and  hereby  is  required  to 
make  such  alterations  in  the  plans  and  spec- 
ifications as  he  may  deem  necessary  to  fully 
carry  out  the  above  named  changes  and 
alterations;  that  the  board  re-advertise  for 
sealed  proposals,  to  be  opened  Feb'y  21, 
1876;  that  bids  be  invited  for  the  erection 
of  a  brick  school-house  with  stonej  trim- 
mings, also  for  a  stone  school-house,(jetc. 

On  the  21st  of  February  there  wei%  some 
thirty-five  proposals  opened  and  esjiiined. 
The  difierence  between  the  cost  of  a  stone 
building  and  a  brick  one  as  shown  by  the 
bids,  was  less  than  two  thousand  dollars. 
The  bids  of  Messrs.  Gordon,  McGaveny, ' 
Boyer,  Stage,  and  Gorich,  who  were  finally 
awarded  the  contract,  made  but  Sli650  dif- 
ference in  their  bids  between  stone  and 
bnck.  Their  bids  were  for  stone  $28,977, 
for  brick   $27,327.     After  comparing  the 


bids  and  discussing  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  building  should  be  of  brick 
or  stone,  the  board  adjourned  to  February 
22d,  when  Mr.  Armstrong  submitted  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  upon  the  passage  of  which 
he  called  for  the  a^^es  and  na3's  :  "  Resolved, 
That  the  action  of  this  board  at  their  meet- 
ing of  December  1,  1875,  relative  to  the 
material  for  the  outside  walls  be  and  the 
same  is  hereby  amended  by  striking  out 
the  words  'brick  with  stone  trimmings,' 
and  inserting  in  |  lieu  thereof  the  words 
'Au  Sable  sandstone,'  in  accordance  with 
the  plans  and  sjiecifications  prepared  by  the 
architect,"  which  was  carried.  Those  vot- 
ing aye  were  Messrs.  Jordan,  Duckworth 
and  Armstrong,  and  Messrs.  Carr  and  Cas- 
pori  voting  no.  Mr.  Armstronghad  induced 
the  architect  to  make  plans  for  a  stone 
building,  pledging  himself  to  pay  for  the 
extra  labor  the  sum  of  $35,  if  the  board 
should  not  finally  adopt  stone.  Messrs. 
Jordan  and  Massey  were  in  favor  of  stone 
all  the  time. 

Tlie  contract  for  a  stone  building  was 
awarded  to  our  fellow  townsmen  Miles 
Gordon,  Andrew  J.  Boyer,  Thos.  G.  Mc- 
Gaveny, William  Stage  and  Jacob  Gorich, 
together  with  two  woo'len  privies,  for  the 
sum  of  $28,977.00.  They  furnishing  all 
materials  and  keeping  an  insurance  on  the 
building  as  it  progressed.  The  work  was 
well  done.  Indeed,  every  one  of  the  con- 
tractors lost  their  time  and  some  of  them 
considerable  money  on  their  parts  of  the 
contract,  but  they  did  their  work  and  did  it 
well,  and  the  best  school  house  in  the  State 
stands  a  monument  to  the  skill  and  perse- 
verance of  the  builders.  The  entire  cost  of 
this  building  which  is  a  stone  building  7i 
by  Si,  three  stories  and  basement,  includ- 


V 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


241 


/ 


iiig  superintendence,  was  $30,030,  with 
8^,000  for  site,  making  a  total  of  $37,030, 
which  is  probably  tlie  cheapest  scliool-house, 
in  proportion  to  its  real  value,  in  the  State; 
it  has  12  rooms  laroje  enouirh  to  accomnio- 
date  63  scholars  each,  witli  a  single  desk; 
well  niav  our  people  feel  proud  of  our  pub- 
lic school  building  and  of  our  public  schools. 
At  the  April  election,  1877,  John  Duck- 
worth and  George  AVoelfel,  were  elected 
members  of  the  board.  Prof  Waters  with 
Miss  Mosier  as  his  assistant,  and  verj 
nearly  the  same  corps  of  teachers,  were  se- 
lected for  the  school  year  commencing  Sept. 
3,  1876;  Miss  Mosier's  salary  was  raised  to 
8700;  she  was  a  very  line  teacher  and  an 
accomplished  young  lady.  The  new  teacii- 
ers  were  Misses  Ilattie  Hall,  Carrie  Rog- 
ers, Hettie  McFarlane  and  Abbie  M.  Kier- 
sted;  Miss  Irene  Henry, being  the  onlj^  old 
teacher,  dropped  out;  she  preferred  a  school 
of  one  scholar,  and  clianged  her  name  to 
Putt;  the  lowest  wages  paid  this  year  was 
8340,  and  tlie  total  aggregate  of  the  fifteen 
teachers'  salaries  was  87,280. 

The  census  report  for  this  year  shows 
whole  number  of  males  under  21,  876; 
whole  number  of  females  under  21,  91i; 
between  6  and  21,  males,  584;  females,  655; 
males  between  12  and  21  who  can  not  read 
and  write,  12;  females,  6. 

The  winter  term  was  opened  Jan'}'  8, 
1877,  in  the  new  building;  MissM.  E.  Hare 
having  resigned,  her  place  was  filled  by  the 
selection  of  Miss  Myra  Woods,  Dec.  27, 
1876;  Miss  E.  F.  Hare  resigned  April  2, 
1877,  and  her  sister,  Sarah  A.,  was  selected 
in  her  place,  and  on  the  next  daj'Miss  Liz- 
zie Massey  resigned,  and  Miss  Anna  E. 
Harvey  succeeded  lier;  at  the  April  election 
for  members  of  the  Hoard  of    Education, 


Messrs.  Lott,  Comerfoixi  and  Stephen  were 
elected  to  succeed  Messrs.  Armstrong,  Mas- 
sey and  Jordan,  the  latter  having  resigned, 
and  Mr.  Wm.  Stei)lien  was  elected  to  fill 
the  unexpired  term;  Mr.  Stephen  was  elect- 
ed president,  and  Mr.  Oarr  secretary  of 
the  new  board.  On  the  31st  of  August, 
1877,  the  old  corps  of  teachers,  except  Miss- 
es Mosier,  Woods,  Kiersted  and  Rogers, 
all  of  whom  declined  a  re-engagement;  the 
new  teachers  were  Misses  AUbretta  Clute 
(assistant  principal),  Lillie  II.  Fyfe,  Sadie  T. 
Hall,  Ella  M.  Pasegateand  Lizzie  E.  Codv; 
their  salaries  were  slightly  reduced,  but  not 
materially  so;  at  the  A]iril  election,  1878. 
Jlessrs.  E.  Ridgeway,  L.  AV.  Clayjjool,  and 
R.  B.  Strong,  were  elected  members  of  the 
board  vice  Mr.  Carr,  (who  declined  a 
re-election),  Mr.  Stejihen  and  Mr.  Duck- 
worth who  •' got  lost  and  never  was  found- 
ed." This  new  board  organized  by  electing 
Mr.  Lott  president  and  Mr.  (Jlaypool  sec- 
retary, who  still  liold  their  positions  re- 
spectively; Miss  Clute  "all  the  wa\'  from 
York  State,"  a  maiden  lady  of  uncertain 
age,  assistant  principal  on  a  salary  of  86'*0 
per  year,  proved  to  be  much  abler  in  teach- 
ing the  arts  of  wooing  than  the  sciences; 
this  compelled  Prof  Waters  to  do  a  large 
amount  of  extra  lal)or;  a  fine  teacher  and 
ambitious,  he  neglected  his  health,  and 
finally  jjroke  completely  down  tlui-ing  the 
spring  term,  1878;  his  nervous  system  was 
destroyel;  he  was  confined  to  iiis  bed  here 
all  that  summer,  and  is  now  an  inmate  of 
the  Home  of  the  Licnrables  in  Chicaero; 
his  limbs  are  all  drawn  up  into  a  rigid, 
crooked  shape;  unable  to  feed  himself,  yet 
liis  mind  and  memory  are  as  strong  and 
active  as  the}^  ever  were,  but  there  is  abso- 
lutely no  hope  of  his  recovery.     S.  E.  Mas- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


sey,  A.  M.,  took  his  place  as  principal  for 
tlie  unexpired  year  for  Mr.  Waters,  whose 
salary  was  paid  hiui  in  full  by  the  board, 
June  24,  1878. 

The  Morris  hiwh  school  graduated  nine 
scholars  this  3'ear,  which,  in  addition  to 
the  former  graduates,  made  the  full  num- 
ber of  twenty-eight.  In  the  class  of  grad- 
uates for  1873  were  Miss  Alice  A.  Con- 
long,  who  has  been  for  many  years  a  pop- 
ular teacher  in  the  Morris  public  schools, 
and  Miss  Maggie  Brown,  now  the  wife  of 
Henry  C.  June,  Esq.,  of  Oak  Park,  Illinois. 
In  class  of  1874,  Miss  Mary  J.  Noble,  also 
for  many  years  last  past  a  popular  teacher 
in  the  Morris  schools.  Miss  Ilattie  Coy, 
since  married.  Miss  Emma  E.  Jones,  now 
wife  of  F.  Starr,  Esq.,  of  Streator,  Illinois, 
and  Miss  Carrie  E.  Rogers,  for  awhile  one 
of  the  teachers  in  Morris  school. 

In  class  of  1876,  Miss  Kate  A.  Ilorrie 
and  Miss  Eliza  Jones,  now  the  wife  of 
Benedict  Zens,  Esq.,  of  this  city. 

In  class  of  1877,  Misses  Delia  Robinson, 
Ettie  F.  Johnson,  Mary  II.  Shatier,  Lizzie 
E.  Comerford  (now  a  teacher  in  the 
school),  Lizzie  E.  Cody,  now  the  wife  of 
E.  II.  Quigley,  Esq.,  railroad  agent  at  Mor- 
ris, Mary  Comerford,  Fannie  Lane  (since 
married),  Gertie  IS'elson,  Susie  C.  Brown, 
Nora  Marshall  (now  one  of  the  teachers), 
and  Charles  J.  Reed,  since  then  a  graduate 
of  the  Ann  Arbor  University,  and  now 
principal  of  the  Princeton  (Illinois)  schools. 

In  class  of  1878,  Miss  Nellie  Barr,  Hat- 
tie  E.  Parker,  Lulu  Ross,  now  Mrs.  T.  P. 
Bailey,  Nellie  F.  Cody,  now  wife  of  Mr. 
Davis,  of  the  firm  of  Cod}-  &  Davis,  Em- 
ma E.  Leacock,  Abbie  C.  Woods,  Minnie 
D.  Porter,  Ida  Caspnri  and  Wm.  J.  Lea- 
cock.     In  August,  1878,  Prof.  L.  T.  Regan 


was  elected  principal,  and  has  continued 
as  such  up  to  the  present,  and  has  been  en- 
gaged for  the  ensuing  year;  and  the  only 
changes  in  the  board  of  education  are,  Mr. 
Wm.  Stephen  and  J.  S.  R.  Scovill  have 
succeeded  Messrs.  Strong  and  Comerford. 
This  brings  the  public  school  history  down 
to  the  time  when  the  memory  of  our  peo- 
ple is  fresh,  and  as  our  chronicle  is  growing 
too  long  we  stoj)  here  with  our  history  of 
the  Morris  public  schools,  of  which  we 
feel  a  just  pride. 

ST.  Angela's  academy. 

On  the  12tb  of  March,  1858,  John  Mc- 
Neil is  and  wife  e.\'ecuted  a  conveyance  of 
out  lot  8,  in  the  Canal  Trustees'  subdivis- 
ion of  the  S.  W.  I,  Sec.  3,  T.  33,  R.  7, 
containing  ten  acres  (less  the  streets),  with  a 
large  three  story  brick  building  at  a  con- 
sideration expressed  at  one  dollar  to  "Rev. 
E.  Sorin,  Provincial,  of  the  congregation  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  resident  of  Notre  Dame 
LTniversity,  of  the  county  of  St.  Josepli,  and 
State  of  Indiana,  and  to  his  successor  in 
office  *  *  on  condition  that  a  Catholic 
school  shall  be  kept  on  said  premises  for- 
ever." Father  Sorin  immediately  estab- 
lished and  opened  thereon  and  therein  St. 
Angela's  Academy,  with  Mother  Fz-ances — 
a  sister-in-law  of  Senator  John  Sherman  of 
Ohio,  as  Mother  Superior,  for  the  thorough 
and  practical  education  of  young  ladies. 
This  school  is  second  to  no  academy  in  this 
State.  Its  attendance  has  been  large  from 
its  inception  up  to  the  present,  and  we  can 
commend  this  school  to  all  persons  wishing 
a  first-class  boarding  school  for  young 
ladies,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  as 
no  effort  is  allowed  to  be  made  toward 
proselyting.     It  is  a  model  of  good  order, 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


245 


and  is  5ii]>plied  by  tlio  very  best  of  teachers. 
Of  course  tlie  teachers  are  all  niins;  Mother 
Frances  was  taken  fnrther  West  to  open 
other  convents,  but  a  eonipetetit  Lady  Su- 
perior has  taken  her  place.  Tins  ci)nvent 
has  been  nmcli  enlar^^-ed,  and  the  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Gross  are  doing  their  good  work 
as  silently  as  the  dew  falls,  \'et  thoroughly 
and  intelligently.  The  only  effort  thev 
make  at  ])ul)Iic  notoriety  is  their  annual 
couimenceinents. 

They  have  students  from  all  over  the 
northern  ]iart  of  the  State.  15eing  an  ad- 
junct of  Notre  Dame,  it  is  essentially  a 
])i-e])aratoiT  department  to  that  leading 
Catholic  University.  In  painting  and 
music  St.  Angela's  Academy  stands  higli, 
while  its  curriculum  is  practical  and  well 
selected.  With  commodious  buildinurs  and 
extensive  grounds  highly  cultivated  and 
adorned  with  e.xotics,  plants  and  flowers, 
St.  Angela's  is  a  very  ])retty  place  as  well  as 
a  pleasant  one. 

THE    MOKRIS  NOKM.VL  AND    SCIENTIFIC    SCHOOL 

is  the  outgrowth  of  the  "  Morris  Classic 
Institute,"  started  by  N.  C.  Dougherty,  A. 
M.,  over  the  office  of  Mr.  Sanford,  in  I.S6I). 
Mr.  Dougherty,  now  principal  of  the  Peoria 
schools,  came  here  an  entire  stranger,  rented 
a  room  and  opened  a  private  school  under 
the  above  title,  and  tnade  a  decided  success 
of  it.  A  man  of  ]i!ish  and  energy,  with  a 
lar^e  degree  of  self-confidence,  he  soon  es- 
tablished the  Morris  Classic  Institute  upon 
a  firm  basis.  So  rapid  was  its  growth 
that  his  quarters  were  too  small.  He  then 
i-eiitcd  a  portion  of  the  present  Normal 
School  building,  and  emjiloying  assistant 
teacb.ers,  transferred  the  Institute  to  that 
building  where   he  soon  established   a  fine 


reputation  as  an  educator.  He,  however, 
did  not  remain  long  at  bis  new  quarters. 
Having  received  many  offers  of  positions 
in  other  schools,  he  finally  accepted  the 
position  of  principal  of  the  Mount  Morris 
Seminary,  and  sold  his  interest  in  the  Mor- 
ris Classic  to  a  Mr.  Ross,  who  proved  a 
failure.  He  in  turn  sold  out  to  a  Rev.  Mr. 
Sloat,  who  imagined  himself  a  natural-born 
Demosthenes  and  Spurgeon  combined.  But 
with  all  his  supposed  aliility,  the  ilorris 
Classic  went  into  a  rapid  decline.  It  had 
a  consum])tive  cough;  hollow-eyed  and 
feeble  it  linirered  a  short  time  and  "  irave 
up  the  ghost."  Several  efforts  were  made 
to  revive  the  "  Morris  Classic  Institute," 
but  they  proved  unavailing  or  spasmodic. 

In  October,  1875,  J.  J.  Kinkaide,  A..  M., 
of  Oil  City,  Pa.,  rented  the  building  and 
tried  to  resuscitate  it.  Although  a  teacher 
of  many  years  experience,  he  found  he  had 
undertaken  a  difficult  task.  He  succeeded 
in  injecting  some  little  life  into  the  de- 
funct institute,  but  did  not  restore  it  to  full 
life  and  vigor. 

He  was  succeeded  in  his  efforts  by  A.W. 
Bulkley,  A.  B.,  and  he  in  turn  !)y  Prof. 
Beatie,  with  about  the  same  result — a  siekl  v 
kind  of  disappointment.  In  the  fell  of 
1878,  Messrs.  Cook  &  Stevens  rented  the 
entire  building  and  changed  the  name  to 
"Morris  Normal  and  SrJentific  School." 
Comparatively  }'oung  men,  full  of  energy 
and  push,  -with  unbounded  confidence  in 
their  own  al)ility  as  organizers  and  educa- 
tors, they  soon  commanded  success  and 
placed  the  Morris  Normal  on  a  sure  foun- 
dation as  one  of  the  very  best  preparatory 
schools  in  the  State.  This  school  brings 
to  our  city  talented  young  gentlemen  and 
ladies  from  all  over  the  country — not  only 


21j 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


from  Illinois  but  from  other  States.  Tlie 
ciirricnlum  is  a  judicious  one,  whilst  the 
enerojj  and  perseverance  of  the  entire  cor|is 
of  teachers  have  been  such  as  to  win  the 
confidence  and  command  the  res]iect  of  all. 
Wo  notice  the  sale  of  the  interest  of  Messrs. 
Cook  &  Stevens  to  Messrs.  Kean  &  For- 
sythe.  They  are  no  strangers  liere.  Prof 
Kean  lias  been  a  successful  teacher  for 
many  years,  and  for  over  a  year  past  he 
lias  been  one  of  the  principal  teachers  in 
this  school,  while  Mr.  Forsythe  has  also 
had  considerable  experience  as  a  teacher, 
and  was  one  of  the  regular  teachers  of  the 
school  before  purchasing.  And  whilst 
many  may  regret  that  Messrs.  Cook  & 
Stevens  have  sold  out  their  interest  in  the 
school,  none  need  fear  of  its  complete  suc- 
cess under  the  new  management.  With 
four  separate  tine  brick  and  stone  public 
school  liiiildings,  with  fifteen  school  rooms, 
well  filled  with  scholars,  under  a  compe- 
tent superintendent,  with  fifteen  assistants, 
with  a  population  of  J:,200  people,  Morris 
is  well  prepared  to  educate  her  own  chil- 
dren. Add  to  this  St.  Angela's  Academv 
and  the  Morris  Kormal  and  Scientific 
School,  we  may  well  be  proud  of  our  edu- 
cational Ikcilities.  No  city  in  the  State 
can  excel  Morris  in  that  line.  We  now 
turn  to  our 

SABBATH    SCHOOLS. 

The  first  Sabbath  school  of  Morris  ante- 
dates the  organization  of  the  first  church 
here.  About  the  ;30th  of  June,18J:7,Messrs. 
E.  P.  Seeley,  A.  F.  Hatid  and  P.  A.  Arm- 
strong posted  up  written  notices  for  a  Sab-^ 
bath  school,  to  be  held  at  the  old  court 
house  in  Morris,  on  the  following  Sabbath. 
Dr.    fland   and  Mr.  Armstrong    were    on 


hand  at  the  time  designated,  but    the  other 
signer  tailed  to  put  in  an  api)earance.    The 
court  house  was    filled,  literally  packed,  by 
the  most  heterogeneous  crowd  imaginable. 
Old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  gray  headed 
men  and  women,  barefooted  and  liatless  ur- 
chins, county  ofiicials,  canal  contractois,  pro- 
fessional men, mechanics  and  common  labor- 
ers; while  the  ladies,  ever  first  in  sympathy 
and  ready  to  do  battle   in    the  cause  of  re- 
ligion and  reformation,  were  there  in  force, 
ready,  yea  eager,  to  assist  in  so  laudable  an 
enterprise.    Previous  to  this  time  the  chil- 
dren had  run  riot  in  the  streets  and  woods, 
the  older  boys  spending  their  Sundays  in 
hunting,   fishing   and   ball    playing,  while 
the  lesser  bo3\s  and  girls  made  mud  pies  or 
played    blackman,  with    no  one    to  teach 
them  to  ''  remember  the    Sabbath  day,  and 
kee])  it  holy."     Prominent  among  the  good 
ladies  who  favored  this  enterprise  were  Mrs. 
Abigail    Hull,  now    the  widow  Atwater, 
Mesdames    Wm.    E.    and    P.    A.    Arm- 
strong,    both  deceased     and    Mrs.    Alex. 
Peacock,    still    living.     It  was    a    trying 
situation     for     the     originators,     Messrs. 
Hand      and      Armstrong;       neither      of 
them    were    professed     Christians.      Pro- 
priety demanded   that  the  exercises  should 
be  opened  with  prayer;  no  minister  of  the 
gospel    or   professed  Christian  gentleman 
was  present.     A  prayer  had  to    be  offered 
up   to  the  Infinite,  to  keep  up  at  least   the 
semblance  of  piety.     Mr.  Armstrong  with 
fear  and  trembling  called  on  the  doctor  for 
a  short  prayer.     To  the  great  relief  of   the 
expectant  crowd   Dr.  Hand  was   equal    to 
the  occasion,  and  made,  if  not  his  only,  at 
least   his  first  public  prayer,  and  it  was  a 
good  one.     A  prayer  that  was  fine    in  con- 
ception and   impressively  delivered.     This 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


247 


broke  the  ice  and  the  Sabbath  school  was 
iiiauwnrated.  Tills  was  tlie  nucleus  of  our 
present  niagnificeut  system  of  Sunday 
schools. 

Having  inaugurated  this  school  Messrs. 
Hand  and  Armstrong  rested  upon  their 
laurels  and  gave  place  to  the  ladies  and 
professed  Christian  gentlemen  as  managers. 

The  Cont>'re'>;ational  church  was  ora-an- 
ized  about  that  time,  and  assumed  tlie 
charge  of  this  embr^'o  Sabbath  school. 
^V'hether  the  Sabbath  school  records  con- 
tain any  reference  to  the  organizers  or  not 
we  are  not  ads'ised,  but  that  this  was  the 
origin  of  the  school  is  true  beyond  a  ques- 
tion. Nor  was  there  any  hypocrisy  on  the 
part  of  these  men  in  organizing  this  move- 
ment.    They  were  both  sous  of  pious  moth- 


ers, who  taught  them  wliile  "little  toddlers," 
to  keep  the  Sabbath  day  holy.  That  in- 
fluence had  not  deserted  tliem,  and  wo 
trust,  never  will.  Our  only  religious  books 
were  the  Bible  and  John  Bunyan's  Pil- 
grim's Progress.  Sabbath  school  books  had 
not  yet  reached  this  locality.  Those  capi- 
tal singers,  Geo.H.  Kiersted  and  Thomas  A. 
Henrj',  led  the  singing  in  fine  style.  Which 
of  us  acted  as  superintendent  we  do  not 
now  remember,  but  are  inclined  to  the  be- 
lief that  we  yielded  the  leadership  to  the 
ladies,  ani  that  either  Mrs.  Hall  or  Mrs.  P. 
A.  Armstrong  took  the  lead  as  teachers. 
We  are  quite  certain  that  we  left  the  field 
early  and  ceased  from  our  labors  in  that 
noble  cause. 


CHAPTER    IX.* 


MORRIS  CITY-CHURCHES-EARLY  MINISTERS-THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION-BUSINESS-PIO- 
NEERS—SECRET FRATERNITIES. 


THAT  the  first  religions  services  in 
Morris  were  held  liy  the  Catholics 
tlicre  is  no  question,  and  tiiat  Father  Du- 
pontaris  was  the  first  to  celebi'ate  Mass  at 
tills  place,  is  equally  true.  He  was  in 
charge  (as  we  now  remember),  of  the  Cath- 
olic churches  at  Ottawa  and  Dresden  (the 
latter  being  then  by  far  the  largest  village 
in  Grundy  County,  having  a  Catholic 
church,  two  good-sized  hotels  and  several 
dry  goods  stores).  He  commenced  to  cele- 
brate Mass  here  in  the  fall  of  1841,  ere 
Morris  had  a  name.  He  was  a  Frenchman 
orof  Frenehdescent;  rather  small  in  stature 
with  fine  physical  form,  dark  complexion, 
and  a  very  fine  orator,  with  ability  equal  to 
any  emergency.  He  was  peculiarly  well 
suited  to  the  times  and  circumstances  sur- 
rounding him.  "With  tlie  patience  of  a 
Job  ai>d  energy  of  a  Caisar,  which  were  so 
admirably  combined  that  he  was  able  to 
meet  and  overcome  every  obstacle  in  his 
way.  And  when  physical  force  was  re- 
quired to  quell  or  disperse  a  mob,  he  not 
only  had  it,  but  used  it.  He  was  equally 
brave  and  humane.  His  charge  extended 
from  Ottawa  to  Dresden — a  distance  of  over 
thirty  miles,  and  as  we  had  neither  canal, 
railroad  or  stage  route,  he  had  to  travel 
overland — mostly  on  horseback;  hence,  he 
was,forced  to  labor  long  and  hard.     This  lie 

*By  Hon.  P.  A,  Armstrong-. 


did  uncomplainingly  and  successfully.  From 
here  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  died  oi 
cholera  in  ISIS,  contracting  the  disease 
while  visiting  and  shriving  the  dying  of 
his  parish.  Deeds  he  did  worthy  of  being 
perpetuated  in  monuments  of  gold.  We 
believe  he  was  succeeded  here  by  Father 
O'Donnell.  Dean  Terry  came  later  and 
built  the  present  magnificent  Catholic 
church,  which  is  the  largest  in  our  county, 
and  assisted  in  inaugui'ating  St.  Angelas 
Academy.  The  Catholics  of  Morris  are 
the  most  numerous  of  any  of  the  churches 
and  have  the  largest  and  finest  church  edi- 
fice. 

PROTESTANT  CHURCH    SERVICES. 

Next  to  the  Catholics  came  the  Metho- 
dists in  holding  religious  services  in  Morris. 
In  the  winter  of  1812-3,  John  F.  Devore, 
a  tall,  spare  young  man,  with  far  more  zeal 
than  brain,  and  who  was  on  his  first  charge 
as  a  ]\[etliodist  minister,  his  cii-cuit  embrac- 
ing what  was  then  called  South  Ottawa 
Circuit,  extending  from  South  Ottawa  to 
Wash.  Halliday's,  being  the  late  "  Sam  " 
Halderman  farm,  commenced  and  carried 
on  religious  services  in  the  court  house  in 
Morris.  His  meetings  were  held  about 
once  in  four  weeks.  He  had  some  tough 
cases  among  his  Morris  audience,  and 
though  he  was  quite  a  revivalist,  he  could 
not  revive  the  Morrisites  worth  a  cent. 
What  between  P.  Chapiii,  Bill  Armstrong 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


249 


and  Sam  Ayres,  he  liad  a  toui^li  time nt' it, 
and  concluding  tliat  ''Ephraiiu  was  joined  to 
his  idols,"  gave  them  up  as  a  stilf-necked 
and  hopeless  people,  and  turned  his  at- 
tention to  a  more  susceptible  community. 

The  next  effort  made  by  this  church  was 
by  a  Mr.  Humphrey,  who  was  also  the 
minister  in  charge  of  South  Ottawa  cir- 
cuit. He  made  an  effort  at  the  court  liouse 
about  the  10th  of  January,  1846.  There 
were  but  few  professed  Christians  here  of 
the  Protestant  faith — not  even  a  "  baker's 
dozen."  In  view  of  this  fact  the  effort  of 
Rev.  Humphrey  was  looked  upon  as  an  at- 
tempt to  "  beard  the  lion  in  his  den,  the 
Douglas  in  his  hall."  Indeed,  the  few 
Protestant  Christian  men  and  women 
looked  forwai'd  to  this  effort  with  fear  and 
trembling,  the  ungodly  with  curiosity  rath- 
er than  interest,  whilst  others  were  not  all 
serenity  in  their  feelings.  There  was  a 
silent  monitor  tugging  away  at  their  con- 
sciences, which  said  or  seemed  to  say,  "  Ton 
have  not  kept  my  commandments  and  lived 
holy  lives."  Toothers  this  unseen  monitor 
said,  "Unless  ye  repent  of  your  sins  ye  shall 
not  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  whilst 
the  gamins  and  urchins  anticipated  lots  of 
fun  from  going  to  hear  a  sermon — a  some- 
thing the  meaning  of  which  liad  never  en- 
tered their  lieads.  Thus  matters  stood  in 
feverish  "excitement  on  the  arrival  of  the 
eventful  Sabbath  on  which  Mr.  Humphi-ey 
was  to  preach  at  the  court  house.  At  that 
time  there  was  no  law  upon  our  statute 
against  keeping  tippling  houses  open  on 
Sunday.  About  three-fourths  of  our  inhab- 
itants were  canal  laborers.  Sundays  were 
their  holidays,  and  above  all  other  days  this 
was  their  drinking  and  gambling  day.  All 
the  saloons  were  open  and  running  at  i'uU 


speed.  On  the  Sabbath  in  question  all  the 
drinking  hells  in  Morris  were  run  to  their 
utmost  capacity  to  get  ready  to  hear  what 
Rev.  Humphrey  might  have  to  say  that 
evening.  Indeed  the  proposed  sermon  was 
often  mentioned  during  the  day  in  ribaldr}"- 
and  ridicule.  When  the  time  came  for  the 
meeting  the  court  house  was  lighted  up 
with  "  tallow  dips  "  and  was  densely  filled 
by  the  most  incongruous  mass  of  human 
beings  possible  to  imagine,  many  of  whom 
were  maudlin  drunk.  The  preacher  was 
rather  a  weak  cistern  to  hold  much  Metli- 
odism,  yet  he  had  Zealand  was  promptlv 
on  hand  with  Bible  and  hymn  book. 
Standing'  fully  six  feet,  straight  and  slen- 
der, in  faltering  voice  he  announced  his 
hymn  commencing, 

"  0,  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 
My  great  Redeemer's  praise," 

followed  by  the  request:  "  Will  some 
brother  start  the  tune?"  But  alas!  no 
brother  was  present,  and  no  outsider 
volunteered,  so  the  singing  had  to  bo 
abandoned,  and  prayer  followed  next.  But 
there  were  too  man}'  inopportune  ''Amens  " 
and  "  bless  Gods,"  to  suit  his  invocation. 
He  then  announced  his  text:  "  Walk  about 
Zion,  mark  well  her  bulwarks,  and  tell  the 
towers  thereof."  But  the  fellows  felt  more 
like  walking  about  Morris,  finding  the 
saloons  and  testing  the  whisky  thereof, 
and  hence  they  kept  interjecting:  "  It's 
time  to  splice  the  main  brace,"  "Cat  him 
short,  young  fellow";  "We  are  all  get- 
ting dry,"  etc.  He  did  cut  it  short,  and 
dismissed  his  hearers,  or  such  of  them  as 
had  not  already  gone,  without  the  bene- 
diction. Bro.  Ilumphrej'  was  very  much 
discouraged.  Tiiis,  we  believe,  was  his 
last  effort  at  missionary  work — certainly  it 


:;aO 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COTTXTY. 


was  liis  last  effort  among  the  heatlien  of 
Morris.  What  his  report  was  to  the  church 
we  were  never  able  to  leariu  but  doubt  not 
that  it  was  graphic,  if  not  glowing.  About 
tills  time  the  Rev.  "W.  S.  Strong,  a  lead- 
ing minister  of  the  Protestant  Methodist 
Church,  was  en  route  for  Joliet  from  Prince- 
ton, 111.,  and  traveled  overland  in  his  own 
conveyance,  and  reached  Morris  in  tlie 
evening,  and  stayed  over  night  with  us.  We 
had  heard  liim  preach  many  times  in  Put- 
nam County,  111.,  and  knew  hiin  to  be  a 
man  of  towering  aijility.  Before  leaving 
liere  we  got  his  promise  to  preach  for  us  at 
the  court  house  on  his  return  trip.  Due 
notice  was  given  of  the  time  and  place  of 
the  meeting,  and  when  the  time  came,  the 
court  house  was  crowded.  But  when,  in- 
stead of  a  gawky  looking  young  fledgling, 
a  man  of  giant  size,  middle  age,  and  com- 
manding presence,  rose,  and  with  a  fine, 
full  voice  read  his  hymn,  and  asked  the 
congregation  to  lielp  hiin  sing,  all  mirth 
was  hushed,  and  a  profound  stillness,  if  nut 
awe,  settled  over  the  audience.  Indeed, 
if  any  there  were  "  who  came  to  scofi'"  (and 
there  doubtless  were  many  such),  "  they 
remained  to  pray."  From  this  time  on 
there  were  no  efforts  made  to  inteiTupt  re- 
ligious services  in  Morris. 

The  next  Methodist  preacher  to  try  his 
hand  was  Alonzo  Kenyon,  also  of  the 
South  Ottawa  circuit.  lie  succeeded  in 
organizing  a  class,  and  preached  in  the 
court  house  once  a  month  for  several 
months.  lie  was,  or  is,  for  he  is  still  liv- 
ing, a  man  for  whom  nature  did  much,  but 
illiterate.  He  abandoned  the  pulpit,  went 
to  California,  made  some  monej'  and  then 
turned  lawyer  and  went  to  the  Legislature 
from  Lee  County,  111.,  and    afterward   was 


elected  judge  of  tlie  city  court  of  Amboy, 
Illinois. 

In  the  summer  of  lSi6  Hev.  Janie? 
Langhead,  deceased,  a  Congregational  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel,  commenced  to  ])re;ich 
at  the  court  house — a  man  of  fair  ability 
and  practical  common  sense.  He  con- 
tinued to  preach  about  twice  a  month  for 
some  time.  The  canal  was  finished  in 
1848,  when  a  better  class  of  people  took  the 
place  of  the  canal  laborers.  In  July,  ISAS, 
a  society  of  nine  members  was  formed, 
known  as  the  "  Congregational  Society," 
yet  its  membership  was  composed  of  other 
Protestant  denominations,  Presbyterian, 
Methodist  and  Baptist.  The  organization 
of  the  Congregational  Society  was  of  the 
most  liberal  character  and  upon  an  accom- 
modating plan.  It  was  only  intended  for 
temporary  purposes,  and  left  its  members 
free  to  unite  with  an  organization  of  their 
own  churches  when  formed.  Thus  did 
Mr.  Langhead  organize  the  first  Protestant 
cliurch  society  in  Morris.  He  became  the 
pastor  and  moved  his  family  to  Morris, 
where  he  died  some  years  later  leaving  a 
widow,  since  deceased,  and  a  daughter, 
now  Mrs.  L.  Whitney.  We  are  not  sure 
whether  his  son  Storrs  was  killed  in  the 
armj^  before  or  after  Jiis  death. 

About  the  year  ISoO  this  society  erected 
a  small  church  edifice  just  nortii  of  the 
present  fine  stone  church,  and  called  Rev. 
A.  W.Henderson,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
as  its  preacher.  Tlius  we  had  the  anomaly 
of  a  Congregational  church  with  a  Presby- 
terian pastor,  for  several  years.  Mr.  Hen- 
derson finally  resigned  his  position  and 
accepted  a  call  elsewhere.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  E.  B.  Turner.  This  society 
has  for  its  pastor  Rev.  Montgomery,  one  of 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


251 


the  very  ablest  men  ever  in  the  ministry 
here,  and  embraces  in  its  membership  a 
lar<re  iiumljer  of  our  best  and  most  influen- 
tial citizens.  lu  the  short  space  we  can 
possiblj'  give  to  the  diiferent  churches  of 
Morris,  we  can  not  take  time  to  consult  the 
church  records  and  must  speak  of  them  iu 
a  general  way  only,  and  will  not  attempt  to 
give  the  names  of  the  various  good  men 
who  have  endeavored  to  point  the  way  to 
heaven  and  God. 

TnE    METHODIST  CHCKCrr. 

Following  close  upon  the  CoTigregational 
church  came  the  Methodist  church  edifice, 
on  the  corner  of  Jetfersoii  and  Iviersted 
streets,  now  occupied  by  the  Reformed 
Lutheran  church.  In  1849  Morris  was  at- 
tached or  united  with  Lisbon,  nine  miles 
north  of  Morris,  as  a  circuit,  with  liev.  J. 
W.  Flawers — afterward  a  presiding  elder — 
as  the  minister  in  charge.  He  was  a  man 
of  fine  forensic  ability  and  a  good  organizer. 
Under  his  able  management  the  member- 
ship increased  so  rapidly  that  in  1850  steps 
were  taken  to  erect  a  church.  This  was 
pressed  to  speedy  completion  and  was  at 
the  time  of  its  erection  the  most  spacious 
cliurch  building  of  the  place.  Morris  was 
established  as  a  station  or  circuit  in  Au- 
gust, LS50, with  a  settled  minister.  We  do 
not  remember  the  order  of  the  Methodist 
ministers,  but  the  early  ones  were  Denning, 
Linn,  Adams,  Prince,  Davidson,  Reeder, 
Stover,  etc.  This  society  grew  to  such  pro- 
portions that  before  the  year  1868  their 
church  was  too  small,  when  steps  were 
taken  to  erect  their  present  line  church  on 
Jackson  between  Liberty  and  Wauponsee 
streets,  which  is  the  most  commodious 
church  edifice  in  Morris,  except  that  of  the 


Catholics,  and  its  membership  is  much 
larger  than  either  of  the  other  Protestant 
churches  of  Morris.  Among  its  many 
pastors  some  were  men  of  fine  pulpit  talent. 
Notably  so  were  Revs.  "W.  P.  Gray,  J.  W. 
Phelps,  J.  IL  Ailing  and  Geo.  S.  Young. 
As  a  popular  preacher  none  liave  surpassed 
Mr.  Young.  The  management  of  this 
church  has  been  liberal,  indeed.  Li  point  of 
courtesy  and  Christian  fellowship  the  minis- 
ters and  members  of  the  various  Protestant 
churches  of  this  city  have  been  a  model, 
well  worthy  of  imitation  and  commenda- 
tion. No  spirit  of  jealousy  or  improper 
rivalry  has  ever  existed  among  them,  and 
when  the  Methodist  church  was  partially 
burned  a  few  years  ago,  the  other  churches 
so  arranged  their  services  as  to  give  that 
congregation  the  free  use  of  their  churches 
to  hold  their  regular  worship  in,  thus  man- 
ifesting a  beautiful  Christian  spirit  of  kind- 
ness and  good  will. 

THE    PEESBYTEEIAX    CUCECn. 

As  early  as  1855  a  goodly  number  of 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  ftvith  had 
settled  here,  and  in  that  year  they  extend- 
ed a  call  to  Rev.  W.  T.  Patcrfield,  who 
then  resided  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  He 
came  here  and  held  services  at  the  court 
house,  Parmelee  Hall  and  other  places. 
Lnmediate  steps  were  taken  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  first  brick  church  of  Morris, 
now  standing  at  the  corner  of  Jackson 
and  Franklin  streets,  of  which  Rev.  Mr. 
Killen  is  the  present  pastor.  This  congre- 
gation embraces  quite  a  membership,  and 
its  pulpit  has  been  filled  by  many  able 
men,  none  more  so  than  the  Rev.  McLeod, 
now  in  charge  of  a  wealthy  church  in  the 
State  of  New  York. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


THE    BAPTIST    CUUECH 

is  a  line  frame  edifice  also  on  Jack- 
son street,  at  tlie  intersection  of  Division 
street,  and  was  erected  about  tlieyear  1S58. 
Tills  denomination  is  ratlier  smaller  in 
numbers  than  eitlier  of  the  others  men- 
tioned, yet  it  contains  many  of  our  good 
citizens.  Their  pulpit  has  been  supplied 
by  several  men  of  talent,  among  whom 
were  Revs.  Faslett  and  De  "Wolfe. 

THE  GERMAN  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 

purchased  and  occupy  the  old  Methodist 
church  building.  They  have  but  a  small 
following,  but  are  good  people  and  devout 
Christians. 

THE    EPISCOPALIANS 

have  made  many  eflforts  to  build  a 
church,  but  have  failed.  At  one  time  they 
seemed  in  a  fair  way  to  build  a  fine  stone 
edifice  on  the  coi'ner  of  North  and  Divis- 
ion streets.  This  was  commenced  at  the 
breaking  out  of  tlie  war.  The  walls  were 
run  up  one  story  and  work  was  then 
stopped  and  has  not  since  been  resumed. 
Notwithstanding  tliey  never  had  a  cluircli 
edifice  here,  yet  liave  they  had  regular 
service  during  several  years.  Some  of  the 
clergymen  olficiating  here  have  gained 
reputations  elsewliere.  Among  tliem  are 
Doctor  Clinton  Locke,  of  Grace  Church, 
Chicago,  Doctors  E.  A.  Gilbert,  Benedict, 
etc. 

We  now  turn  to  the 

DOCTORS,  OR   PHTSICIANS. 

Dr.  Lnther  S.  Eobbins,  before  mentioned, 
was  not  only  the  first  physician  of  the 
county,  but  also  of  Morris.  He  moved  to 
Morris   from    Sulpluir  Spring  some  eight 


miles  south  of  Morris,  in  the  fall  of  1842, 
and  died  here  a  j'ear  or  so  later.  Dr.  S  las 
Miller  was  the  next  one.  He  settled  here 
in  1843,  but  found  the  place  too  pain- 
fully healthy-  for  his  financial  prosperity. 
Dr.  John  Antis  was  the  next.  He  cnnie 
here  in  Miiy,  1845.  Dr.  Tliomas  M.  Heed 
was  the  next.  He  moved  here  from  Wau- 
pecan  Grove,  south  of  the  Illinois  River, 
and  was  elected  sheriiT  in  1847,  and  died 
here  before  qualifying  as  sheriff.  Dr.  A.  F. 
Hand  was  our  next  disciple  of  the  pill  bags. 
Drs.  David  Edwards  and  Oliver  S.  JSTewell 
came  next  and  at  about  the  same  time. 
Dr.  Edwards  was  well  advanced  in  3'ears, 
and  did  but  little  in  his  profession.  Dr. 
Newell  entered  into  partnership  with  Dr. 
Hand.  He  was  a  fine  physician  and  most 
estimable  citizen.  He  was  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Star  Lodge  No.  75,  L  O.  O.  F.,  and 
its  first  presiding  officer.  He  died  in  1852 
and  was  buried  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  lot  in 
Morris  cemetery.  His  death  was  very  gen- 
erally lamented.  Dr.  Edwards  left  here 
some  time  about  185(5,  when  Dr.  Luke  Hale 
purchased  his  property  here,  and  practiced 
medicine  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in 
1865.  Dr.  B.  E.  Dodson  came  here  about 
the  year  1850  and  remained  several  years, 
and  then  moved  to  Elgin;  thence  to  Mc- 
Leansville,  where  he  died  a  few  years  ago. 
Dr.  Roscoe  L.  Hale,  son  of  Luke  Hale, 
came  here  about  the  year  1858,  and  re- 
mained here  imtil  after  the  war,  and  then 
moved  to  Sedalia,  Mo.,  where  he  still  re- 
sides. Dr.  H.  H.  De  Hart  came  here  in 
1852,  soon  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Newell, 
and  went  into  partnership  with  Dr.  Hand, 
l)ut  he  soon  became  tired  of  so  small  a  town 
and  left.  Dr.  David  Le  Roy,  a  man  of  some 
means,   now  living  at  Streator,  111.,  came 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


253 


here  about  tlie  year  1855,  and  entered  into 
partnorsliip  with  Dr.  ILmd.  IIo  soon  em- 
barked in  tiic  dry  goods  business  quite  ex- 
tensively witii  E.  B.  Ilanna,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Ilanna  &  Le  Roy.  Tliey  built  the 
brick  store  building  on  Washington  street, 
now  occupied  by  Messrs.  Levitte  &  Hughes 
as  a  saloon.  They  afterward  built  the  large 
brick  block  now  occupied  by  the  Normal 
school,  besides  speculating  in  real  estate  to  a 
considerable  extent.  They  had  just  com- 
pleted this  large  building  when  the  war  broke 
out,  in  ISGl.  But  as  the  war  paralyzed 
business,  for  a  while  at  least,  they  were  un- 
able to  rent  the  stores  to  any  advantage,  or 
to  make  an}'  disposition  of  any  part  of  this 
immense  building,  so  as  to  realize  from  it; 
together  with  other  bad  investments,  they 
were  forced  to  suspend  business  and  make 
the  best  compromise  they  conld  with  their 
creditors.  Their  failure  was  a  severe  blow 
to  the  interests  of  Morris,  for  they  were  our 
most  active  and  influential  business  men. 
Their  home  creditors  were  protected.  Our 
next  physician  was  Dr.  John  K.  Freeman, 
who  came  here  about  the  year  1857,  and 
remained  some  ten  years,  and  moved  to 
Rochester,  N.  Y.  Dr.  E.  Ridgway  came 
here  soon  after  Dr.  Freeman,  and  went  into 
the  drug  store  of  Longworth  &  Ridgway- 
In  1862,  he  entered  the  army  as  surgeon  in 
the  76tli  111.  Yols.,  and  on  his  return  lie 
opened  an  ofBce  and  entered  into  active 
practice,  but  lias  again  gone  into  the  drug 
business  with  Mr.  Enslee,  the  firm  being 
Ridgway  &  Enslee.  Dr.  A.  E.  Palmer 
came  here  from  Mazon  in  1870,  and  opened 
an  ofiice,  since  which  time  he  has  had  a 
very  large  and  lucrative  practice.  Dr. 
Oaks,  his  present  partner,  came  here  from 
Minooka  this  summer.     Dr.  S.  D.  Fergu- 


son came  here  from  Minooka  some  two 
years  ago,  and  has  a  fair  practice.  He  had 
practiced  at  Minooka  man^'  years  before 
coming  here.  These  are  all  allopathies.  Dr. 
Antis  turned  homeopathic  in  18-17,  but 
has  not  cojifined  his  practice  to  that  branch 
of  physics.  Dr.  A.  M.  Pierce  and  Dr.  Stur- 
tevant  are  homeopaths,  with  a  fair  practice. 
And  now,  "since  the  law  is  full  of  points, 
we  will  turn  to  the  points  of  the  law,"  and 
briefly  mention  the 

LAWYERS  OF  MORRIS. 

The  first  was  E.  H.  Little,  who  came 
here  and  opened  an  oflice  in  one  of  the 
little  upper  rooms  of  the  old  court  house, 
in  the  spring  of  1845.  He  accidentally 
shot  himself  while  gunning  near  the  resi- 
dence of  A.  R.  Newport,  in  July,  1817.  A 
whole  charge  of  small  shot  passed  through 
his  left  arm,  passed  into  iiis  body,  and 
lodged  in  his  lungs.  For  all  this  he  lived, 
and  was  still  living  at  Montrose,  Pa.,  a 
short  time  since.  He  was  a  young  man  of 
good  habits  and  character,  with  fair  abilitv. 
Charles  M.  Lee  read  law  with  Mr.  Little, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1817.  Hon- 
est and  upright,  but  by  no  means  brilliant, 
he  succeeded  in  finding  out  that  the  '■^  Law 
and  the  Profits  did  not  agree,"  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  so  he  gave  it  up  and  turned  ped- 
dler for  Geo.  Turmeyer.  The  gallant  Capt. 
W.  P.  Rogers,  son  of  Com.  Rogers,  came 
here  and  stuck  out  his  shingle  in  the  spring 
of  1817,  but  only  remained  a  year,  and 
then  went  to  California,  where  he  built  up 
a  name  and  fame  worthy  of  his  distin- 
guished father.  Ezra  P.  Seeley  was  our 
next  limb  of  the  law.  He  was  decidedly  a 
bookworm,  and  well  learned  in  the  law. 
As  an  advocate  he  was  not  successful.     He 


2ri4 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


died,  we  think,  in  1802,  leaving  a  widow 
and  two  daiigliters,  still  living  in  Morris. 
Capt.  Charles  L.  Starbuck  was  onr  next 
disciple  of  Blackstone.  He  came  here  in 
1851,  and  died  about  the  year  1857,  leav- 
ing a  widow  and  two  children.  lie  served 
one  term  in  the  Legislature  from  Grundy 
and  La  Salle.  A  small,  dark  complexioned, 
wiry  man,  of  iine  legal  and  forensic  abil- 
ity. Keiiry  Storr  came  here  about  the 
same  time  Capt.  Starbuck  did.  He  was 
elected  the  tirst  county  judge,  and  re- 
signed in  1851,  and  moved  to  Sacramento, 
Cal.,  where  he  still  lives,  and  is  a  promi- 
nent California  lawyer.  Judge  W.  T. 
Hopkins  came  here  from  Maine  in  18i9, 
and  has  remained  here.  He  was  elected 
captain  of  the  "  Grundy  Tigers  "  in  1861, 
and  served  out  the  terra  of  enlistment,  and 
on  his  return  he  was  elected  county  judge. 
He  was  afterward  appointed  supervisoi'  of 
internal  res'enue — a  man  of  great  energy 
and  fine  scholastic  acquirements.  He  built 
the  Hopkins  House  which  bears  his  name. 
He  also  first  conceived  the  idea  of  a  bridge 
across  the  Illinois  River  at  this  place.  He 
procured  a  charter  from  the  Legislature 
Feb.  13,  1855,  to  incorporate  the  ^forris 
Bridge  Company,  with  W.  T.  Hopkins,  L. 
W.  Clay])ool,  Samuel  Hoge,  Geo.  W. 
Armstrong  and  E.  P.  Seeley,  incorpo- 
rators, and  inaugurated  steps  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  present  bridge.  Messrs. 
Hoge  and  Seeley  did  nothing  in  the  matter. 
But  Messrs.  Hopkins,  Claypool  and  Arm- 
strong took  hold  of  the  matter  and  pushed 
it  forward  to  completion  in  1856.  Mr.  Arm- 
strong, we  believe,  was  made  president  of 
tlie  organization,  and  Mr.  Claypool,  secre- 
tary. Judge  Hopkins  is  now,  by  man}' 
years,   the  earliest  lawyer  at   our  bar.     He 


served  one  term  in  the  Legislature.  Judge 
James  N.  Heading  was  the  next  lawyer 
here.  He  came  from  Missouri  in  1855. 
He  too  served  one  term  in  our  State  Legis- 
lature and  two  terras  as  county  judge— a 
gentleman  of  finish  and  ability.  Being  ad- 
vanced in  3'ears,  he  has  practically  with- 
drawn from  the  profession.  Judge  Sidney 
W.  Harris  came  here  from  Cincinnati,  O., 
about  the  time  Judge  Reading  came.  He 
was  a  fine  lawyer  and  powerful  advocate, 
and  was  elected  judge  of  the  circuit  court 
in  1861,  and  died  iiere  about  the  year  1869. 

Edward  Sanford  read  law  here  with  Mr. 
Seeley  and  entered  into  partnership  with 
that  gentleman.  After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Seeley,  Mr.  Sanford  opened  an  office  and 
turned  his  attention  more  especially  to  boun- 
ty and  pension  claims,  and  then  to  the  loan 
business,  in  the  latter  of  which  he  has  had 
great  success,  and  has  acquired  a  handsome 
fortune. 

Geo.  W.  Watson,  John  P.  Southworth, 
T.  B.  Rice  and  Charles  Turner  all  came 
here  before  1860,  and  after  remaining  here 
awhile  left.  Judge  B.  ^Olin  came  here 
in  1863,  and  in  1865  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  the  writer  under  the  firm  name 
of  Olin  &  Armstrong.  He  left  here  in 
1870  and  located  in  Joliet,  where  he  has 
served  nearly  nine  years  as  county  judge. 
Judge  A.  R.  Jordan  read  law  with  Judge 
Olin,  and  was  admitted  in  1865.  Next 
to  the  writer,  he  is  the  next  lawyer  in  point 
of  time  at  the  Morris  bar.  Messrs.  S.  C. 
Stough,  A.  L.  Doud,  county  attorney,  R. 
M.  Wing  (his  partner),  S.  P.  Avery,  O.  N. 
Carter  and  J.  H.  Sampson  are  of  recent 
date.  Judge  C.  Grant  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1861,  and  died  here  January  10, 
1881.     He  was  a  very  scholarly  man  and 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


255 


had  served  one  term  as  county  judge  and 
many  years  as  register  in  bankruptcy. 
Leaving  the  lawyers  to  plead  their  own 
cases,  we  "  go  for  tlie  " 

MEECHANTS. 

As  early  as  184.5  Col.  AVm.  L.  Perce  and 
Adam  Lamb  eacli  had  a  small  stock  of 
goods  for  the  accommodation  of  their  canal 
hands.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  P.  A. 
Armstrong  opened  a  general  store  in  what 
had  ijeen  the  bar-room  of  the  Grundy  Ho- 
tel, which  then  stood  where  the  Hopkins 
House  now  stands.  He  purchased  the 
stocks  of  goods  from  Col.  Perce  and  Mr. 
Lamb,  and  united  them  to  his  other  stock, 
and  not  having  room  in  his  tiien  store- 
room, he  built  the  main  part  of  Dr. 
Hand's  residence  for  a  store,  and  occupied 
it  for  a  couple  of  years  for  a  store  and 
post-oiBce.  Gov.  Mattison  having  opened 
a  store  in  the  Harvey  building,  whicli 
stood  where  the  Washington  House  now 
stands,  after  operating  it  about  a  year  with 
Henry  Fish,  manager,  and,  we  believe, 
partner,  Mr.  Armstrong  bought  out  the 
goods  and  moved  his  store  to  that  building 
in  184:7.  He  then  built  the  building  now 
occupied  by  E.  Petty,  then  located  where 
the  Geo.  M.  Jones  furniture  store  stands, 
and  moved  his  st'ire  and  post-office  to  that 
building.  In  1848  Messrs.  Hulburd  & 
Lott  opened  a  dry-goods  store  here.  John 
P.  Clia])in  and  0.  H.  Gould  opened  a  dry- 
goods  store  in  the  Harvey  block  when  Mr. 
A.  left  it.  But  we  find  that  we  have  un- 
dertaken a  herculean  task  and  will  trace 
this  branch  no  further. 

OTJE   FIRST    WAKEnOUSE. 

"What  is  known  as  the  Lane  "Warehouse, 
just  west  of  the  canal  bridge,  was  built  by 


Joiin  P.  Chapiu  in  1S47,  ready  for  the 
opening  of  the  canal  in  1848.  Capt.  Hull 
also  built  the  warehouse  now  occupied  by 
Messrs.  Parr  &  Piiilips  in  the  early 
spring  of  1848.  E.  M.  Poss  built  what  is 
known  as  the  Ped  "Warehouse  in  1840. 

OUR   FIKST   GllOCER 

was  Leonard  Ashton,  deceased.  Our 
next,  and,  as  Saniie  Peinhart  would  say, 
"old  reliable,"  was  Miller  K.  Keller,  who 
has  sold  more  groceries  than  any  man, 
living  or  dead — in  Morris.  For  a  quarter 
of  a  century  he  has  been  behind  his  coun- 
ter froua  early  morn  until  late  at  night, 
always  accommodating,  pleasant,  and 
strictly  honest.  He  has  been  a  great  bless- 
ing to  the  poor  and  a  comfort  to  the  rich. 
Indeed,  so  absorbed  is  lie  in  his  busine-;s 
that  he  finds  no  time  for  ])loasure  trips  or 
recreation.  II.  F.  Mallory  has  been  very 
successful  in  the  grocery  line  and  has  ac- 
cumulated quite  a  fortune  at  it.  Our  ar- 
ticle is  assuming  such  length  that  we  must 
pass  on  without  further  mention  of  our 
merchants. 

IN    BANKS  AND    BANKING 

we  have  had  a  varied  and  by  no  means  a 
pleasant  experience.  As  early  as  1S.>3 
Messrs.  C.  H.  &  H.  C.  Gool !  opened  a  pri- 
vate l)anking  institution  in  a  building 
standing  where  the  Claypool  Plock  now 
stands.  This  they  ran  until  18G0  when 
they  closed  it.  They  did  not  fail,  hut 
the  business  ceased  to  be  remunerative. 
In  1854  Geo.  Selleck  (deed.)  opened  a  pri- 
vate banking  and  exchange  office  in  Morris 
and  did  a  very  large  business,  but  failed 
badly  in  1860.  In  July,  3857,  E.  "W.  &  F. 
K.  Hulburd  opened  a  private  banking  and 
exchange  office  under  the  firm  name  of  E. 


256 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


W.  Ilulburd  &  Co.  They  too  did  quite  a 
business,  but  were  forced  to  the  wall  in  ISGl 
to  the  injury  of  their  friends  as  well  as 
others,  la  1S5S  Messrs.  F.  S.  Gardner  and 
C.  B.  Crumb,  without  cajntal  or  experience, 
opened  a  banking  and  exchange  office,  but 
it  was  "no  go."  Weak  at  its  birth,  it  did 
not  grow  strong,  and  died  in  a  few  short 
months.  Nobody  had  confidence  in  the 
concern,  hence  their  deposits  amounted  to 
nothing  or  substantially  so.  We  never  held 
tlicir  checks  ovor  night.  The  next  were 
T.  riatten  &  Son,  who  succeeded  C.  H.  & 
11.  C.  Goold,  in  February,  1860,  and  failed 
the  next  year  leaving  many  mourners. 
Then  came  D.  U.  Spencer,  of  State  Savings 
notoriety,  who  in  company  with  Mr.  W.  C. 
Ilammell  opened  an  exchange  and  deposit 
bank,  which  eventuated  in  the  Grundy 
County  National  Bank.  The  bank  opened 
a  branch  bank  at  Seneca,  tlie  stock  of  which 
was  purchased  by  the  Cnnneas  and  the 
bank  moved  to  Morris  under  the  name  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Morris.  These 
two  banks  proved  to  be  "  solid  Muldoons." 
From  banks  we  turn  to 

GRAVETAEDS. 

For  inanj' years  the  question  of  a  suita- 
ble spot  for  cemeteries  was  a  serious  one. 
Our  first  dead  were  interred  on  the  ele- 
vated ground  near  the  residence  of  R.  M. 
Wing,  but  the  subsoil  proved  to  be  clay, 
and  the  graves  would  fill  with  water  so 
that  the,  coffin  was  deposited  in  mud  and 
water.  We  next  tried  the  bank  of  Nettle 
Creek  near  the  residence  of  Judge  Hopkins, 
but  found  the  same  difficulty  there.  An- 
other attempt  was  made  on  the  A.  W. 
Telfer  farm,  late  Oliver  farm,  west  of  the 
canal  and  east  of  MoiTis,  with  like   result. 


The  board  of  trustees  of  Morris  then  pur- 
cliased,  in  conjunction  with  Father  Terry, 
of  the  Catholic  church  of  Morris,  the  E.  ^ 
of  the  S.  W.  i  of  Sec.  27,  T.  3-4,  7,  where  the 
old  Catholic  cemetery  is  located,  but  the 
same  difficulty  was  found  there  and  it  was 
abandoned  by  the  city  and  their  interest 
therein  was  sold,  as  before  shown,  to  Father, 
now  Dean,  Terry  in  185.3.  He  located  a 
cemetery  there  but  it  has  been  abandoned 
and  the  greater  portion  of  the  remains 
deposited  there  have  been  exhumed  and 
reburied  in  the  beautiful  new  Catholic 
cemetery  near  the  residence  of  Messrs. 
Kennedy  and  Kenrick.  On  the  12th  of 
February,  1853,  The  Morris  Cemetery 
Association  was  chartered  by  the  Legis- 
lature with  Geo.  Fisher,  Geo.  W.  Lane, 
Charles  H.  Goold,  L.  P.  Lott  and  Eugene 
Stan  berry,  incorporators. 

On  the  25th  of  August  of  that  year  this 
association  purchased  from  Thomas  Pea- 
cock, since  deceased,  about  five  acres,  and 
from  John  Peacock,  now  deceased,  about 
five  acres  of  land,  on  the  N.  fr.  of  Sec.  2,  T. 
33,  II.  7,  lying  nearly  two  miles  east  of 
Morris,  and  adjoining  each  other,  for  a 
cemetery,  and  on  the  14th  of  September  fol- 
lowing, authorized  and  appointed  P.  A. 
Armstrons  to  survev  and  subdivide  said 
land  into  suitable  sized  lots  with  apjjropri- 
ate  drives,  allej-s,  etc.  Owing  to  the  course 
of  the  public  road  running  along  the  north 
side  of  the  land,  the  ten  acres  so  purchased, 
while  a  parallelogram  in  shape,  the  long 
side  being  from  east  to  west,  it  does  not  lie 
with  the  cardinal  courses  of  the  compass, 
hence  there  are  many  triangular  lots,  but 
this  adds  beauty  to  the  general  features  of 
the  cemetery.  The  subsoil  is  gravel, 
whilst  the  general  lay  of  the  surface  is  high 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


257 


yet  muhilatiiig.  The  work  of  subilividiiii^ 
and  driving  the  stakes  was  done  witli 
great  care  and  precision,  Mr.  Armstrong 
driving  every  stake  with  his  own  hands,  to 
the  end  that  they  should  be  in  tlieir  exact 
place,  and  driven  in  the  ground  peqjendic- 
ularly.  Originally'  free  from  tree  or  shiiib, 
the  directors  caused  evergreens  and  other 
nice  slirubs  and  trees  to  be  jilanted  so  that 
it  is  now  a  most  beautiful  "silent  city  of  the 
dead."  Additional  land  has  been  purchasetl 
by  the  association.  "  God's  half  acre,"  the 
Potter's  tielil,  has  ])roved  insulKcietit  to  bury 
the  poor.  The  number  of  unknown  dead 
huddled  side  by  side  with  naught  but  a 
rough  unlettered  stone  to  niai-k  the  place 
is  surprising.  A  new  and  larger  plat  will 
be  assigned  to  bury  the  poor.  Many  line 
monuments  have  been  erected  there,  and  the 
Morris  cemetery  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
country.  Among  other  distinguished  dead 
slumbering  here,  is  Shaube-nay,  the  great 
Sauzanath,  or  white  man's  friend.  By  liis 
side  lie  the  remains  of  his  wife,  one  daugh- 
ter and  one  grandchild.  No  stake  or  stone' 
marks  the  spot  where  slumber  the  remains 
of  this  once  mighty  king  of  the  red  men — 
%  triple  chief — on  whose  will  hung  the 
destinies  of  three  great  Indian  tribes — Chip- 
pewas,  Ottawas  and  Pottawatomies.  AVill 
the  descendants  of  these  early  white  settlers, 
whose  lives  were  saved  during  the  Black 
Hawk  War,  do  anything  to  honor  the  mem- 
ory of  the  man  who  ri.-ked  life  and  stand- 
ing with  ills  own  people  to  befriend  and 
protect  their  ancestors?  But  this  is  a  grave 
question  and  we  turn  to 

OUE  MANUFACTURERS. 

The  first    manufacturing   establishment 
of  Morris  was  the  Morris  Plow  Factory,  in 


1857.  They  made  an  excellent  ])low,  and 
why  it  was  abandoned  we  never  could 
learn.  The  large  brick  building  west  of 
the  court  liouse,  now  carried  on  by  II.  L. 
Miller  as  a  blacksmith  and  carria^^e  shop, 
planing  mill,  etc.,  was  the  building  occu- 
])ied  as  the  plow  factory.  In  1873,  the 
city  gave  a  bonus  to  encourage  manufact 
ures.  There  were  some  $19,000  invested 
by  the  city  within  a  couple  of  years  which 
eventuated  in  the  establishment  here  of 
the  Sherwood  School  Furniture  Company's 
AYorks  near  the  canal  on  the  west  side  of 
the  city,  wliieh  has  since  been  converted 
into  the  (^hio  Butt  Company.  The  build- 
ings and  macliiner}'  of  this  concern  ai'e 
large  and  valuable  and  give  emiiloynient 
to  about  1.3<i  hands.  The  Anderson  Paper 
Car  Wheel  Manufacturing  Company  on  the 
east  side  of  the  city,  have  tiije  buildings 
and  splendid  machinery,  and  while  they  do 
not  em])loy  many  hands  to  run  it  because 
nearly  everything  is  run  by  machinery,  yet 
they  furnish  a  ready  market  at  a  high  pi-ice 
for  all  the  rye  and  oat  straw  of  the  county. 
The  Morris  Cutlery  Company's  Manu- 
factory stands  at  the  corner  of  Wauponsee 
and  Fulton  streets.  The  building  is  the 
one  mentioned  as  being  used  for  a  court 
room. while  building  the  new  one.  This  is  a 
new  enterprise  here;  indeed,  but  few  of  the 
people  of  Grundy  County  know  of  its  exist- 
ence. It  is  a  regularly  incorporated  com- 
piny  under  the  statute  with  $1."),000  cajji- 
tal  stock.  The  stockholders  are  men  of 
action,  not  of  boasting.  They  are  practical 
business  men  with  means  and  energv. 
M.  W.  Steiner,  Geo.  Riddle,  L.  F.  Beach, 
Drs.  Palmer  and  Ferguson,  M.  K.  Keller, 
J.  II.  Pettit,  A.  W.  Crawibrd,  Albert  ami 
William  Smith,  are  the   stoekho'.de.'s,  the 


258 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


latter  two  being  thoronglily  educated  cut- 
lers from  Sheffield,  England.  The  officers 
are  Geo.  lliildle,  president,  Albert  Smith, 
superintendent,  and  M.  W.  Steiner,  secre- 
tary and  treasui'er.  Tiiey  have  the  very 
best  of  macliinery,  and  can  employ  and  suc- 
cessfully operate  1.50  hands.  They  already 
hare  twenty-one  skilled  laborers  in  their  es- 
tablishment, and  have  ny>  to  the  present 
manufactured  eighty-four  varieties  or  kinds 
ot  pocket  knives,  equal  in  style  and  finish 
to  the  celebrated  Wostenholm  and  Sons 
of  England.  No  better  finished  knife  is 
made  in  the  United  States,  if  indeed  in  the 
world,  than  by  the  Morris  Cutlery  Coiii- 
pany.  So  fine  is  their  work  that  they  have 
more  orders  than  they  can  possibly  fill  with 
the  force  of  workmen  they  now  have. 
They  employ  none  but  skilled  workmen, 
hence  they  e.xpei'ience  some  difficulty  in 
obtaining  all  the  workmen  tliey  need. 
They  intend  to  do  none  but  first  class 
work.  This  is  made  apparent  upon 
inspection  of  their  goods.  To  all  who  wish 
a  first  class  pocket-knife  either  for  orna- 
ment or  use,  we  commend  them  to  try  one 
of  home  manufacture.     Try  a  MoitIs  knife. 

IN   TOE    BKE^\T5Rr    LIXE. 

Louis  Gibhard,  at  his  lai-ge  brewery  at 
the  foot  of  Washington  street  on  the  east 
bank  of  Nettle  Creek,  manufactures  a  first 
class  article  of  lager  and  ale  and  in  large 
quantities. 

AVe  have  some  three  or  four  manufacto- 
ries of  cigars,  besides  boot  and  shoe  makers, 
etc. 

THE   MOREIS    ACADEilT   OF    SCIENCE 

occupy  the  room  over  the  court  house, 
where  they  have  a    large  collection,   espe- 


cially so  of  fossil  botany,  of  which  this  lo- 
cality is  the  most  prolific  of  any  yet  dis- 
covered in  the  civilized  world.  The  Mazon 
fossils  are  known  and  readil}^  recognized  in 
every  civilized  country.  This  fine  collec- 
tion is  open  to  insjiection  at  all  times. 
The  officers  are,  P.  A.  Armstrong,  presi- 
dent; F.  T.  Bliss,  secretary;  J.  C.  Carr, 
treasurer;  Prof  Kern,  corresponding  sec- 
retary. In  addition  to  the  fine  collections 
in  geology,  there  is  a  fair  display  in  nat- 
ural history,  engravings  and  pre-historic 
relics,  etc. 

OUR    SECRET   BENEVOLENT    SOCIETIES. 

Star  Lodge,  No.  75,  I.  0.  O.  F.  was  in- 
stituted by  the  late  James  T.  McDougal, 
of  Joliet,  under  a  dispensation  from  the  R. 
W.  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Illinois,  October  17,  1851.  L.  P.  Lott,  N. 
G.;  E.  M.  Ross,  V.  G.;  O.  S.  Newell,  de- 
ceased, T.,  and  A.  H.  Bishop,  also  deceased, 
secretary.  On  that  night  several  of  our 
best  citizens  were  initiated,  among  whom 
were  Geo.  W.  Lane,  Henry  Benjamin,  de- 
ceased, W.  S.  Woolsey,  deceased,  Miles 
Gordon  and  P.  A.  Armstrong.  This  lodee 
still  exists,  and  is  in  a  very  prosperous  con- 
dition. It  has  never  failed  to  hold  its  reg- 
ular weekly  meetings,  or  in  visiting  t'le 
sick,  comforting  its  widows,  educating  its 
orphans  or  burying  its  dead.  Shaboneh 
Encampment  was  organized  in  1S71,  with 
P.  A.  Armstrong,  C.  P.,  F.  B.  Handwork, 
H.  P.,  etc.  It,  too,  is  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition. 

Cedar  Lodge  No.  124,  A.  F.  and  A.  M., 
was  instituted  Feby.  20,  1852,  with  B.  M. 
Atherton,  W.  M.;  C.  L.  Starbnck,  S.  W.; 
John  Gibson,  J.  W.;  Geo.  Fisher,  T. ; 
James  Gibson,  sec'}';  Leonard  Ashton,  S. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


259 


1).;  anil  Lawrence  Wilkes.  J.  D. ;  all  of 
wlujin  are  now  dead,  except  James  Gibson 
who  now  resides  in  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
A  charter  was  granted  Oct.  3,  1S5.3;  L.  P. 
Lott  was  one  of  its  first  initiates,  and  has 
served  as  Master  over  a  dozen  years  in  all. 
Cedar  Lodge  embraces  in  its  membership 
a  very  large  portion  of  our  leading  citizens, 
and  has  been  a  prosperous  and  hurinonious 
organization. 

ORIENT    EOYAL  AECn  CHAPTER,  NO.  .31, 

was  constituted  Oct.  2.3,  18.56;  the  charter 
members  were  Franklin  K.  Ilnlburd,  L.  P. 
I.ott,  B.  M.  Atherton,  ^S'athan  B.  JJodson, 
E.  "W.  Lusk,  C.  P.  Parmelee,  Leonard  Ash- 
ton,  Geo.  Riddle  and  Geo  F"'islier;  of  these 
nine  charter  members,  Compaiiiuns  Lott, 
Dods'in,  Kiddle  and  Parmelee  alone  sur- 
vive. Companions  Ilnlburd  and  Lusk  lost 
their  lives  in  the  Union  service;  F.  K.  Ilnl- 
burd was  High  Priest  of  this  eha].)ter  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death;  since  that  time 
Messrs.  Lott,  Armstrong  and  Irons  have 
tilled  that  position,  Companion  Irons  beinir 
the  present  chief  officer.  Up  to  the  year 
1S5S  there  were  but  three  Commanderies 
of  Knights  Templar  in  this  State,  viz.: 
Apollo,  Xo.  1.  at  Chicago;  Belvidere,  Xo.  2, 
at  Alton,  and  Peoria,  No.  3,  at  Peoria.  F. 
K.  Ilnlburd  had  taken  the  orders  ofknight- 
liood  in  Mt.  Vernon  Commander}',  No.  1, 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Com- 
manderv  of  Ohio,  before  coming  here  to 
live.  E.  AV.  Lusk  bad  also  taken  the  or- 
ders in  Kalamazoo  Commandery,  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Commandery  of 
the  State  of  Jlichigan.  These  two  Sir 
Knights  conceived  the  idea  of  establishino- 
a  Commandery  at  Morris,  being  midway 
between  Jo'.ietand  Ottawa,  so  as  to  render 


the  chapters  of  these  two  cities  tril)utary  to 
the  Morris  Commandery;  but  there  were 
serious  difficulties  to  encounter;  it  either 
re(]uired  nine  Sir  Knights  ottlie  jurisdiction 
of  Illinois,  or  three  SirKnigiits  hailingfrom 
different  jurisdictions,  to  open  aCommand- 
erj^  for  work;  they  had  neither,  but  they 
had  tvvo  bailing  frc)m  other  jurisdictions, 
and  must  have  a  third;  this  they  obtained 
by  procuring  Rt.  Eminent  Sir  Ilosmer  A. 
Johnson,  of  Apollo,  No.  1,  and  since  R.  E. 
Grand  Commander  of  the  Grand  Com- 
mandery of  Illinois.  They  were  extremely 
anxious  to  keep  the  matter  a  pi'of'ound  se- 
cret from  the  resident  Sir  Knights  at  Joliet 
and  Ottawa,  at  both  of  which  ])Iaces  there 
were  a  fevv  Sir  Knights,  and  light  here 
another  difficulty  arose;  they  were  com- 
pelled under  the  rules  and  regulations  of 
the  Grand  Commandery,  to  obtain  the  con- 
sent and  recommendation  of  the  nearest 
Commandery;  this  was  Apollo  at  Chicago, 
of  which  some  of  the  Sir  Knights  of  Joliet 
were  members,  and  in  that  way  the  secret 
got  out,  and  immediate  steps  were  taken 
by  Sir  Knight  Nelson  D.  EHvood  and 
others,  of  Joliet,  to  counteract  and  check 
the  Morris  movement;  they,  with  equal 
secrecy,  prepared  a  petition  for  a  dispensa- 
tion to  open  and  organize  a  Commandery 
at  Joliet,  and  like  the  Morris  Sir  Knights, 
they,  too,  were  short  of  the  requisite  num- 
ber of  Sir  Knights  resident  there;  to  obvi- 
ate this  they  passed  b}'  Morris  and  went  to 
Ottawa  and  ])rocured  the  signatures  of  Sir 
Knights  Oliver  C.  Gray  and  J.  W.  Stone, 
and  then  procured  the  consent  and  recom- 
mendation of  Apollo  to  open  and  organ- 
ize a  Commandery  at  Joliet,  and  when  Sir 
Knight  Ilnlburd  presented  his  petition 
and   recommendation  for  a    Commandery 


260 


HISTORY  OF  GKUNDY  COUNTY. 


to  be  established  at  Morris,  to  Grand  Com- 
mander James  V.  L.  Claney,  on  tlie  ITtli 
of  Febrnary,  1858,  he  I'uund  Sir  Knight 
Eiwodd  there  witli  his  petition  in  favor  of 
Joliet;  the  secret  tiien  became  an  ojien  one; 
the  result  was  that  Grand  Commander 
Blane}'  decided  to  grant  a  dispensation  to 
both,  when  it  was  agreed  by  and  between 
Sir  Knights  Ehvood  and  Ilnlburd,  that  the 
former  should  take  precedence  in  number, 
and  the  latter  in  the  name  when  in  power 
of  the  decision  of  the  Grand  Commander. 
Sir  Knight  Hulburd  selected  Blaney  as  the 
name;  hence,  dispensations  were  granted 
on  the  same  day  to  open  and  organize 
Juliet  Commandery,  No.  4,  at  Joliet,  and 
Blaney,  No.  5,  at  Morris;  these  two  Coni- 
manderies  having  been  born  on  the  same 
day,  were  not  inaptly  called  twin  sisters; 
the  kindliest  feeling  has  ever  existed  be- 
tween these  Conimanderies;  a  rivalry  has 
existed  between  them,  but  it  has  only  been 
a  rivalry  of  courtesy'  and  good  will.  J(_iliet 
Commandery  was  constituted  by  Grand 
Commander  Blaney,  March  18,  1858,  and 
Blaney  on  the  following  day.  Grand  Com- 
mander Blaney  was  assisted  in  constitut- 
ing 

BLANEY  COMMANDERY,  NO.  5, 

by  the  following  Sir  Knights:  N.  T>. 
Ehvood  (deceased^  T.  Ilatton,  Jr.,  W.  W. 
Mitchell  (deceased),  E.  W.  Lusk  (deceased), 

E.  Wilco.x,  C.  E.    Munger   (since   G.    C), 

F.  K.  Hulburd,  E.  Bean,  James  H.  Miles, 
T.  Hatton,  Sr.,  and  E.  J.  Higgins.  On 
the  day  of  the  constitution  of  the  Com- 
mandery the  following  Companions  of  Ori- 
ent R.  A.,  Chapter  No.  31  received  theorders 
of  Christian  Knighthood  confei'red  in  said 
Commandery:  Geo.  Fisher  (deceased),  E. 
W.  Ilnlburd,  L.  P.  Lott,  P.  A.  Armstrong, 


AVm.  B.  Gi-enell,  J.  W.  Massey,  Charles 
II.  Goold,  Uriah  B.  Couch  (deceased),  Geo. 
Dimon,  Charles  R.  Parmelee,  John  Gib- 
son, Jr.  (dec-eased),  and  B.  M.  Atherton 
(deceased).  Sir  Knight  F.  HulburJ  was 
installed  as  Commander,  which  office  he 
held  to  1861,  when  P.  A.  Armstrong  suc- 
ceeded him.  He  was  succeeded  by  Arnold 
M.  Cleveland,  and  he  by  P.  A.  Armstrong 
again,  who  held  the  office  some  ten  years 
and  was  succeeded  by  Charles  H.  Goold, 
who  served  some  live  years  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  L.  F.  Beach,  present  Commander, 
who  is  on  his  third  year.  During  the  war 
Blaney  Commandery  (having  received  its 
charter  Oct.  28,  1858,  it  having  worked 
under  a  dispensation  up  to  tiiat  date)  had 
a  hard  strug'.fle  for  existence,  and  was  kept 
alive  by  a  few  of  the  surviving  Knights,  P. 
A.  Armstrong  advancing  Grand  Command- 
cry  dues  for  eight  years;  but  it  is  now  in 
a  very  prosperous  condition,  and  occupies  an 
enviable  position  in  Templar  Masonry. 
In  addition  to  those  receiving  the  orders 
March  19,  1858,  the  fallowing  named  Tem- 
plai's  received  the  orders  during  that  year, 
viz.:  N.  B.  Dodson,  April  26;  A.  M.  Cleve- 
land and  Wm.  Stanhope  (deceased),  April 
27;  Rev.  W.  G.  Johnson,  May  IS;  Miles 
Gordon,  May  28;  Gen.  "Wm.  IL  L.  Wallace 
(deceased),  June  1.  (It  will  l)e  remembered 
that  this  gallant  officer  lost  his  life  while 
leading  his  brigade  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh.) 
Hiram  IMallory  (dec'd)  and  Samuel  Jordan, 
June  8;  F.  C.  Mayo  and  J.  P.  M.  Butler, 
June  11;  J.  S.  Dyke  (dec'd),  June  30;  Joh 
Antis  and  A.  J.  Hutchinson,  Dec.  30;  and 
in  1859,  S.  E.  Massey,  March  7;  B.  H. 
Streeter  (dec'd),  J;iue  7;  in  1860,  E.  C.  Hol- 
lands, Aug.  29;  Rev.  Seaman  Stover,  after- 
ward Grand    Prelate,  Dec.    13;  C.    S.  C. 


fD 


•ijoi:^ 


-7^ 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


263 


Crane,  Dec.  20.  In  1861,  Q.  D.  Wliitniaii, 
S.  E.  Miner,  R.  N.  Goodsell  and  Daniel  H. 
Asliton,  Jan'y  29.  This  was  the  last  work 
done  until  1870.  E.  T.  Hopkins  (killed 
wliile  performing  his  official  duty,  l)j  tlie 
ruffian  Miller),  June  14;  II.  D.  Hitchcock 
(dec'd),  Oct.  31.  In  1871,  Geo.  W.  Ashton 
and  Ft.  L.  Tathani,  Felry  8;  H.  II.  Holt- 
zuni  and  A.  W.  Teller,  Feb'y  27;  Edward 
Sanford  and  H.  H.  0.  Miller,  May  10; 
Judge  S.  B.  Thomas  (dec'd)  and  Dr.  W.  P. 
Pierce,  May  18;  R.  13.  Ilorrie  and  W.  \V. 
Phillips,  May  25;  F.  Caspori  and  A.  J. 
Boyer,  June  9;  Geo.  Mann  and  J.  II.  Pettit, 
June  15;  in  1872,  John  Jacob  Gorich,  March 
11:  John,  Geo.  and  Charles  Woelfel,  March 
18;  Leaiider  Irons,  Marcli  2.5;  Geo.  R. 
Beach,  April  IS;  Charles  K.  Ciiarlton,  Oct. 
11 ;  C.  E.  Daniels,  Oct.  18 ;  Dr.  A.  E.  Palmer, 
Oct.  28;  II.  B.  Elli  jtt,  Nov.  25.  In  1873,  F. 
Dirst,  Fel)V  20;  Geo.  Gaskili,  Feb'y  24;  J. 
W.  Tathum,  June  0;  C.  S.  Beach.  June  10. 
In  1874,  C.  E.  Ilalbert,  Jan'y  15;  Jacob 
Geisen,  Jan'y  15;  A.  Yan  Riper,  April  G; 
Israel  Cryder,  May  4tii ;  A.  F.  Rodgei-s,  May 
7th;  G.  Dahlem,  May  15th;  E.  W.  Weis, 
May  22d;  A.  K.  Knapp,  June.lOth;  E.  L. 
Stevens,  Oct.  26th;  A.  Stauffer,  Xov.  30tli; 

A.  F.  Mallory,  Dec.  7th.  In  1875,  Dr.  S. 
T.  Ferguson,  Jan'y  IStli;  Geo.  Mason,  May 
17th;  L.  E.  Daniels,  May  24th;  John 
Vandyke,  May  31st;  O.  W.  AVeston,  June 
lOth;  David  Xickel,  June  14tii.  In  1876, 
Daniel  Shaide,  April  24th;  J.  F.  Peck, 
May  1st.  In  1877,  Geo.  Riddle,  Jan'y 
2Dtii;  Geo.  N.  Widney,  Feb'y    5tli;   Wm. 

B.  Cogger,  Feb'y  27tii;  A.  W.  Crawford, 
Sept.    8th;   Henry  G.   Gorhani,  Oct.  29th; 

C.  D.    Ferguson,    l^ov.     12th;    Nicholas 


Quadiand,  Xov.  26th.  In  1878,  II.  C. 
June,  Nov.  18th;  Henry  Long,  Dec.  2d; 
A.  Kimple,  Dec.  9th;  J.  F.  Cobieigh;  Dec. 
lOtii.  None  in  1879.  In  1880,  C.  H. 
Overocker,  Feb'y  16th;  J.  J.  Widney, 
Feb'y  23d;  T.  II.  Ross,  March  ]5th; 
Nathan  Small,  July  15th;  C.  0.  Barker, 
July  22d.  In  1881,  J.  G.  Colleps,  April 
25tii.  In  1883,  AVm.  Mason  and  D.  W. 
McEweu,  May  1st;  John  A.  Goucli,  May 
15th;  Wm.  Gebliard,  May  29th;  and  John 
Ray,  Oct.  6th.  The  ])resent  Commander 
E.  Sir  Knight  L.  F.  Beach,  united  by  card, 
March  27th,  1871,  and  Sir  Knight  R.  C. 
Auld,  Dec.  26th,  1881.  These  are  the 
men  who  compose  the  membership  of  this 
higher  branch  of  masonry  in  Morris. 
Good  n]en,  and  true  to  tlieir  obligations. 

"  For  a  chain  sweetly  twined  by  humanity's  hand, 

Is  bound  like  a  circlet  of  diamonds  around  them, 
And  fearless  and  strong  as  a.  legion  they  stand 

In  the   battle   of  life   when   the  chain   hath   been 
there. 
For  its  love  knotted  links  have  a  magical  charm, 

Earth's  trials  to  meet  and  its  woes  to  disarm; 
Every  stranger  finds  a  friend  his  sorrows  to  shiire, 

Whde  no  heartbeats  alone  where  Knight  Templars 
are." 

Having  spent  several  weeks  in  collecting 
reliable  dates  and  facts  for  the  history  of 
Morris,  we  confess  that  we  are  tired  and 
weary.  Many  things  have  been  omitted 
that  might  have  proved  of  interest,  while 
otiier  matters  have  received  but  a  lick 
without  a  promise.  If  we  have  succeeded 
in  laying  the  foundation  for  a  more  able 
pen  than  ours  at  some  future  day  to  write 
a  fuller  history  of  our  town,  tlien  we  shall 
have  accomplished  much. 


CHAPTER   X.* 

GREENFIELD   TOWNSHIP-SURFACE-STREAMS-TIMBER-ORIGIN    OF    NAME-TOWNSHIP 

ORGANIZATION-GOING  TO  MILL-FIRST  SETTLKRS-INCIDENTS-WOLF  AND 

DEER  HUNTJNG-ELECTIONS-OFFICERS-IMPIIOVEMENTS  AND 

PROSPECTS— WHAT   WE   ARE  TO-DAY,  ETC.,  ETC. 

Greenfield!  the  land  of  grass  and  flowers, 


Of  pleasant  homes  and  happy  hours; 
Where  richest  lands  her  treasures  yield, 
To  every  tiller  of  the"  field. 

Here  hill  and  vale  are  never  seen. 
But  an  endless  plain  forever  green; 
No  rivers  here  go  rash'ng  o'er 
A  rocky  bed  with  ceaseless  roar. 

No  lakes  are  here  extending  wide, 
Inviting  traveler  to  their  side; 
But  those  who  came  could  easy  tell, 
That  with  earnest  work  they  might  do  well. 

Wealth  was  here  for  all  who'd  come. 
To  till  the  earth  and  make  a  home; 
So  here  we  write  this  story,  true. 
Of  what  our  fathers  used  to  do. 

FOR  several  years  before  the  dividing 
of  the  county  into  townsiiips,  tlie 
territory,  afterward  called  Greenfield,  be- 
longed to  Mazon  Precinct.  In  tlie  year 
1850,  a  township  organization  was  effected, 
the  first  "  town  meeting"  being  held  the 
first  Tuesday  in  April  of  that  year.  In  or- 
der of  business  came  the  "naming  of  the 
township."  Seventeen  voters  were  present 
and  nearl}'  every  one  had  a.  name  for  his 
new  home — a  name  dear  to  him  because 
it  belonged  to  "  the  old  home  in  the  East." 
Each  pressed  his  claim  with  all  the  enthu- 
siasm at  command;  but  after  a  noisy  can- 
vass and  several  ballots,  a  choice  was  not 
made.     Finally   a  committee    of    three — 

*  By  Dr.  C.  M.  Easton. 


Robert  Wood,  Robert  Finley  and  Milo  Wil- 
cox, was  appointed  to  choose  a  name.  Wil- 
cox proposed  "  Greenfield  "  after  Thomas 
R.  Green,  a  land  speculator  of  Chicago, 
who  then  owned  several  tracts  in  the  town- 
ship. The  name  was  sent  in  and  adopted 
with  a  linrrah! 

Greenfield  township  occupies  the  south- 
east corner  of  Grundy  County,  and  includes 
an  area  of  six  miles  square.  Braceville 
township  bounds  it  upon  the  north.  Good- 
farm  u]ion  the  west.  Round  Gi'ove  (Livino-. 
ston  Co.)  upon  the  south  and  Es- 
sex (Kankakee  Co.)  upon  the  east.  The 
surface  is  very  level,  with  gentle  undula- 
tions along  the  banks  of  creeks  and  sluices. 
The  highest  land  is  in  the  southern  part 
witii  a  gradual  descent  as  you  go  north- 
ward. Unfortunately  for  drainage,  the 
banks  of  the  streams  are  generally  a  little 
higher  than  the  lands  some  distance  back; 
so  in  order  to  get  rid  promptly  of  the  su- 
]ierfluous  water,  it  is  needful  to  cut  drains 
through  these  rolls. 

The  soil  is  a  rich  black  loam  from  one  to 
two  feet  in  depth,  and  with  proper  drain- 
age and  cultivation,  its  productiveness  can 
not  be  excelled. 

The  timber  originally  consisted  only  of  a 
few  groves,  scattered  along  the  banks  of  the 
Mazon.  One  of  these  on  the  south  line  of 
the  township,  known  as  Currier's  Grove,  was 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


265 


widfly  known  iunoiig  the  early  settlers,  re- 
ct'ivin;^  its  name  tVoni  a  family  wlio  set- 
tled in  the  ini mediate  iieiirhborhood  diir- 
iii:;^  the  eai-ly  years.  As  we  go  down  the 
sreani  we  tind  another  fine  timlnn*  lot  on 
section  tunrteen,  now  the  ]ireniise3  of  L.  C. 
Fnller.  On  sections  one  and  twelve  was 
another  grove  of  considerable  size,  probably 
the  largest  in  the  township.  The  varieties 
were  such  as  were  indigenous  to  this  part 
of  the  State,  namely;  oak,  hickorj,  walnut, 
elm,  basswood,  etc. 

The  Mazon  Creek,  the  largest  of  our  wa- 
ter courses,  has  its  origin  in  Broughton, 
Livingston  Ciumty,  and  running  north  en- 
ters Greenfield  upon  the  south  line,  a  half 
mile  east  of  the  center.  Bearing  to  the 
northeast  to  the  south  line  of  section  one, 
on  the  farm  of  F.  O.  Andrews,  it  turns  to 
the  northwest,  and  runs  out  on  section  two. 

Cranery  Creek,  a  stream  of  considerable 
size,  drainin.g  a  portion  of  Essex,  comes 
into  our  town  from  the  east  and  unites 
with  the  Mazon  on  section  one.  Another 
creek  coming  from  the  south,  and  draining 
a  goodly  portion  of  the  southeast  part  of 
the  town,  empties  into  the  Mazon  a  little 
farther  up,  near  the  residence  of  the  late 
Robert  Wood.  Two  creeks  rising  in  Round 
Grove  enter  Greenfield,  one  near  the  south- 
west corner,  the  other  a  mile  farther  east, 
and  running  to  the  northeast,  coalesce  on 
section  twenty-two,  and  on  section  fourteen, 
pour  their  united  waters  into  the  Mazon. 
These  streams,  like  all  others  dependent  en- 
tirely for  supplies  upon  surface  water,  get 
very  low  in  dry  seasons,  and,  perhaps,  all 
except  the  Mazon,  at  times  go  dry.  Though 
insignificant  at  low  water,  when  swollen 
with  heavy  rains  they  are  very  torrents; 
and  in  the  years  gone   by,  when  bridges 


were   not,  they  were  sources  of  embarrass- 
ment and  often  danger  to   tlie  inhabitants. 

"  now    WE    WENT   TO    MILL." 

The  winter  of  1S5S-9  was  one  of  those 
wet,  open  winters  that  has  always  wrought 
ruin  to  Illinois  roads,  and  ruffled  the 
sweetest  tempered  souls  that  tried  to  travel 
them.  The  streams  were  full  and  covered 
with  ice,  but  not  strong  enough  to  bear  a 
team.  Then  flour  was  not  kept  in  the 
markets  as  it  now  is;  but  fanners  grew 
their  own  wheat  and  got  it  ground  as 
needed.  In  oui-  neighborhood  we  had  been 
borrowing  one  of  another,  waiting  for  a 
"harder  freeze,''  ,  until  all  were  out  and 
something  must  be  done.  D.  R.  Doud, 
still  living  four  miles  northwest,  started  to 
AVilniington  to  mill,  but  striking  one  of 
these  treacherous  streams,  his  horses  broke 
through  the  ice  and  went  down,  wagon  fol- 
lowing. With  considerable  difficulty  he 
got  his  horses  out  and  across;  carried  the 
sacks  of  wheat — about  fifteen — across;  took 
off  the  wagon  box,  slid  it  across;  uncoupled 
the  running  gears  and  tugged  them  over; 
so  after  long  hours  of  fearful  labor  and  ex- 
posure, he  found  himself  again  upon  terra 
Jiima,  and  on  his  "  way  to  mill."  After 
reaching  Wilmington  he  found  he  could 
not  get  his  grinding  done  and  must  at  last 
return  home  empty.  The  novel  part  of 
our  story  remains  to  be  told.  Governor 
Madison  at  that  time  held  control  of  the 
Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad,  and  for  some 
reason  no  trains  were  run  for  several  days, 
coming  to  Gardner.  Doud  secured  a  hand- 
car, a  dummy  without  gearing,  with  plat- 
form about  four  by  five  feet,  and  he  and 
Allen  Slyter,  a  local  preacher,  and  tlu; 
writer,  got  aboard.     Holding  aloft  a  couple 


/ 


2G6 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


of  boards  to  catch  the  southwest  breeze,  we 
rattled  down  tlie  track,  and  across  tlie  rag- 
ing Mazon. 

Here  we  were  joined  by  Jolm  Booth,  now 
in  Kansas,  riding  a  little  bay  mare  owned 
by  Doud  and  known  as  "  Queen."  As  our 
etory  proves,  Queen  was  one  of  the  most 
sensible  and  docile  of  her  race.  The  old 
mare  was  hitched  to  the  car  by  a  long  rope 
and  away  "  we  all  went  to  mill."  To  get 
old  Queen  over  the  cattle-guards  and 
bridges,  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  lay  down 
our  boards  and  lead  her  over.  Upon  the 
return  trip  to  make  room  for  grist  and  pas- 
sengers, we  laid  the  boards  upon  the  sides 
of  the  car,  stood  the  sacks  thereon,  while 
the  passengers  stood  between  the  rows  of 
bags,  or  perched  on  tup.  Coming  home 
we  had  about  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of 
flour  and  bran,  and  two  extra  passengers — 
one  a  woman  wlio  left  the  car  at  the  first 
station.  "We  pushed  the  dummy  across  the 
Kankakee  River,  and  then  attached  our  lo- 
comotive (old  Queen)  with  plenty'  of  steam 
and  a  wide  "open  throttle"  we  made  good 
time  for  home. 

When  we  reached  tlie  first  cattle-ffnard, 
we  were  for  a  little  time  nonplussed;  our 
sacks  were  upon  the  boards  that  had  served 
for  a  bridge  going  over,  and  could  not  well 
be  moved.  Between  the  sacks  was  a  space, 
when  the  "  train  hands "  were  off,  the 
length  of  the  car,  some  five  feet  in  length 
by  one  foot  and  a  half  in  width.  Here 
was  just  barel}'  room  for  a  horse  to  stand, 
and  at  Bond's  word,  Queen  took  and 
was  pushed  over.  This  was  repeated  again 
and  again,  until  we  reached  the  Mazon; 
here  we  halted  for  a  hasty  council.  The 
bridge  was  2S0  feet  in  length,  and  some  25 
i'eet  above  low  water;  to  undertake  to  cross 


it  as  we  had  the  small  ones  seemed  peril- 
ous; to  swim  the  faithful  mare  threiugh 
the  stream  full  of  running  ice  would  be 
cruel  indeed.  Queen  stepped  "on  Uuard  " 
with  her  usual  promptness  and  was  safely 
wheeled  across  the  eddying  mass  of  ice  and 
waves.  The  old  bridge  long  since  went 
down  nnder  a  freight  train,  and  a  fearful 
wreck  was  the  result.  Without  further 
adventure  we  reached  home  "in  good 
order,"  with  an  abundance  of  "stufi'"to 
make  the  "staft""  upon  which  to  lean  for 
many  weeks. 

The  first  to  settle  in  this  part  of  Mazon 
Precinct  (two  years  later  named  Greenfield) 
were  Dr.  James  Miller  and  Nels  )n  La 
Force,  who  moved  here  from  Chicago,  April 
8,  1848.  The}'  bought  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  three  and  put  up  a  house  on 
the  north  line.  This  was  the  first  building 
on  the  thirty-six  square  miles  of  which  we 
write,  and  is  yet  standing,  sheltering  a  ten- 
ant. In  this  house  the  Doctor  with  his  fam- 
ily lived  for  many  years,  and  here  George 
ililler,  now  in  Florida,  was  born,  the  first 
birth  in  our  territory.  Doctor  Miller  had 
a  crippled  leg  and  always  went  on  crutches; 
yet  during  the  early  years  he  attended  to 
quite  an  extensive  practice  among  the  pio- 
neers besides  overseeing  the  farm.  After  a 
time  he  moved  to  Gardner  and  kept  a  drug 
store  on  the  west  side;  here  he  ministered 
in  medicine  until  about  four  years  since, 
when  he  closed  out  and  moved  to  Florida; 
here,  in  unending  summer,  amid  the 
orange  groves  and  everglades,  we  leave  him 
to  while  away  his  declining  years.  The 
old  farm  is  now  owned  by  J.  C.  Lutz,  who 
bouglit  it  a  year  ago  of  Miller,  paying  $G0 
per  acre. 

XeUon  La   Force  was  born  in  New  Jer- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUx\TY. 


2G7 


sey  and  drifted  to  New  York  city  in  liis 
youth,  from  [there  to  Cliicago,  which  was 
tlien  only  a  small  town  without  a  railroad. 
Stoj)ping  there  for  a  co;i])le  of  years  he 
concluded  the  quickest  wa}'  to  fortune 
would  be  over  some  "governtuent  land," 
and  so  persuaded  Dr.  Miller  to  come  onto 
this  prairie  with  him;  when  the  quarter 
section  was  divided  he  (La  Force)  took  the 
south  half.  lie  went  back  to  New  York 
and  was  married  in  185'3;  a  year  later  re- 
turned with  his  wife  and  settled  down  on 
the  little  larm  in  the  west.  Here  was 
their  iionie  until  a  j-car  ago  when  he  sold 
to  Taylor  Williams  of  Sterling,  and  moved 
to  Gardner.  Here,  fixed  in  a  jileasant 
home,  although  beai'ingdown  the  "shadowy 
side  of  life,"  they  are  enjoying  well  the 
fruits  of  their  labor. 

Taylor  Bradfield  built  the  second  house 
in  our  precinct  in  the  spring  of  l^id,  near 
the  northeast  corner  of  section  ten,  i'or 
many  years  the  home  of  Robert  Glass,  lie 
came  here  from  Trumbull  Count}',  Ohio, 
remained  here  a  few  years  on  section  ten, 
sold  out  to  Joseph  Robinson  and  built  a 
new  house  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  F. 
O.  Andrews,  on  the  Mazon.  The  house 
was  afterward  moved  to  Gardner,  Jackson 
street,  and  is  known  as  the  Clake  place. 
Bradfield  moved  from  here  to  Iowa. 

Robert  Glass  moved  here  from  Guernsey 
Co.,  Ohio,  in  April,  1849,  and  bought  the 
northwest  quarter  of  Sec.  ten,  and  erected 
a  cabin  on  the  west  line,  opposite  the  Field- 
er place.  lie  afterward  bought  the  north- 
east quarter  of  the  same  section,  built  a 
good  house  and  continued  to  reside  there 
until  the  spring  of  the  present  year  (1882) 
when  he  sold  to  Mr.  Taylor  "Williams 
and  moved  to  Sedgwick  County,  Kansas, 


where  he  now  lives.  Mr.  Glass  sojourned 
here  for  a  third  of  a  century,  and  through 
all  these  j'ears  he  enjoyed  the  full  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  A 
son,  Frank  Glass,  is  at  this  writing,  a 
resident  of  Braceville.  The  old  farm  has 
this  summer  been  tested  for  coal  and  is 
found  to  be  underlaid  with  a  valuable  vein 
of  the  dusky  diamonds,  varying  in  thick- 
ness from  two  feet  ten  inches  to  six  feet. 
Three  drillings  gave  each  three  feet  and  a 
half. 

Robert  Finlej',  another  of  the  pioneers, 
came  here  from  Guernsey  Co.,  Ohio,  in 
June,  1849,  and  settled  upon  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  nine,  having  a  land 
warrant.  The  tract  cost  him  $13-4.  A  little 
later  he  bought  the  northwest  quarter  for 
$175.  During  the  building  of  the  Cliicago 
&  Alton  railway,  in  1854,  one  of  the  team- 
sters employed  jestingly  told  Mr.  Fiiiley 
that  his  "land  would  some  day  be  worth 
$200  per  acre."  Since  tluit  Gardner  vil- 
lage has  spread  over  quite  a  proportion  of 
the  original  purchase,  and  he  has  lived  to 
see  small  lots  of  less  than  one-fourth  acre 
sell  for  more  than  the  money  named.  Mr. 
Finley  built  his  first  cabin  a  little  west 
of  where  Mrs.  Purvis  now  lives,  on  Jackson 
street.  It  was  constructed  of  slabs  cut  at  a 
horse  saw-mill,  on  the  West  Mazon.  Later, 
he  put  up  a  frame  house  on  the  site  where 
John  Allison  now  lives.  The  old  farm 
(N.  E.  qr.)  has  long  since  been  divided — 
the  north  half  laid  off  into  town  lots  and 
decked  with  comfortable  dwellings,  while 
here  and  there  a  residence  of  costly  and 
elaborate  finish  varies  the  scene.  Father 
Finley  is  now  in  his  eighty-sixth  year,  and 
is  living  near  where  he  built  his  first  rude 
cabin,  thirty-three  years  ago.    Sickness  and 


268 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


financial  reverses  have  years  since  robbed 
the  pioneer  of  his  broad  fields,  and  forever 
blighted  the  hopes  of  his  earl j  manhood ; 
but,  for  bread  he  wanteth  not,  till  the  last 
inn  is  reached,  where  all  must  lie  down 
and  forever  sleep.  Daniel  Fuller  came 
from  the  State  of  New  York  in  1S49,  and 
first  located  on  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  six.  Alter  a  little  time  he  moved 
onto  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  eight, 
now  owned  by  Mike  Bookwalter.  He  sold 
out  here  in  1854  and  moved  to  Iowa,  from 
there  to  Nebraska.  He  is  represented  as 
being  a  shrewd  fellow  and  a  skilled  hunter; 
that  the  timid  deer,  which  were  then  plenty 
upon  the  prairies,  fell  before  his  unerring 
rifle  at  long  range. 

Robert  Wood,  one  of  our  first  settlers, 
was  born  in  AYayne  Co.,  N.  Y.,  moved  from 
there  to  Quincy,  Michigan,  from  there  to 
Illinois;  came  here  in  1819,  or  the  early 
part  of  1850,  and  located  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  22,  now  owned  by  Thos. 
Crooks.  He  lived  herefive  or  six  years, 
and  sold  out  to  C.  K.  Snyder  and  his  brother, 
and  moved  to  Missouri;  soon  tiring  of  that 
country,  he  came  back  and  bought  out  John 
Kelso,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mazon,  sec- 
tion 12.  Here  he  resided  until  three  years 
since,  when,  ripe  in  years,  rich  in  experience, 
his  brow  furrowed  with  many  cares,  his  hair 
whitened  by  the  frosts  of  seventy  winters, 
he  lay  down  "  to  sleep  with  the  Eternal." 

Another  to  anchor  upon  this  prairie  in 
the  early  years  was  George  Willis.  He 
arrived  here  from  Guernsey  Co.,  Ohio,  May 
10th,  1850,  and  bought  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  four,  built  a  cabin  out  of 
split  logs  on  the  site  where  J.  W.  Hull  now 
lives,  on  Main  street.  He  lived  in  the 
little   house  the  first    summer  without  a 


floor;  in  the  fall  he  went  to  the  timber  and 
split  out  slabs  and  put  one  down.  Mr. 
Willis  lived  here  about  ten  vears,  when  he 
sold  out  and  moved  back  to  Morrow  Co., 
Ohio.  From  there  he  went  to  Lynn  Co., 
Kansas,  where  he  now  lives.  S.  V.  Hart- 
ley, a  well-to-do  farmer  living  a  mile  west 
of  Gardner,  came  here  with  George  Willis 
in  1850.  He  (Hartley)  was  then  a  lad  of 
eleven  summers.  (See  biography.)  The 
east  half  of  Mr.  Willis'  old  farm  has  been 
divided  and  subdivided,  and  now  a  score  of 
village  lots  have  taken  the  place  of  the  old 
wide  fields.  The  west  half  still  serves  the 
purposes  for  which  intended,  and  is  owned 
and  cultivated  by  A.  M.  Bookwalter. 

Franklin  Morgan  came  here  from  the 
State  of  New  York  in  April,  1849,  and 
bought  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  five, 
now  owned  and  cultivated  by  B.  D.  Parker, 
and  the  nortlieast  quarter  of  section  eight, 
now  owned  by  Mrs.  Arnold,  west  half,  and 
A.  Easton,  east  half.  Mr.  Morgan  built 
his  house — probably  the  second  one  in  our 
territory — upon  the  place  where  Mrs.  Ar- 
nold now  lives,  but  just  on  the  east  side  of 
the  sluice.  He  remained  hero  until  1854, 
when  he  sold  out,  and  after  several  moves 
brought  up  at  Plj'mouth,  Indiana,  where  he 
now  lives.  Mr.  Morgan  was  quite  a  schol- 
arly fellow,  and  mucli  given  to  putting  up 
jokes  upon  his  neighbors. 

Joseph  Elliot  came  to  Illinois  from  near 
Boston,  Mass.,  and  for  a  time  stopped  in 
Du  Page  County.  He  came  to  Mazon  Pre- 
cinct, and  in  1849,  took  up  a  quarter  sec- 
tion— one  eighty  on  section  24,  and  the 
adjoining  eighty  on  section  23.  He  lived 
for  awhile  in  a  rough  shanty  upon  the 
farm  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Henrietta  Dodge. 
His  shanty  experience  was  unpleasant;  the 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUXTY. 


209 


winter  was  exceedingly  cold,  and  the  bleak 
unbroken  winds  of  tlie  prairie  whistled 
tiirongh  every  crevice  of  the  rude  dwelling, 
making  a  music  for  the  benumbed  occu- 
])ants  not  at  all  inviting,  lie  afterward 
built  a  house  upon  his  own  premises,  where 
he  lived  for  about  twenty-five  years,  when 
he  sold  out  and  moved  with  his  son — Henry 
Elliot — to  California.  Two  years  since  he 
contracted  small  pox  and  died,  and  his 
sacred  dust  forever  sleeps  on  the  slope  be- 
yond the  mountains.  Henry  Leach  now 
owns  and  cultivates  "the  old  farm"  and 
it  is  one  of  the  best  kept  places  in  Green- 
field. Upon  an  unlucky  day  some  four 
years  since,  the  humble  cottage,  for  a  quar- 
ter century  the  home  of  "Uncle  Joe"  El- 
liot, went  up  in  flame  and  smoke,  and  the 
imposing  farm  house  of  Mr.  Leach  now 
marks  tlie  spot. 

John  Kelso,  one  of  the  early  settlers, 
caioe  here  from  Indiana  in  1819,  and 
located  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mazon — on 
section  12.  After  a  few  years  he  sold  to 
the  late  Jlobert  "Wood  and  moved  to  South- 
eastern Kansas,  where  he  died  some  ten 
years  ago.  The  farm  was  sold  a  3'ear  since 
to  James  Mix,  a  speculator  in  coal  lands 
from  Kankakee. 

Milo  AVilcox  came  to  this  county  at  an 
early  date,  and  for  a  few  years  lived  near 
the  West  Mazon;  in  1819  he  took  up  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  15,  and  put  up 
a  little  house  on  the  bank  of  the  creek.  He 
lived  here  but  a  short  time  when  he  sold  to 
Charles  Roe,  a  Methodist  preacher.  Mr. 
Wilcox  finally  moved  down  onto  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  12,  now  a  part  of 
the  Wilson  estate,  where  he  died.  George 
AYilcox,  a  son,  is  now  a  well-to-do  farmer 
in  Pilot  towuship,  Kankakee  County.    My- 


ron, another  son,  was  married  three  years 
since  in  Chicago,  to  quite  a  noted  woman, 
and  taking  his  wife  he  went  to  China  as  a 
Methodist  missionary.  With  all  that  vital 
foi'ce  begotten  by  early  life  and  training 
upon  these  Western  prairies,  he  now  pours 
salvation  into  the  untutored  ears  of  the 
"  heathen  Chinee." 

George  F.  Spencer  came  from  Monroe 
County,  New  York,  and  located  upon  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  one,  putting 
up  a  house  on  the  east  bank  of  Cranery 
Creek,  where  he  still  lives. 

Mr.  Sj^encer  brought  with  him  from  the 
East  a  good  constitution  and  good  habits; 
these  were  his  stock  in  trade,  and  these 
have  won  him  a  competency'.  He  had  an- 
other quality  and  a  virtue  too,  a  contented 
mind.  Of  the  sixteen  tax  payers  that  were 
here  when  Mr.  Spencer  came,  he  is  the 
onI>/ one  uovf  residing  upon  the  original 
purchase,  and  one  of  three,  to  remain  in  the 
township.  Mr.  Spencer  has  made  himself 
a  fine  home,  large  orchard,  fine  shade  and 
ornamental  trees,  good  fences,  good  build- 
ings and  all  that  belong  to  a  well-ordered 
farm.  He  has  lived  here  through  thirty-two 
eventful  years;  thriving  villages  have 
sprung  up  around  him,  railroads  have  been 
built  on  every  side.  The  rank  grasses  of 
the  early  years  have  given  way  to  golden 
grain;  where  the  wild  deer  roamed  una- 
larmed  and  the  wolf  dug  his  hole  unscared, 
he  sees  a  harvest  of  ripening  corn.  The 
lonely  hut  of  the  pioneer  has  been  replaced 
with  homes  of  luxury  and  splendor,  and 
Lazarus  with  his  rags  has  made  room  for 
Dives  in  his  golden  armor.  School-houses 
have  been  built  around  him,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  education  are  pressing  buck  the 
tribes  of  the  ignorant. 


270 


HISTORY  OF  GEU^'DY  COUNTY. 


Nelson  Clappcame  liere  in  1849,  and  built 
a  little  house  on  the  bank  of  the  sluice,  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  Sec.  22.  He  lived 
there  a  short  time  when  he  sold  out  and 
moved  out  on  Grand  Prairie.  About  ten 
years  atjo,  when  on  his  way  home  from 
Gardner,  he  was  taken  suddenly  ill — we 
think  with  cholera  morbus,  and  stopped  at 
C.  K.  Snyder's,  wiiere  he  died. 

Benjamin  Banister  came  the  same  year 
as  Clapp  and  built  on  the  east  line  of  sec- 
tion fifteen.  The  place  is  now  the  north 
half  of  Wm.  Kewin's  farm. 

Thos.  McCartney  came  here  from  Ohio 
about  the  same  time,  and  lived  a  half  mile 
north  of  Banister's,  late  the  home  of  Frank 
Glass. 

We  have  now  briefly  noticed  about  all 
that  were  here  at  the  time  of  township  or- 
ganization, April,  1850.  Prominent  among 
those  who  came  a  little  later,  were  Alexan- 
der and  Kennedy  Brown,  J.  W.  Hull  and 
Pobert  Atkinson.  Brown  sold  put  several 
years  since  and  moved  away.  Hull  and 
Atkinson  are  both  citizens  of  (T-ardner,  the 
latter  a  dealer  in  grain  and  coal. 

We  are  under  obligations  to  Nelson  La 
Force,  J.  W.  Hull  and  R jbert  Atkinson 
for  most  of  the  facts  connected  with  the 
first  settlement  of  Greenfield. 

KOADS  AND   BKIDGES. 

The  Greenfield  highways  are  generally 
laid  out  upon  the  section  lines;  there  are  a 
few  exceptions,  to  wit:  the  road  running 
south  from  Snyder's  mill  in  Gardner  to  the 
Livingston  County  line — five  miles,  passes 
through  the  center  of  five  sections,  and  the 
road  running  south  from  the  iron  bridge, 
known  as  Nason's,  passes  through  sections 
14  and  53,  eighty  rods  from  the  east  line. 


During  the  early  yeai'S,  while  travelers 
could  keep  upon  the  native  praii-io  sod, 
but  little  attention  was  paid  to  roads;  but 
as  the  vears  went  by'and  travel  increased 
and  was  concentrated  by  the  fencing  of  the 
farms,  throwing  up  grades  and  opening 
ditches  became  a  necessity.  Although  con- 
siderable work  had  been  done  and  quite  a 
sum  of  money  expended,  our  roads,  where 
much  traveled,  were  in  wretclied  condition. 
Three  years  ago  James  Cook  bought  a 
grading  machine  and  began  operation  upon 
onr  highways,  and  the  work  has  been  kept 
up  since,  until  now  nearly  all  our  roads  are 
well  graded.  Under  the  thorough  work  of 
our  highway  commissioners  for  three  years, 
our  roads  have  steadily  improved;  but  in 
wet  seasons  they  continue  the  bane  of  this 
otherwise  delightful  country.  It  is  a  fact, 
well  demonstrated,  that  prairie  muck  is  a 
poor  material  for  constructing  roads.  Mac- 
adamized roads  are  expensive,  but  some- 
tliing  of  the  kind  must  be  made  before  we 
can  have  good  roads  in  wet  seasons. 

Tlie  first  hrkl(je  to  span  the  Mazon  in 
Greenfield,  was  a  wooden  structure  at  Na- 
son's ("three  mile  house  "),  built  by  John 
¥.  Peek,  of  Gardner,  in  the  winter  of 
1867-8.  It  was  200  feet  in  length  and  20 
feet  above  low  water;  this  bridge  stood 
the  ravages  of  flood  a:v:l  time  until  1878, 
when  it  was  condemned  by  the  commission- 
ers, and  replaced  by  an  iron  bridge  150 
feet  in  length.  There  were  two  spans  of 
75  feet  each,  supported  by  stone  butnients 
with  a  middle  pier.  The  structure  of 
stone  and  iron,  looking  as  permanent  as 
the  stream  itself,  was  taken  from  its 
moorings  by  a  cyclone  the  following 
summer,  and  the  present  one,  of  heavier 
iron,  put     in    its     place.     Bridges    were 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


271 


built  across  the  creeks  at  Goodson's 
and  Snjdor's  on  "  Snyder's  Lane,"  some 
time  before  tlie  first  bridge  at  Nason's; 
botli  of  these  were  wood ;  the  hitter  was  re- 
]ilacGd  a  3'ear  since  ('SI)  b^'  stone  l)utnicnts 
and  iron  superstructure;  the  former  at  this 
uriting  (September,  18S2),  is  being  torn 
down  to  make  room  for  stone  and  iron. 
An  iron  bridge — stone  butinents — was  ])ut 
in  across  the  creek,  four  miles  soutli  of 
town  on  the  "  mill  road  "  last  year,  and 
this  year  one  is  going  in  at  Andrews  of 
tiie  .same  material.  Many  of  the  bridges 
over  the  smaller  streams  being  "  worn  out 
in  the  service,"  are  being  replaced  this  year 
by  iron.  The  Greenfield  highway  com- 
missioners will  expend  this  season,  five 
tliousand  dollars  for  iron  bridges. 

FIEST   BIRTH,  DEATII    AND    MARRIAGE. 

Greenfield's  first  birth  was  George  Mil- 
ler, born  in  spring  of  1850,  to  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  James  Miller.  George  grew  to  matu- 
rity, worked  some  on  the  farm,  clerked  in 
his  father's  drug  store  in  Gardner;  was 
married  four  years  since  and  moved  to 
Florida,  where  he  now  resides. 

The  first  death,  was  that  of  George 
Beal,  who  came  here  from  Guernsey  Coun- 
ty, Ohio,  with  Robert  Finley's  family  in 
the  spring  of  1849.  He  was  a  young  man 
yet  in  his  "  teens" — full  of  hope  and  prom- 
ise; but  a  hot  season,  undue  exposure,  and 
surface  water,  brought  on  dysentery,  from 
which  he  died  before  the  first  summer  in 
the  west  had  ended.  The  obsequies  were 
conducted  in  Mr.  Finley's  log  cabin,  where 
he  had  died.  A  neighbor  offered  a  prayer, 
three  or  four  chanted  a  mournful  hymn, 
and  two  or  three  rude  wasrons  followed  the 
remains  to  Wheeler  burying  ground,  where 


they  were  interred;  there  still  he  sleeps, 
the  first  of  our  "  sacred  dust." 

The    first  marriage  was  that   of  Ilenry 

Brown  to  Amanda  (we  have  failed  to 

get  the  whole  name),  a  sister-in-law  of  Dan- 
iel Fuller,  the  officiating  justice.  The  mar- 
riage was  solemnized  at  Fuller's  house, 
now  owned  by  M.  Bookwalter,  and  known 
as  the  "  Bachman  farm." 

Tiie  date  of  this,  the  first  nuptial  tie  was 
June  or  July,  1851.  The  magic  words 
which  made  the  twain  one,  are  said  to 
have  been  these:  "  Ilenry  do  you  love 
Amanda?  '  Yes.'  Amanda  do  you  love 
Henry?  'Yes.'  Then  I  pronounce  you 
man  and  wife  by  God." 

EARLY  ELECTIONS  AND  OFFICERS. 

In  another  place  we  have  noticed  the 
organization  of  township  and  origin  of 
name.  This  was  at  first  "  town  meeting" 
held  at  the  house  of  Milo  Wilcox,  where 
Calvin  Cotton  now  lives,  first  Tuesday  in 
April,  1850. 

At  this  meeting  seventeen  votes  were 
polled,  and  the  following  officers  elected: 
Supervisor,  Franklin  Morgan;  town  clerk, 
Nelson  La  Force;  assessor,  Robert  Glass; 
overseer  of  poor,  Taylor  Bradfield;  collector, 
Nelson  La  Force;  highway  commission- 
ers, Robert  Finley,  Robert  Wood,  and 
John  Kelso:  constables,  Thomas  McCart- 
ney and  Jachin  Banister;  justice  of  the 
peace,  Daniel  Fuller;  path-master,  Tay- 
lor Bradfield.  At  the  next  town  meet- 
ing, April  1,  1851,  the  same  officers  were 
re-elected,  except  Robert  Finley,  highway 
commissioner,  who  was  replaced  by  Dan- 
iel Fuller,  and  Thomas  McCartne}',  con- 
stable, by  Daniel  Otis.  Two  path-masters 
were  elected :  Taj'lor  Bradfield  and  Joseph 
Elliot.     Twenty-three  votes  were  polled  at 


272 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


this  election.  During  this  year  La  Force 
concluded  to  j^o  back  to  New  York — tliink- 
inoj,  no  doubt,  that  the  pleasure  that  a  wife 
could  give  was  preferable  to  the  honors  of 
oflBce.  Oliver  Williams  was  appointed  his 
successor  and  held  both  offices  (clerk  and 
collector)  until  April,  1853.  A.  J.  Brown 
was  elected  clerk  to  succeed  Williams,  but 
failing  to  qualify,  James  W.  Snj'der  was 
appointed.  In  addition  to  those  mentioned 
who  officiated  during  the  early  years,  were 
Dr.  James  Miller,  supervisor  and,  later, 
justice  of  the  peace;  William  B.  Royal, 
supervisor;  Chester  K.  Snyder,  town  clerk; 
Milo  Wilcox,  justice  of  the  peace;  D.  B. 
La  Force,  assessor.  The  present  town  offi- 
cers are:  Louis  Germain,  supervisor;  John 
H.  Coles,  town  clerk;  Henry  Leach,  assess- 
or; II.  K.  Lovejoy,  collector;  C.  K.  Snyder, 
G.  W.  Melbourn,  and  A.  W.  Itoot,  com- 
missioners of  highways;  Isaac  B.  McGin- 
nis  and  J.  H.  Coles,  justices  of  the  peace; 
Isaac  C.  Persels  and  Fred.  G.  Thompson, 
constables;  J.  H.  Coles,  B.  D.  Parker  and 
Wm.  Kewin,  school  trustees.  From  seven- 
teen voters  in  1850,  we  liave  increased  to 
about  325  in  1882.  At  the  last  Presiden- 
tial election  we  cast  305  votes.  Politically 
Greenfield  is  most  emphatically  Republican 
— at  the  election  of  the  lamented  Garfield 
the  "tally-sheet"  showed  39  Greenback  tick- 
ets, 41  Democratic  and   225  Republican. 

Our  township  residents  of  to-day  are,  as 
regards  place  of  birth  and  nationalit}',  thor- 
oughly mixed.  The  "Scully  prairie"  in 
the  southwest,  embracing  over  two  thou- 
sand acres,  owned  by  Wm.  Scullj'  in  Ii'e- 
land,  is  cultivated  almost  entirely  by  Danes 
and  Norwegians.  The  northern  and  cen- 
tral parts  are  generally  settled  with  people 
from  the  New  England  and  Middle  States. 


In  the  southeast  are  quite  a  number  of 
well-to-do  Irish  families.  Every  State 
east  of  us  to  the  Atlantic  has  sons  and 
daughters  upon  the  prairie.  They  have 
come  from  the  classic  towns  of  Massachu- 
setts and  the  "back  woods  "^of  Ohio,  from 
the  malarious  bottoms  of  the  Wabash  and 
the  Dominion  across  the  lakes,  from  the 
White  mountains  of  New  Hampshire  and 
the  fruitful  gardens  of  little  Jersey,  from  the 
green  hills  of  Vermont  and  the  historic 
valley  of  the  Mohawk.  Nor  is  this  all: 
many  countries  across  the  sea  are  repre- 
sented here.  Out  of  Scandinavian  snows 
they  have  come,  and  from  the  shores  of  the 
Baltic;  from  the  busy  marts  of  old  England, 
and  Scotland's  Grampian  hills;  from  the 
bogs  of  the  Emerald  Isle  and  the  slopes  be- 
3-ond  the  Rhine.  These  are  the  people  that 
are  here  to-day.  They  came  with  little 
means — -poor  in  purse  but  rich  in  hope.  In 
the  bosom  of  our  virgin  soil  the}'  plowed 
deep  furrows  and  scattered  good  seed,  and 
the  yield  has  been  "  an  hundred  fold." 

In  the  settlement  of  every  new  country 
there  is  commonly  more  or  less  of  the 
"  eventful ;"  some  "  wonderful  adventures  " 
and  "hair-breadth  escapes"  that  enter  into 
the  warp  and  woof  of  its  history,  that  give 
sjiice  and  aroma  to  what  must  otherwise 
be  a  dry  and  insipid  literature.  Unfortu- 
nately for  the  writer,  and  for  the  reader 
who  has  a  taste  for  tragedy,  our  chronicles 
reach  not  b;ick  to  the  remote  past.  Our 
first  settlements  are  within  the  memory  of 
the  middle  aged.  The  cruel  wars  with  the 
Black  Hawk  chief  and  his  allies  had  years 
been  over.  The  death  song  of  the  relent- 
less savage  and  the  wail  of  his  helpless 
victim  were  forever  hushed.  The  smoke 
of  peace    had    curled  up    to    heaven,  and 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUXTY. 


273 


qniet  reictned  tliroughont  the  border.  T'le 
council  fires  had  gone  out  upon  the  shores; 
tlie  cabins  of  the  red  men  were  iu  the  dust, 
and  their  war-cry  bad  faded  away  iu  tlie 
nnti'oddeti  West. 

The  prairie  wolves  were  here,  and  while 
no  one  was  ever  injured  by  them,  many  a 
belated  traveler  was  badly  scared.  They 
liowled  in  the  darkness  along  the  lonely 
pathways,  and  men  of  good  courage  were 
startled  by  their  unwelcome  nearness,  and 
were  only  too  glad  to  reacii  home  and  shut 
back  their  noisy  company.  Plenty  of  deer 
were  here  in  the  early  years,  and  venison 
at  the  farmer's  board  frequently  figured 
largely  in  the  bill  of  fare.  In  those  days 
a  drove  of  a  dozen  were  sometimes  seen 
in  close  proximit}'  to  the  settler's  cottage. 
At  night  in  winter  they  would  seek  the 
groves  along  the  creeks  for  shelter.  C. 
Iv.  Snyder  relates  how  he  and  his  cousin, 
a  young  Wood,  hunted  them  one  cold 
winter's  night.  A  drove  was  known  to 
come  every  night  to  a  certain  clump  of 
trees  for  shelter.  Wood  having  had  more 
experience  was  master  of  ceremonies.  He 
proposed  that  each  climba  tree,  a  little  dis- 
tance apart,  and  keep  breathlessly  still  until 
the  wild  ruminants  should  seek  their  accus- 
tomed retreat,  when  they  would  fire  upon 
them  from  their  elevated  positions.  Snyder 
climbed  his  tree,  fixed  himself  astride  alimb, 
and  Wood  passed  up  his  gun,  telling  him 
nnder no  consideration  must  bespeak,  but 
if  likely  to  freeze  he  might  whistle.  S. 
found  bis  perch  a  desperate  cold  one,  but 
being  "  gamey  "  and  after  game  he  proposed 
to  wait. 

The  night  being  bitter  cold  and  his  posi- 
tion such  that  he  could  not  move,  he  was 
Boou  chilled  to   the   bune  and   tbouglit  to 


whittle;  but  he  could  not,  his  month  would 
not  pucker!  bis  lips  were  mute.  His 
tongue,  however,  loosened  lively!  Wood 
came  to  his  rescue.  The  deer  that  were 
afar  off  heard  his  voice  and  stood  well  aloof. 
Mr.  S.  was  often  afterward  reminded  of  his 
tree  top  experience,  and  the  little  episode  is 
still  fresh  in  his  memory. 

The  first  mowing  machine  ever  nsed  in 
Greenfield  was  made  in  Ottawa,  and  was 
brought  by  Alexander  and  Kennedy  Brown 
in  the  fall  of  1852. 

The  first  tile  draining  was  done  last 
year  by  C.  K.  Snyder,  upon  the  Nason  farm 
S.E.  J,"  Sec.  7,  and  by  J.  C.  Lutz  on  IST.  W. 
^,  same  section.  Mr.  Lutz  has  laid  this 
season  over  three  miles  of  drain  and  will 
add  to  it  as  fast  as  tile  can  be  procured. 
George  Goodson  will  put  in  two  car  loads 
ii])on  his  farm  this  year;  J.  S.  Small  one 
car  load  and  Dr.  Taxis  one  car  load  each. 
This  is  the  extent  of  underdraiaing  iu 
Greenfield  up  to  date;  so  far  as  tested  it 
has  iiroven  eminently  satisfactory;  so  much 
so  that  doubtless  hundreds  of  miles  will  be 
laid  in  the  near  future.  For  these  low- 
lands, by  nature  so  poorly  drained,  stigma- 
tized "frog  ponds"  and  "mortar  beds,"  de- 
spised by  many  and  forsaken  by  few,  tile 
draining  is  our  hope.  No  enterprise  in 
which  our  iixrmers  can  engage  promises  so 
well.  With  this  well  done,  we  have  noth- 
ing to  wish,  nothing  to  fear,  no  country 
can  bear  our  laurels.  Our  fields  will  blos- 
som like  the  rose,  and  our  granaries  will 
be  the  pride  of  our  commonwealth. 

A  loolfhunt  in  which  one  of  the  best  of 
our  early  settlers  very  nearly  lost  his  life, 
will  be  of  sufficient  interest  to  warrant  its 
publication  here.  Although  our  hem  was 
a  little   outside  of  our  precinct,  we  are  iu 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


jMSsession  of  the  facts  which  will  not  likely 
reach  the  ears  of  the  other  historians,  and 
hence  we  take  the  liberty  to  write  theui. 
John  Wheeler,  with  his  family,  came  to 
Mazon  Precinct  from  Pennsylvania  in  1846 
and  located  in  what  was,  fonr  years  later, 
named  Goodfarm, — northeast  quarter,  sec- 
tion two,  now  Goodrich  estate.  At  the 
time  of  which  we  write  his  place  was  upon 
the  outskirts  of  the  settlement.  To  the 
south  there  was  not  a  mark  of  civilization 
short  of  theYermillion  River,  a  distance  of 
twenty -live  miles.  In  December,'!!,  there 
having  been  a  fall  of  snow,  Mr.  Wheeler 
and  one  or  two  others  started  out  to  hunt 
wolves  which  were  plenty.  Being  well 
mounted  they  struck  out  boldly  to  the 
south,  across  the  snowy  plain.  After  go- 
ing quite  a  distance  they  struck  a  wolf 
track  which  they  continued  to  follow  for 
several  miles,  when  all  but  Wheeler  were 
tired  of  the  chase  and  turned  about  and 
rode  home.  He,  being  more  determined 
than  the  others,  rode  on  in  pursuit  of  his 
game,  but  by  this  time  snow  was  falling 
thickly,  the  tracks  were  obscured  and  he, 
too,  thought  to  return.  He  was  now  many 
miles  from  home,  the  winds  were  sweeping 
wildly  about  him  and  cheerless  darkness 
was  coming  on  apace.  Chilled  by  the  cold 
and  storm  he  alighted  from  his  horse,  think- 
ing to  warm  a  little  by  walking.  The 
horse  was  startled  at  something,  and  with 
a  bound  pulled  the  rein  through  Wheeler's 
benumbed  fingers,  and  sped  away  like  an 
arrow  through  the  storm.  The  unfortunate 
man   following   the    tracks    of    his  steed, 


pressed  on  as  fast  as  he  could  through  the 
heavy  drifts.  However  it  was  to  no  pin-- 
pose;    soon  every  footprint  was. obliterated; 


night  closed  in  around  him   her 


pall, 


and  in  a  desert  of  shifting  snows,  he  was 
alone.  Through  the  pitiless  storm  he 
plodded  his  weary  way,  knowing  not 
whither  he  was  tending.  On  and  on, 
breasting  the  imge  drifts,  until  his  very 
vitals  seemed  frozen  within  him.  Exhaust- 
ed with  ceaseless  effort  he  sank  down  in 
the  snow.  Digging  for  himself  a  little  pit 
in  the  drift,  he  found  the  cold  was  less 
severe,  and  getting  a  little  rest  he  raised 
himself  up  and  made  another  struggle  for 
home.  Again  his  chilled  and  weary  limbs 
succumbed;  again  he  pitted  his  body  in  the 
drift.  This  process  was  repeated  eight  or 
nine  times;  as  the  night  wore  on  the  cold 
increased;  at  last  he  could  not  stand.  He 
planted  his  rifle  in  the  drift,  pressing  the 
snow  about  it,  that  it  might  stand  erect, 
and  serve  as  a  guide  to  those  who  might 
come  in  search.  His  very  blood  seemed 
frozen  in  his  veins,  the  last  rayof  hope  had 
fled  his  breast,  and  with  a  prayer  for  wife 
and  babes  upon  his  mute  lips  he  lay  down 
to  die.  He  did  not  die;  with  the  morning 
light  he  spied  the  cabin  of  John  Brown, 
and  began  crawling  toward  it.  Mrs.  Brown 
was  the  first  to  see  him;  his  clothes  frozen 
and  covered  with  snow  alarmed  her.  Mr. 
B.  helped  him  to  the  house  and  when  suf- 
ficiently recovered,  to  his  own  home,  about 
five  miles  west.  Brown  lived  where  H. 
Jackman  does  now — center  sec.  33,  Brace- 
ville. 


CHAPTEE    XL* 


r.ARDNER— TOWN    PLATTINCx— NAMING  —  FIKST    BUILDINGS  —  INHABITANTS  —  IMPROVE- 
MENTS—COAL AND  MINING  INTERESTS— SOCIETIES-SCHOOLS— CHURCHES- 
BUSINESS  FIRMS  AND  INDIVIDUALS,  ETC. 

("^  ARDNER  was  laid  out  immediately  as  Willis'  addition  to  Gardner.  The  south 
^     after  the  comoletion  of  tlie  Chicago      lialf  of  sec.  4:  and  the  north  half  of  9 — one 

mile  square,  is  the  territory  now  incorpo- 
rated. 

Gardner  was  incorporated  in  February, 
1867,  containing  at  that  time  about  four 
hundred  inhabitants.  The  first  village 
trustees  were  John  II.  Coles.  Amos  Clover, 
AV.  W.  McMann,  F.  Lathi-oji  and  Louis 
Germain.  George  Milner,  the  village 
school  master,  was  the  first  clerk  of  the 
board,  and  J.  II.  Coles  the  first  president, 
and  also  first  police  magistrate. 

The  first  dwelling  house  built  in  town 
was  the  home  of  the  "  section  boss  "  on  the 
east  side  of  tlie  C.  &  A.  track.  The  house 
has  uiulergone  some  repairs  and  still  serves 
the  purpose  for  which  erected.  The  build- 
ing in  the  north  part  of  town,  known  as  the 
"  barracks,"  was  the  second  house  in  order 
of  construction.  It  was  built  by  Absalom 
Gleason,  the  first  postmaster,  and  served 
as  the  first  ]>ost-office.  It  has  served  the 
town  as  post-office,  store,  dwelling  and 
boarding  house,  paint  shop,  etc.  The  old 
house  still  stands,  but  tenantless;  the  marks 
of  advancing  years  are  clear,  and  speedy 
decav  is  sure.  Gleason  is  now  livin<j  in 
Rose  County,  Kansas. 

Thefrst  /lotel  was  the  "Eagle,"  18x36, 
a  story  and  a  half  high,  built  by  G.  R. 
Taxis  and  Scott  Armitage during  the  sum- 
mer of  1855.     "While  building,  the  carpen- 


ARDNER  was  laid  out  immediately 
-^  after  the  completion  of  the  Chicago 
it  .\lton  railway  in  1854.  The  first  town 
lilat  covered  an  area  of  160  acres,  namely: 
The  southeast  quarter  of  section  ibur, 
Greenfield.  The  original  town  site  belong- 
ed to  Henry  A.  Gardner,  J.  C.  Spencer  and 
C.  H.  Goold.  Gardner  was  chief  engineer 
of  the  C.  &  A.  railroad  companj'  during 
the  construction  of  their  line.  lie  did  tlie 
surveying  of  the  original  town,  and  for  him 
the  village  was  named.  Gardner  did  a 
great  deal  of  engineering  afterward  u]jon 
lines  running  in  and  out  of  Cliicago;  died 
some  five  years  since.  Goold  and  Spencer, 
who  was  also  a  railroad  engineer,  were  then 
dealing  in  lands  and  town  lots;  the  former 
is  still  a  resident  of  the  county,  residing  in 
Morris.  The  territory  first  platted  was  di- 
vided into  blocks,  twenty-seven  in  number; 
but  owing  to  the  railroad  running  diago- 
nally across  the  site,  they  were  not  uniform 
in  shape  nor  size.  About  ten  years  later 
the  town  had  reached  such  proportions  that 
more  room  was  in  demand,  and  a  part  of 
the  north  half  of  section  nine  was  laid 
out  in  lots  and  described  as  Price's  iirst 
and  second  addition.  Peck's  addition,  Hy- 
att's addition  and  Finlej^'s  addition.  The 
east  part  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
ibur  was  quite  early  platted  and  is    known 


'By  Dr.  C.  M.  Easton. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


ters  slept  on  sliavings  in  a  box  car,  on  tbe 
C.  &  A.  side  track;  this  was  tlie  best  the 
young  town  could  give.  During  the  uight 
thej  were  bunted  hither  and  thither  by 
passing  trains;  never  knowing  when  retir- 
ing, where  tiiey  would  find  tiiemselves  in 
the  morning.  The  builders,  Taxis  and 
Arinitage,  have  laid  away  the  jack  plane 
and  hammer — tlie  former  is  now  circuit 
clerk,  and  the  latter  for  many  years  has 
served  the  U.  S.  Express  company  as  their 
Gardner  agent.  George  Allen,  for  whom 
the  little  tavern  was  built,  and  who  pro- 
vided the  first  menu,  now  lives  in  Che- 
banse,  Iroquois  County.  Allen,  as  caterer, 
was  succeeded  by  J.  W.  Hull,  he  by  Chas. 
Eoyal,  and  lie  by  S.  X.  Underwood,  who 
conducted  tlie  business  for  many  years. 
Four  or  five  years  ago  the  liotel  was  remod- 
eled and  more  than  doubled  in  size;  the 
inline  was  changed  to  the  '•  Gardner  House  " 
and  James  Cook  entered  as  proprietor.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  C.  still  provide  the  "  bill  of  fare." 
T\\ii  first  store  was  kept  by  Ciias.  &  Wm. 
Eoyal,  opened  in  1855,  in  a  little  building 
on  the  West  side^  where  O.  P.  Stumph's 
building  now  stands.  The  store  room  was 
a  diminutive  affair  and  the  stock  of  goods 
never  exceeded  thecapacitj';  upon  nail  kegs 
and  shoe  boxes  were  seated  a  number  of  the 
"first  settlers,"  who  in  point  of  gossip  have 
not  been  outdone  in  these  later  years. 
The  Eoyals  are  now  living  near  Portland, 
Oregon.  They  were  succeeded  in  the  store 
by  Chas.  E.  Gardner,  who  looked  after  the 
trade  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  finally 
elected  sheriff  of  the  county.  He  died  at 
his  home  in  Gardner  in  18C6.  I.  F.  Ben- 
son was  one  of  our  first  merchants,  coming 
here  and  going  into  business  in  the  fall  of 
1856.     He  commanded  quite  a  trade  here 


for  several  years,  but  financially'  was  not 
successful.  Dui'ing  his  last  years  lie  spec- 
ulated considerably  in  coal  lands.  He  died 
suddenly  two  years  ago  in  Chicago,  in  the 
bath-room  of  his  hotel.  He  put  up  the 
brown  building  on  the  "West  side,  which  is 
known  as  the  "  Benson  store."  The  first 
warehouse  built  in  town  was  put  up  by 
Charles  Booth,  east  side  of  C.  &  A.  track, 
M'here  Atkinson's  elevator  lately  stood.  It 
was  built  in  1857,  Taxis  &  xVrmitage  doing 
the  carpenter  work  as  usual.  A.  V.  Ever 
soil  bought  the  building  and  moved  it  up 
the  track  to  wliere  it  now  stands.  It  was 
afterward  fitted  up  for  a  grist-mill,  and  for 
a  few  years  did  considerable  grinding. 
Corn  is  still  ground  there  in  considerable 
quantities.  A  few  years  since  it  was  gen- 
erally overhauled  and  converted  into  an  ele- 
vator, while  the  milling  apparatus  was 
improved.  It  is  now  owned  by  Snyder  & 
8on,  who  ai-e  running  it  to  a  good  purpose. 

Charles  Johnson,  a  tinner,  from  Ken- 
tucky, built  the  first  sidewalk  in  Gardner, 
on  the  north  end  of  Liberty  street.  Joseph 
Hall  built  the  first  garden  fence,  and  Vir- 
ginia M.  Ilawley  planted  the  first  flowers, 
on  Washington  avenue,  where  Henry  Don- 
aldson now  lives. 

The  country  being  sparsely  settled,  the 
growth  of  tlie  town  was  slow  up  to  the  time 
of  the  sinking  of  the  Gardner  coal  shaft  in 
18G1,  when  it  started  up  with  new  life. 
At  that  time  Morgan  &  Hart  put  up  a 
store  on  the  AVest  side,  now  owned  by  John 
Allison,  occupied  by  Truesdell  &  Wylie, 
and  put  in  quite  an  extensive  stock  of  gen- 
eral merchandise.  Business  was  entirely 
confined  to  the  West  side  until  the  spring 
of  1807,  when  Lutz  &  Foote  opened  up  a 
general  store  on  the  East  side,  in  the  build- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


iii^  now  occniiicd  by  II.  C.  Goold  as  a  drug 
store. 

Tlif^  llrxt  hrivk  buiMint;;  )nit  up  in  town 
wa.-  1-.-.  McMann's  clrug  store  in  1869.  The 
Commercial  House,  50  by  60,  three  stories, 
was  begun  August  2d  of  the  same  year  and 
c'am])leted  tlie  winter  following.  R.  R. 
Stone  was  the  first  landlord.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Wni.  Smith,  John  Southcomb, 
A.  K.  Stiles,  Ilowland  Price,  James  Wilson 
and  one  or  two  others.  Mrs.  Nancy  A. 
AVilson,  widow  of  James  Wilson,  is  now 
owner  of  the  property  and  provider  of  the 
menu.  The  liotel  was  built,  and  for  some 
time  owned  by  A.  K.  Stiles  and  Rowlantl 
I'rice.  Ko.  3  Commercial  block  was  built 
a  year  later.  In  1872  the  brick  row,  num- 
bers 4,  5,  6,  7  and  8  Commercial  block  was 
built  by  Jones,  Price,  McClure  and  Kloft. 
The  five  stores  were  destroyed  by  fire 
Christmas  night,  1878.  This  was  the  most 
destructive  fire  the  town  has  known;  be- 
sides the  loss  of  building,  the  destruction  of 
goods  amounted  to  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars. The  losers  on  stocks  were:  O.  P. 
Sturaph,  No.  4,  drugs;  R.  B.  Huss,  No.  5, 
dry  goods  and  groceries;  C.  E.  Parker, 
clothing,  and  T.  F.  Lippengood,  boots  and 
shoes,  No.  6;  Pratt,  Martin  ct  Phelps,  dry 
goods  and  groceries,  No.  7;  Wm.  Xlott, 
saloon  fixtures.  No.  8. 

The  "city  hall"  was  built  by  A.  S.  Mar- 
tin and  Louis  Germain  in  1868,  and  was 
first  occupied  by  Lebrecht,  a  Jew,  with 
boots,  shoes  and  groceries.  The  elevator 
in  front  of  the  Commercial  House  was 
built  in  ISGO  by  E.  W.  Cole,  of  Chicago, 
and  is  one  of  the  best  buildings  of  its  kind 
in  this  part  of  the  country.  It  is  now 
owned  and  operated  by  Lutz  &  Germain. 
The  brown   elevator,  which   is  now  being 


moved  to  the  north  part  of  town  onto 
the  line  of  the  K.  &l  S.  railroad,  owned  and 
operated  by  Robert  Atkinson,  was  built  in 
the  winter  of  1872-73  by  R.  Turner. 

RAILROADS. 

Gardner  has  two  railroads,  the  Chicago, 
Alton  &  St.  Louis  and  the  Kankakee  & 
Seneca.  The  first  was  built  in  1853-54, 
the  first  passenger  train  over  the  line,  pass- 
ing through  Gardner  upon  the  morning  of 
the  24th  of  August,  1854.  The  line  through 
here  is  double  tracked;  runs  five  passen- 
ger trains  each  way  daily  and  takes  rank 
with  the  best  thoroughfares  in  the  State. 
The  second  was  built  last  year,  18S1, 
and  the  first  regular  trains  were  put  on  the 
1st  of  February  of  this  year.  The  K.  &  S. 
is  a  short  line  connecting  the  Cincinnati, 
Indianapolis  &  Chicago,  with  the  Chicago 
&  Rock  Island.  It  is  a  well  constructed 
road,  now  running  two  trains  daily  each 
way.  The  people  of  Gardner  and  imme- 
diate vicinity  gave  i?3,000  for  rigiit  of  way. 
C.  K.  Snyder  was  the  first  ticket  agent  of 
the  Chicago  &  Alton  at  this  station,  receiv- 
ing his  appointment  about  two  weeks  after 
the  completion  of  the  road.  The  company 
provided  no  building  for  an  office,  but  gave 
Sn3'der  a  tin  trunk  in  which  to  carr^'  his 
tickets,  books  and  valuable  papers.  Gard- 
ner was  then  a  "town  w-ithout  houses"  and 
the  agent  boarded  witii  his  uncle,  two  miles 
south.  Going  home  at  night  after  the 
"eleven  o'clock  train,"  on  foot  and  alone, 
wading  through  wet  grass  breast  high,  hear- 
ing the  bark  of  the  prairie  wolves  almost 
within  reach  of  a  walking  stick,  was  the 
experience  of  the  "first  agent."  B.  N. 
Ilaslett  was  the  first  agent  of  the  Kankakee 
&  Seneca  road. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


COAL  IXTKKESTS,  SHAFTS,  ETC. 

In  1862  the  Gardner  people  began  to 
take  intei-est  in  the  co-.A  product,  with 
wliich  the  town  and  vicinity  were  thouj^ht 
to  be  under-laid,  and  l)y  subscriptions, 
money  was  raised  and  lirill  tests  made. 
These  were  satisfactory,  but  it  was  some 
time  before  arrangements  could  be  made 
for  sinking  a  shaft.  December  1,  1863, 
James  Congdon  and  Win.  II.  Odell  leased 
of  II.  A.  Gardner,  J.  C.  Spencer,  J.  K. 
Keese,  T.  C.  Meyer  and  0.  H.  Goold,  ,the 
north  part  of  the  village  plat,  namely: 
Blocks  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 10, 11, 12  and 
25,  also  lots  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  and  9  in 
block  26,  for  mining  purposes.  By  the 
terms  of  this  lease,  Congdon  and  Odell 
were  to  have  what  coal  they  could  raise 
during  the  first  seven  years  free,  after 
which  they  were  to  pay  a  royalty  of  six 
cents  per  ton.  Tiie  Gardner  people  raised 
$2,000  by  subscriptions  for  Congdon  and 
Odell,  as  an  inducement  to  undertake  the 
enterprise.  The  work  of  sinking  the  shaft 
was  begun  about  the  first  of  January,  1864, 
but  owing  to  some  mismanagement,  when 
down  sixty  feet,  the  sides  caved  in,  the 
hole-  was  abandoned  and  another  begun. 
The  work  went  on  slowly,  Congdon  sell- 
ino-out  his  interest  to  Odell  before  the  coal 
was  reached,  which  was  in  the  fall  of  1864. 
Julv  1,1865,  Odell  sold  to  Wm.  A.  Steel 
and  Thomas  Kerr.  December  1st,  of  the 
same  year.  Steel  sold  one  half  of  his  inter- 
est to  D.  G.  Wells  for  $7,000.  On  the  22d 
day  of  January,  1867,  Steel,  Kerr  and 
Wells  sold  out  to  Aaron  K.  Stiles  for 
$25,000.  Stiles  sold  out  to  the  Gardner 
Coal  Company  April  17,  1872;  it  soon 
after  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  C,  W.  &  V. 
Company,    who    continued    to    operate    it 


until  the  summer  of  1874,  when  they 
closed  it  up.  The  quality  of  the  coal  mined 
at  this  shaft  was  pronounced  by  experts  to 
be  fully  equal  to  any  in  the  State. 

While  Stiles  had  control  of  the  shaft  he 
started  the  manufacture  of  brick  out  of  the 
fire  clay,  giving  employment  to  quite  a 
number  of  men.  The  most  of  the  brick 
buildings  in  town  now  were  made  from  the 
brick  there  and  then  molded.  They  were 
generally  rough,  but  for  "staying"  quali- 
ties they  were  excellent.  The  life  of  this 
shaft  was  ten  years.  The  distance  from 
the  surface  to  the  top  of  the  coal  ISO  feet. 
Thousands  of  tons  of  the  "dusky  diamonds" 
were  brought  to  the  surface  and  sent  to 
Chicago  and  other  markets.  Tlie  mining 
gave  emploj'ment  to  lots  of  liands,  and 
business  of  all  kinds  was  brisk.  An  acci- 
dent at  the  shaft  which  cost  the  lives  of  two 
emiiloyes,  will  be  of  sufficient  interest  to 
justify  its  record.  E.  L.  Sutton,  Alex.  Mc- 
Kinzie,  Wm.  Ilarwood  and  Ilariy  Watts 
had  just  stepped  u]iou  tlie  cage  to  go  be- 
low when  the  rope  broke  and  all  went  crash- 
ing to  the  bottom,  a  distance  of  two  hun- 
dred feet  from  the  landing  where  they 
started.  It  was  in  the  evening,  dark  and 
gloomy,  but  the  knowledge  of  the  accident 
soon  spread  through  the  village,  and  soon 
quite  a  number  had  gathered  at  the  top  of 
the  fatal  pit.  It  was  some  time  before 
things  could  be  fixed,  so  the  unfortunate 
men  could  be  hauled  up.  Those  that  were 
at  the  top  were  appalled  at  the  moans  of 
distress  that  came  up  through  the  darkness 
from  the  helpless  victims  below.  Ilarwood 
received  internal  injuries,  from  which  he 
died  that  night;  Watts  had  his  spine  lacer- 
ated; lived  twenty  days;  Sutton  got  a  badly 
fractured  leg,  and  McKinzie  received  adis- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


281 


located  ankle  and  other  injuries.  Sutton 
and  McKinzie  recovered  witli  slight  lame- 
ness. 

In  1805  a  company  was  organized,  called 
the  "  Joint  Stock  Coal  Mining  Company  of 
Gardner,"  and  on  the  8tli  of  June  began 
the  sinking  of  a  sJiaft  a  little  southwest  of 
town,  on  the  line  of  the  C.  &  A.  railway. 
They  got  down  only  forty  or  fifty  feet  when 
they  struck  a  powerful  vein  of  water,  and 
after  spending  all  the  means  at  command, 
in  the  vain  endeavor  to  get  rid  of  it,  that 
enterprise  was  abandoned.  In  1S74:  the  rail- 
way company  laid  a]upe  underground  from 
this  shaft  to  their  tank  in  town,  since  which 
the  iron  horses  have  never  wanted  for 
drink.  Last  fall  Taylor  AVilliams,  of  Ster- 
ling, commenced  sinking  a  shaft  a  mile 
east  of  town,  was  very  nnich  delayed  by  the 
water,  and  did  not  get  down  until  this 
ST)rinii',  and  wlien  the  work  was  completed 
all  were  dismayed  in  iearnitig  that  there 
was  no  coal  there.  After  spending  a  large 
amount  of  money  it,  too,  was  abandoned, 
and  the  buildings  moved  south  to  near  the 
center  of  section  ten,  where,  at  this  writing 
a  shaft  is  being  lowered.  We  have  good 
reasons  for  believing  that  this  shaft  will 
not  be  lowered  in  vain.  Five  drill  tests 
have  been  made  near  b}',  showing,  at  a  depth 
from  156  to  200  feet,  a  coal  vein  from  two 
feet  eight  inches  to  six  feet  in  thickness. 

SCUOOLS  AND  SCHOOL-HOUSES. 

The  first  Gardner  school  was  taught  in  a 
shanty  east  of  the  "section  house,"  by  Liz- 
zie Hussell  ;  the  next  was  in  a  little  house 
west  of  the  mill,  by  a  Mrs.  Brown;  after 
that,  school  was  taught  in  a  little  shanty 
west,  across  the  street  from  where  the  Bap- 
tist  church    now    stands.      Stephen    Grav 


moved  the   shanty   down   near   the   stock 
yards,  and  lived  there  for  many  years. 

The  Jft'gt  school-house  proper,  22  by  36, 
was  built  by  Taxis  and  Armitage  on  the 
site  where  J.  O.  Edmunds  now  lives,  in 
1S57.  J.  II.  Armitage  taught  first  school; 
he  was  succeeded  by  David  Bookwalter, 
and  he  by  Virginia  M.  Hawley,  who  a  lit- 
tle later  necame  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Tax- 
is. In  1S()7  a  new  school-house  was  built 
on  the  east  side  of  town,  28  by  60,  two 
stories,  the  town  having  outgrown  the  first 
— Peter  Hyatt,  builder.  By  1872  this  was 
found  too  small  and  a  two  story  addition, 
28  by  44  was  put  on  the  rear  by  J.  F. 
Peck.  In  February,  1875,  the  building 
caught  fire  from  the  furnace,  and  burned 
to  the  ground.  That  summer,  the  present 
school  building,  52  by  1872,  two  story  brick 
was  erected  at  a  cost,  exclusive  of  furniture, 
of  $8,044.  J.  F.  Peck,  architect  and  build- 
er. Five  teachers  are  now  employed,  and 
about  236  pupils  enrolled.  Miss  Elizabeth 
Baumgardner  is  principal;  Misses  Mary  A. 
Bush,  Lettie  J.  Smiley,  Mary  E.  Parker 
and  Belle  Overman,  assistants. 

SECRET    SOCIETIES. 

Gardner  Lodge  No.  573,  A.  F.  and  A. 
M.  was  organized  May  24,  1866;  received 
its  charter  Oct.  6,  1868.  The  first  mem- 
bers were  I.  F.  Benson,  W.  II.  Schoomaker, 
Ed.  Crane,  J.  W.  Hull,  Amos  Clover,  W. 
W.  McMann,  Wm.  Hart,  A.  DeNormandie, 
Henry  Elliott  and  H.  V.  Whalen.  Its 
present  membership  is  58,  with  the  fol- 
lowing officers:  W.  M.,  H.  V.  Whalen;  S. 
W.,  Henry  Leach;  J.  W.,  C.  G.  Collins;  S. 
D.,  J.  F.  Peck;  J.  D.,  F.  A.  Pagle;  Treas., 
James  Savage;  Sec'y,  John  McGinnis;  Ty- 
ler, J.  W.  Hull.     Meetings  every  alternate 


282 


IirsiTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Saturday  eveniiii^;  hall  over  Dr.  McMaiiii's 
drug  store. 

Gardner  Lodge  No.  515,  I.  O.  ofO.  F., 
organized  Oct.  15  li,  1873;  meetings  every 
Wednesday  evening  in  liali,  Jones  building. 
Present  membership,  50;  officers:  N.  G.,  F. 
P.  Sickels;  V.  G.,  F.  A.  Pagle;  Sec'y,  R.  O. 
AVood;  Treas.,  C.  II.  Cotton. 

METHODIST    CnuRCH. 

The  first  preachers  in  tliese  parts  were 
Methodists,  and  held  services  at  private 
liouses  fifteen  years  before  Gardner  was 
known.  Charles  Roe  was  a  Methodist 
preacher;  lived  on  the  southeast  corner 
of  section  15,  where  C.  II.  Cotton  now 
lives.  lie  used  to  have  meetings  at 
his  own  Jiouse  and  at  DaTiiel  Abbot's  on 
the  west  side  of  Sec.  5,  where  Benjamin 
Ijookwaltcr  now  lives.  Abbot  was  a 
Methodist  preacher  also;  he  would  some- 
times preach  at  home  and  sometimes  at 
Cotton's.  Those  wlio  attended  these  ser- 
vices beside  the  families  of  the  ministers, 
were  the  Bradtields,  McCartneys,  J>rowiis 
and  J.  W.  Hull.  Abbot  moved  troin  here 
to  Iowa,  and  Roe  went  back  to  New  York 
where  he  died.  The  G.irdner  M.  E.  society 
was  organized  in  the  spring  of  185S,  and 
attached  to  the  Mazon  circuit,  of  which 
Rev.  Thomas  Watson  was  minister  in 
charge.  The  first  members  were  Wm.  B. 
R  lyal  and  wife;  J.  II.  Coles  and  wife;  Wni. 
Hart  and  wife;  Robt.  Glass  and  wife; 
Joseph  Hall  and  wife,  and  Mrs.  Cynthia  VV. 
Hastings.  Wm.  Hart  was  appointed  the 
first  leader.  The  pastors  in  order  of  suc- 
cession after  Watson,  were:  John  Grundy, 
J.  B.  Dillie,  A.  E.  Day,  John  Cosier,  Sani- 
nel  Hart,  H.  Tiftany,  Wm.  M.  Collins,  D. 
H.  Cridler,  A.  C.    Price,  Matthew  Evans, 


B.  F.  Wonder,  J.  W.  Denning,  A.  D. 
Moore,  M.  C.  Eignus,  A.  Bower,  D.  W. 
Brown,  T.  R.  McNair  and  C.  W.  Green. 
"  Gardner  Circuit"  was  formed  in  1867. 
The Ji/'st  church  edifice  was  built  by  the 
Protestant  Methodists  in  1856,  corner  of 
Jackson  St.  and  AVashington  avenue.  Fav- 
/  ette  Doud,  a  local  preacher,  did  the 
carpenter  work  and  furnished  a  large 
amount  of  the  money  used  in  construction. 
Doud  held  a  lien  on  the  building  for  $500, 
which  the  Protestants  were  unable  to  pay; 
accordingly  in  Feb'y,  1864  he  sold  the  build- 
ing to  the  M.  E.  Society  for  the  amount  of 
his  claim.  Under  the  able  ministry  of 
Rev.  Eiirnus  in  1875,  the  congregation  out- 
grew the  building,  and  anew  one  3i  by 
56,  was  commenced  corner  of  Jefferson  and 
Monroe  Sts.  The  church  was  dedicated 
Jan.  9th,  1876;  cost  about  $3,000;  Wm. 
Hastings,  contractor  and  builder.  The 
society  now  numbers  seventy-five  members, 
and  our  meeting  house  is  free  from  debt. 
The  old  building  was  sold  and  moved  to 
Depot  St.  and  converted  into  a  saloon, 
showing  how  sometimes  a  good  thing  is 
j)ut  to  a  had  use.  It  is  now  used  for  har- 
ness sho])  and  tin  shop. 

PKESBYTEEIAN  CHUECH. 

This  society  was  organized  September  5, 
1858,  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  L.  H. 
Loss  and  Rev.  S.  II.  Waldo.  The  meet- 
m<r  at  which  the  organization  was  effected 
was  lield  in  the  school-house.  The  society 
started  with  six  ladies,  no  gentlemen  join- 
ing; their  names  were  Mrs.  Abbie  La  Force, 
Mi-s.  Phebe  Ann  Wheeler,  Mrs.  Sarah  M. 
Wright,  Mrs.  Susan  Sawyer,  Mrs.  E.  C. 
Benson,  Miss  Virginia  M.  Hawley.  Rev. 
Waldo  was    the  tirst   minister  in    charge. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


283 


Of  tlie  six  original  members  only  two  are 
now  known  to  be  living,  namely:  Mrs. 
Taxis  )i',;;  Miss  Hawley,and  Mrs.  "Wheeler. 
The  pastors,  after  Rev.  Waldo,  in  order  of 
snccession  were:  Revs.  Alvah  Day,  E.  G. 
Moore,  Sextns  E.  Smith,  F.  B.  llargraves, 
J.  G.  Lyle,  Joel  Kennedy,  S.  H.  Stevenson 
and  Robert  Watt.  The  school-honse  served 
tlie  society  for  a  chapel  for  several  years, 
and  after  the  school  ont-grew  it  and  went 
to  new  quarters,  it  was  rigged  over  and 
still  used.  After  a  time  this  building  was 
moved  to  Depot  street,  and  converted  into 
a  store,  and  occupied  by  McGltire  &  Tol- 
man  for  hardware;  then  the  society  used 
the  Methodist  church  and  the  city  hall. 
In  1871,  under  the  able  pastorate  of  Rev. 
Smith,  they  began  the  erection  of  a  church 
edifice,  brick,  32  by  56,  corner  of  Elm  and 
Main  streets.  It  was  completed  and  dedi- 
cated in  the  spring  of  1872,  and  is  now  the 
society's  place  of  worship.  Many  of  the 
early  members  liave  passed  to  "the  other 
shore."  The  number  now  on  record  is  35. 


BAPTIST   CHURCH. 


Under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Card 
this  society'  was  organized  in  186-1:  with 
seven  members,  namely:  W.  H.  Card,  Phil- 
lip Spaulding,  Albert  W.  Willard,  David 
M.  Griswold,  Mrs.  L.  E.  Taxis,  Robert 
Huston  and  II.  J.  Edmunds.  The  names 
of  the  ministers,  so  far  as  could  be  learned, 
are,  beginning  with  the  first:  Revs.  W.  H. 
Card,  —  Colby,  J.  Gordon,  John  Higby,  E. 
G.  Sage  and  F.  M.  Mitchell.  The  society 
built  a  church  36  by  60  in  1868;  in  Feb- 
ruary of  1871  the  building  took  fire  in 
some  way  unknown,  and  burned  to  the 
ground.  The  same  year  a  new  brick 
chui'cli  was  begun  on   the   same   site,   the 


same  in  size,  with  a  conference  room  2i  by 
30  added  to  the  rear  end,  and  was  dedicated 
to  the  service  of  God,  May  11,  1872.  The 
construction  of  this  building  plunged  the 
society  into  debt,  and  by  which  they  were 
much  embarrassed  until  Rev.  Sage's  min- 
istry, two  years  since,  when  the  obligations 
were  generally  paid.  The  present  number 
of  memljers  is  sixty-four.  Each  of  the  so- 
cieties supports  a  Sabbath  school  with  a 
fair  attendance. 

THE    VILI,A(iE     AS    IT    IS    TO-DAY — ITS     TRADE 
AND    TRADERS. 

Gardner  has  thus  far  achieved  very  little 
notoriety  as  a  manufacturing  town;  its  life 
and  business  have  depended  mostly  upon 
the  farming  country  surrounding  it.  As  a 
grain  market,  especially  for  corn,  it  stands 
well  with  other  railwa}'  towns.  During 
the  year  1880  nearly  half  a  million  bushels 
of  corn  and  oats  were  shipped  from 
this  station;  the  numbers  of  fat  cattle 
and  hogs  shipped,  were  they  known, 
would  make  a  good  showing.  The  census 
of  1880  gave  ns  a  population  of  788,  which 
in  the  two  years  since  has  somewhat  in- 
creased, so  that  now  we  number,  likely, 
about  900.  The  business  of  to-day  is 
mostly  represented  by  the  following  gen- 
tlemen and  firms,  carrying  stocks  of  dry 
goods  and  groceries:  Lutz  &  Eldred,  R. 
B.  Huss,  Phelps  &  Lewis,  Truesdell  & 
Wylie — four  stores;  restaurants,  D.  L. 
Stralil,  George  Hader;  grain  buyers,  Sny- 
der &  Son,  Lutz  &  Germain,  Robert  Atkin 
son;  buyers  and  shippers  of  live  stock, 
Germain  &  Clover;  hardware  dealers  and 
blacksmitliing.  Smith  &  Rogers;  black- 
smithing,  Atkinson  &  Erwin;  hardware, 
Chas.  V.  Hamilton;  dealer  in  farm  imple- 
ments, A.  S.  Martin;  ready-made  clothing. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Gh?.  E.  Parker;  banks — ExcliaiiL''o  I5fink. 
John  Allison;  Bank  of  Gardner,  J.  ('.  Liitz; 
meat  markets,  Ilarpliain  &  Gray,  E.  I. 
Briggs;  harness  makers,  Tlios.  Spiller,  H. 
A.  Eversoll;  drugs,  C.  II.  Goold,  AV.  W. 
McMann;  Harvey  Eldred,  dealer  in  t'nrni- 
tiire  and  nndertaker;  saloons,  Mike  Kern, 
E.  D.  Evans,  Andrew  Bnrt,  John  Sclinmni, 
Joseph  Honghton;  piiysicians,  J.  B.  Taxis, 
W.  W.   McMann,  CM.    Easton    and    J. 


Underhill.  Dr.  Taxis  lias  resided  here 
since  1S59,  Dr.  McMann  since  1S63;  Dr. 
Underhill  came  later;  Dr.  Easton  came  in 
1874.  Notaries  public,  Isaac  B.  McGinnis 
and  John  Coles;  attorneys  at  law.  Clover 
&  Clover.  The  present  village  trustees  are: 
Harvey  Eldred,  George  Smith,  W.  W. 
McMann,  R  B.  Hnss,  D.  R.  Keepers,  Ar- 
nold Edmunds.  Eldred  is  the  president; 
H.  A.  Crawford,  clerk. 


CHAPTER    XII.* 


NEITLE  CREEK  TOWNSHIP— FIRST  SETTLERS 

~\yETTLE  CREEK  is  tlie  name  ;ip;>lieil 
-L^  1)3'  tlio  settlers  to  tlie  principal  ftreain  in 
this  township,  and  t'roni  the  stream  tlieprc 
cinct  takes  its  name.  The  Indians  named 
the  stream  Little  Mazon,  frmn  the  n  urn  her 
of  nettles  which  were  ionnd  •^rowini;  lux- 
uriantly upon  the  rich  bottoms.  The  town- 
ship whieli  bears  this  name,  forms  the 
northwest  corner  of  (Trnndy  County,  and 
originally  ctjnsistod  almost  entirely  of  level 
prairie  land.  Along  the  creek  fiom  the 
eastern  line  of  tlie  township  to  the  westei'u 
line  of  Section  2:'),  there  was  a  considera- 
ble fjrowth  of  oak  and  black  walnut,  luit 
the  rest  w.is  open  prairie.  A  number  of 
prairie  runs,  trii)utary  to  the  maiti  stream, 
cross  the  township  in  a  southeasterly  direc- 
tion, but  they  have  no  valleys,  and  farmers 
till  the  land  right  up  to  the  margin  of  the 
streams.  The  population  is  ([uite  cosmo- 
politan in  its  character,  Scotland,  England, 
Ireland  and  Norway,  of  the  European  States, 
being  represented,  while  no  State  of  the 
Union  can  claim  great  preponderance  in 
the  number  of  her  sons  and  daughters  here. 
The  first  pioneer  was  William  Iloge. 
He  was  of  Scotch  descent,  but  was  horn  in 
Loudoun  County, Virginia;  married  in  1S'2G. 
He  found  himself  with  a  famih'  to  supjiort 
and  the  prospect  of  acquiring  a  home  in 
his  native  State  verj'  poor  indeed.      He  re- 

*Bv  J.  H.  Battle. 


■LIFE  IN  A  PRAIRIE  COUNTRY-SCHOOLS,  ETC. 

solved  on  a  tri](  to  the  Westin  1829,  and 
attracted  to  this  region  of  the  country  by 
tlie  canal  laiuls,  bought  960  acres  in  that 
year.  He  returned  to  Virginia,  and  two 
years  later,  with  his  family  and  goods  in 
a  Winchester  wagon,  made  the  tediouf. 
journey  over  hill  and  stream  to  what  is 
now  Nettle  Creek  to\vnslii|).  His  tirst 
cabin,  which  is  still  ])ointel  out,  was  a  log 
structure  situated  within  a  few  rods  of  his 
present  residence,  which  was  erected  in 
ISio.  Here  lie  lived  with  his  family,  con- 
sisting of  his  wife  and  thre.j  children,  with 
but  one  otherfamily  in  what  is  nowGrundy 
County.  The  nearest  village  was  Ottawa. 
Here  he  got  his  mail  and  bought  such  sup- 
yilies  as  could  not  be  dispensed  with  and 
the  country  did  not  aford.  When  the 
insurrection  of  Black  Hawk's  band  oc- 
curred, alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his  family, 
Mr.  Iloge  fled  to  Pleasant  Grove,  opposite 
the  present  village  of  Pekin.  Happily  the 
Indian  trouble  was  soon  over,  and  in 
August  of  1832  the  family  returned  to  their 
frontier  home.  Samuel  Iloge  had  come 
AVest  in  1829  and  started  a  store  in  Belmont 
County  in  company  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Ilendley  Gregg,  but  after  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  selling  out  to  his  partner,  he  joined 
his  brother  in  Nettle  Creek  in  1833. 
William  Iloge  lociited  his  land  on  Section 
2r),  ami  latei-,  as  he  was  able,  bought  Sec- 
tion 24  and  other  land  until    he  now   owns 


286 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


soraetliing  over  3,000  acres  of  land.  Sam- 
uel first  took  up  a  claim  in  Erienna,  but 
in  1S35  came  into  Nettle  Creek  and  bought 
Sections  21  and  22  and  lands  adjoining 
until  he  died  in  possession  of  something 
over  3,000  acres. 

In  the  fall  of  1S37  John  Gray,  a  Scotch- 
man, and  George  Brouse,  an  Englishman, 
came  into  Nettle  Creek  together,  the  former 
locating  on  Section  20  and  the  latter  on 
Section  17,  their  lands  joining.  Gray 
came  on  to  his  land  in  the  following  season 
and  began  his  improvements,  but  Brouse, 
who  was  a  bachelor  and  never  married,  did 
not  come  on  for  a  year  or  two.  In  1837 
"William  Stephen  came.  He  was  a  young 
unmarried  man,  and  a  native  of  Scotland. 
He  had  known  Gray  in  the  old  country, 
and  it  was  through  him  that  he  was  led  to 
take  up  his  home  in  Nettle  Creek.  He  was 
led  to  emigrate  to  America,  however,  by 
the  glowing  descriptions  of  the  country, 
given  by  a  Mr.  Smith,  Chicago's  pioneer 
banker.  Smith  had  gone  to  Scotland,  his 
native  land,  to  enlist  capital  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  stock  company  to  invest  in  Illinois 
land,  but  while  prosecuting  this  scheme 
the  panic  of  1837  was  precipitated,  and  he 
was  hurriedly  called  back  to  look  after  his 
affairs  here.  Mr.  Stephen  had  intended  to 
accompany  Smith  on  his  return,  but  the 
latter  was  obliged  to  leave  so  early  that  Mr. 
Stephen  was  obliged  to  make  the  trip  later 
and  alone.  He  came  to  Chicago,  but  found 
the  banker  absent  on  business,  and  being 
free  to  go  where  the  inclination  of  the 
moment  prompted,  sought  out  liis  old 
friend  Gray  in  Nettle  Creek.  He  took  up 
some  land  and  stayed  about  one  year,  when, 
disgusted  with  the  peculiar  disadvantages 
of  the  phice,  he  went  into  Kendall  County. 


He  came  right  from  the  civilization  of  the 
city  to  a  frontier  community  without  the 
semblance  of  a  village,  and  after  lireakiii"- 
sod  for  a  day  or  two,  gave  up  the  business 
here  in  disgust.  He  finally  bought  and 
improved  a  line  farm  in  Kendall  County, 
but  has  been  most  of  his  time  identified 
with  Grundy  County.  About  this  time 
George  Bullis  came  from  New  York  and 
settled  on  Section  8,  where  he  lived  until 
about  1870,  when  he  moved  to  Ford  County, 
leaving  no  descendants  here. 

About  1840,  a  Mr.  Coup  came  to  Nettle 
Creek.  He  had  bought  a  quarter  section 
of  land  near  Chicago,  for  which  he  had 
given  his  notes.  He  found  it  a  hard  mat- 
ter to  raise  the  money  to  make  his  pay- 
ments, and  his  creditors  seizing  upon  some 
|)roperty  left  on  the  place,  took  possession 
of  his  land.  Giving  up  hopeof  prospering 
in  that  region  became  to  this  township,  en- 
tered into  contract  with  Brouse  to  dis  a 
division  ditch,  about  a  quarter  section  of 
land  for  another  quarter  section.  To  the 
fulfillmeut  of  this  contract  he  brought  an 
untiring  energy,  digging  when  the  season 
permitted  until  far  into  the  night,  and  in 
the  meanwhile  living  in  a  sod  house  and 
practicing  all  sorts  of  economy.  He 
achieved  his  task  and  started  in  the  nursery 
business,  with  a  fair  prospect  of  success, 
but  his  old  time  creditors  still  holding  his 
notes,  learned  he  had  got  some  property- 
here,  were  about  to  levy  on  his  land  to  sat- 
isfy his  notes,  and  he  was  obliged  to  sell 
out  to  one  of  his  neighbors  to  save  anything 
out  of  his  hard  won  property.  In  1841  or 
'2,  Thomas  Loughhead  came  in  from  Mer- 
cer County,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born 
of  Scotch  parents,  in  the  north  of  Ireland. 
and  emigrated  to  Canada  durinj;  the  Na- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


287 


])oleonic  wars.  The  vessel  in  wliicli  he 
eiiiburked  fell  in  with  ,a  French  privateer 
and  barely  escaped  capture,  losing  his 
chest  of  cliitlies  and  the  hat  from  his  head. 
lie  soon  afterward  met  Mary  Donley  and 
married  her,  a  little  later  coming  to  Penn- 
sylvania. His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  a 
laih-,  the  daughter  of  an  Irish  nobleman, 
wim  iiad  eloped  to  this  country  witli  an 
Irish  teacher.  In  the  war  of  1812,  Mr. 
Loughhead  was  drafted,  and  served  tlirou^iii- 
out  tiie  struggle  as  a  private.  Ilis  wife 
died  before  his  coming  into  Illinois,  but  he 
l)rouglit  a  family  of  two  boj's  and  four 
girls,  none  of  whom  were  then  married. 
For  three  or  four  years  he  rented  tiie  farm 
of  George  Brouse,  which  he  bought  in 
1847.  The  boys  subsetjuently  bought 
farms  near  by,  and  the  girls  engaged  in 
teacliing  sciiool.  They  enjoyed  the  ad- 
vantages of  liberal  study,  Iiaving  attended 
the  seminary  at  Hudson,  Ohio.  Another 
son,  James,  came  to  Nettle  Creek  subse- 
quently, and  stayed  there  about  two  j-ears, 
buying  the  interest  of  the  other  heirs  in 
the  paternal  estate,  and  finally  selling  it  to 
a  Mr.  Moody.  A  year  or  two  later,  James 
P.  Tliompson,  who  had  married  one  of  the 
Loughhead  daugliters,  followed  his  latlier- 
in-law  to  Illinois,  and  settled  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  19.  The  iiead  of 
the  Loughhead  family  died  about  1855,  and 
the  diflerent  members  Iiave  one  by  one 
gone  to  different  parts  of  the  countr\',  leav- 
ing no  descendants  here. 

Oliver  Dix  came  here  in  1814,  from 
Oneida  County,  New  York,  and  settled  on 
section  8,  and  about  the  same  time  came 
Minard  Waterman  from  tiie  same  State 
and  settled  on  land  which  his  father  boujrht 
of  Mr.   Stephen,  on   section    twenty.      In 


the  following  year  the  Mossmans  came  in- 
to the  township,  William  settling  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  17,  and  Hugh 
on  the  northeast  tpiarter  of  section  nine. 
About  the  same  time  came  Simon  Fry, 
from  Maryland,  and  settled  on  section  7, 
where  he  is  still  living.  In  or  about  1848, 
came  Thomas  and  Joim  Agan,  buying 
land  on  section  31,  where  they  now  reside; 
in  1849,  Isaac  N.  Brown  came  from  .Sara- 
toga County,  New  York,  and  settled  on 
section  4.  and  soon  after  iiim  David  Jami- 
son, li-om  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  on  tiie 
northwest  quarter  of  section  eighteen. 

About  1S45,  the  Norwegian  element  be- 
gan to  come  into  the  township  and  it 
is  astonishing  to  observe  how  rapidly  they 
jiave  supplanted  the  original  settlers. 
Among  the  earliest  of  this  class  of  foreign- 
ers were  John  Peterson,  Ben  Thorn- 
ton, Ben  Hall,  Lars  and  Erasmus  Sheldall, 
John  Wing,  G.  E.  Grunstead  and  others. 
In  1849,  the  population  of  the  township 
was  divided  as  follows:  On  section  1,  H. 
A.  Furd;  on  section  3,  Baker  Knox  and  R. 
Carpenter;  on  section  4,  Isaac  N.  Brown, 
Lars  and  Ei-asmus  Sheldall,  John  Win"- 
and  G.  E.  Grunstead;  on  section  7,  John 
Peterson,  Ben  Thornton  and  Simon  Fry; 
on  section  8,  Lars  Likeness,  Ben  Hall, 
Edson  Giftord  and  George  Bullis;  on  sec- 
tion 9,  Hugh  Mossman;  on  section  10, 
Morgan  Lloyd  and  S.  II.  Rider;  on  section 
12,  John  Gibson,  Alex.  Bushnell,  Ben 
Sears  and  Daniel  David;  on  section  ]4, 
Charles  McCann;  on  section  17,  John  and 
Thomas  Loughhead,  Oliver  Dix  and  Will- 
iam Mossinan;  on  section  IS,  David  Jam- 
ison; on  section  19,  James  P.Thompson; 
on  section  20,  John  Gray  and  Minard  Wa- 
terman;  on   section   22,  Samuel  Hogc;  on 


288 


HISTORY  OF  GKUXDY  COUNTY. 


section  25,  William  Hoge;  and  on  section 
31,  Thomas  and  John  x\ii;an. 

The  lirst  settlers  of  Nettle  Creek  were 
almost  to  a  man  of  very  limited  means  and 
cut  off  by  the  natural  situation  from  any 
prospect  of  a  village.  The  Iloges  and  Mr. 
Iloiderman  early  went  into  cattle  raising, 
feeding  them  on  the  public  lands,  where- 
ever  water  and  grass  afforded  the  most 
eligible  site.  The  scarcity  of  timber  here 
made  fencing  an  expensive  burden  to  the 
already  sufficiently  handicupped  farmer, 
and  some  quite  serious  dilTerences  arose  out 
of  this  combination  of  circumstances.  The 
gradual  development  of  the  country,  liow- 
ever,  has  long  since  removed  these  cau.-es 
of  irritation.  Messrs.  Iloge  and  Holder- 
man  still  make  cattle  raising  their  princi- 
pal occupation,  some  of  this  stock  being 
high  grades.  Samuel  Iloge  came  to  the 
township  rather  "  full  handed,"  and  has 
given  more  attention  than  others  to  the 
growing  of  line  blooded  stock. 

During  the  earh'  history  of  this  commn- 
nity,  the  nearest  store  and  post-oftice  was 
at  Ottawa,  and  the  nearest  market  at  Chi- 
cago. As  the  country  settled  np,  Morris 
■was  founded,  and  with  Marseilles  on  the 
southwest  divided  the  local  trade  so  that 
Nettle  Creek  could  not  afford  sufficient 
patronage  to  justify  a  store  here.  A  log 
saw-mill  was  constructed  by  William  IToge 
on  Nettle  Creek,  about  six  rods  from  liis 
house,  which  did  a  moderate  business  for 
some  ten  years,  but  the  dam  washed  out 
one  winter  and  the  mill  was  allowed  to  i-ot 
down.  Later,  during  the  constrnction  of 
the  canal,  a  steam  mill  was  erected  on  canal 
lands  in  section  23,  which  furnished  mate- 
rial to  the  contractors,  but  passed  awajMvith 
the  occasion    that   brought   it.     The  onlv 


approach  to  a  store  was  attempted  in  187(1, 
when  Zach.  Severson  added  to  his  boot  and 
shoe  shop  on  section  8,  a  small  stock  of  ^•ro- 
ceries.  This  was  too  late  a  date  for  such  a 
ventiire  to  succeed,  and  it  has  been  discon- 
tinued. 

The  leading  social  event  Avliich  may  bo 
noted,  is  the  first  white  Inrth  in  the  town- 
ship, that  of  James,  a  son  of  William  Huge. 
He  is  probably  the  first  white  child  born 
in  the  county,  and  is  now  living  in  Sarato- 
ga township.  The  first  death  in  Nettle 
Creek  was  a  child  of  Warren  Chapin,  who 
lived  on  section  8,  and  where  in  the  ab- 
sence of  any  cemetery,  the  child  was 
buried. 

In  1835,  the  IToge  brothers  feeling  the 
necessity  of  a  school  for  their  childi-en, 
built  a  split  log  house  for  the  purpose,  on 
the  land  of  William  Hoge.  It  was  a  neat 
structure  for  the  time,  the  roof  formed  ot 
shakes,  the  floor  of  sawed  planks,  and  plank 
desk  and  benches.  The  first  teacher  here 
was  Maria  Southworth,  from  the  Fox  River 
settlement  at  Milford.  She  taught  two 
winters  and  had  about  nine  scholars,  re- 
ceiving for  her  compensation  $2.50  per 
week,  which  was  paid  b}'  William  Iloge. 
The  building  is  still  standing  abont  125 
yards  from  Mr.  Hoge's  dwelling.  Schools 
were  held  here  until  about  1S57.  The  sec- 
ond school-house  was  erected  on  section  10. 
It  did  not  serve  long  as  it  was  not  conven- 
iently located.  The  next  one  was  built 
near  !Mr.  Brown's  present  residence,  and 
this  was  subsequently  abandoned  and  the 
single  school  of  the  township  was  taught 
in  tlie  town  house,  by  Oliver  Dix.  In  1849, 
the  township  was  divided  into  four  school 
districts  which  have  been  since  increased 
to  seven. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


289 


The  first  start  for  cluircli  orj^anizatiuii 
was  abdut  1S4!>  hy  the  Cons^rej^atioiial  so- 
ciety under  the  hiljors  of  James  Loui;hhead. 
lie  came  to  Illinois  in  1S45,  on  a  call  to 
tlie  Big  Grove  churcli.  He  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  tlie  "Western  Keserve  College  at 
Hudson,  Ohio,  and  for  several  years  after 
his  graduation,  took  part  in  the  slavery  ag- 
itation, lecturing  in  favor  of  emancipation. 
He  subsequently  studied  theology  and 
preached  several  years  in  Ohio,  when  he 
accepted  the  call  to  Big  Grove.  Here  he 
preached  for  two  yeai-s,  but  in  the  mean- 
time acting  as  an  appointee  of  the  Home 
Missionary  Society,  and  establishing 
churches  in  various  parts  of  the  county. 
He  had  brought  his  father  to  Nettle  Creek 
some  years  before;  and  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  character  of  the  work 
needed  to  be  done  here.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  force  of  character  and  good  practical 
judgment,  and  was  the  originator  of  the 
Congregational  influence  in  Grundy  Coun- 
ty. On  his  first  coming  in  ISio,  he  was 
impressed  with  the  gj-eat  need  of  evangelical 
work  in  Morris,  and  determined  at  the  first 
opportunity  to  open  up  a  field  of  labor 
here.  He  seems  never  to  have  lost  sight 
of  this    determination,  and    in    1847   he 


moved  to  Morris  and  began  by  organizing 
a  church  here.  While  located  here  he 
preached  in  other  parts  of  the  county,  and 
was  instrumental  in  establishing  churches 
in  Mazon,  An  Sable  and  elsewhere,  beside 
in  Xettle  Creek.  The  church  in  tliis  town- 
ship was  organized  b}'  members  from  Big 
Grove  church,  among  whom  were  his 
brother.s  and  sisters,  John,  Thomas,  Marga- 
ret and  Hannah,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  W. 
AVashburn.  The  church  never  built  a  ]ilace 
of  worship,  using  the  school-houses  for  this 
purpose  until  about  1868,  when  it  became 
extinct  as  an  organization.  The  church 
organized  a  Bible  Society,  and  did  good 
service  for  years. 

The  Methodist  Church  organized  a  so- 
ciety here  about  1850,  in  which  the  three 
Mossman  families,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  P. 
Thompson,  Mrs.  Fry  and  Keuben  Ayles- 
worth  were  leading  members.  The  church 
used  the  residence  of  Oliver  Dix  as  the  first 
place  of  worship,  and  later  held  their  meet- 
ings in  the  school-house  as  they  now  do. 
The  membership  now  numbers  about  thirty 
persons,  and  holds  services  once  in  each 
fortnight,  depending  upon  a  "  supply" 
from  the  Kock  River  Conference. 


CHAPTER    XIII.* 


AU  SABLE  TOWNSHIP— LOCATION  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS— ITS  EARLY  SETTLE- 
MENT—ITS NATURAL  ATTRACTIONS— DRESDEN— MJNOOKA—CHRUCHES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

with  a  black  swamp  soil,  with  murky  tend- 
encies. It  is  a  fine  gi-nzin<^  country,  and 
is  largely  used  for  this  purpose,  though  the 
staple  grains  of  tliis  section  are  not  over- 
looked by  the  farmers.  It  was  here  that 
some  of  the  earliest  settlej's  made  their 
home. 

The  natural  attractions  of  this  township 
were  such  as  to   draw  any  who   might    be 


AU  SAIjLE  township  forms  the  north, 
east  corner  of  Giundy  County',  and 
presents  some  of  tlie  finest  natural  scenery  in 
this  region.  It  is  princi])all3'  a  fine  rolling 
prairie,  with  a  fringe  of  timber  along  the 
Au  Sable  Creek  and  the  Illinois  River.  The 
eastern  line  is  marked  by  a  high  rise  of 
ground,  which  forms  a  watershed  of  limited 
extent,  the  drainage  flowing  in  an  easterly 
and  westerly  direction  from  this  line.  The 
termination  of  this  ridge  at  the  head  of  the 
Illinois  is  well  worth  going  some  distance 
to  see.  The  high  land  continues  almost  to 
the  river  brink,  affording  an  outlook  over 
the  low  land  of  Feli.x  and  the  country  south 
for  miles.  The  scene  here  presented,  with 
its  picturesque  views  along  the  river  and 
the  low  meadows  dotted  with  grazing  herds, 
is  found  nowhere  else  in  this  county,  and 
forms  the  object  of  many  a  pleasant  drive. 
The  northern  tier  of  sections  has  a  good 
elevation  also,  and  that  part  of  the  town 
west  of  the  Au  Sable  Creek.  The  valley  of 
this  creek,  which  flows  a  southwesterly 
course  through  the  township  to  the  north- 
em  line  of  section  30,  and  then  makes  a 
sharp  turn  to  the  east  and  another  south  to 
the  Illinois  in  section  32,  is  low  and  wet. 
The  soil  of  the  upland  is  considerably 
mixed  with  sand  and  with  a  clay  substra- 
tum, while  ihe  lowlands  are  characterized 

*By  J.  H.  Battle. 


in  the  vicinity.  It  was  a  favorite  winter 
resort  of  the  Pottawatomies,  and  the  favor- 
ite hunting  ground  of  both  white  and  red 
man.  Marquis,  though  having  his  cabin 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Mazon,  could  not  resist 
the  attractions  of  this  side  of  the  river,  and 
partly  to  utilize  a  high  and  clear  piece  of 
ground,  and  partly  to  be  nearer  the  natives, 
spent  his  summei-s  at  the  mouth  of  the  Au 
Sable  Creek.  In  the  winter  he  found  the 
sheltered  nook  on  the  Mazon  more  comfort- 
able. But  Marquis  could  not  properl}'  be 
called  a  settler,  as  his  purposes  in  the 
county  weie  temporarj-,  and  he  made  no 
permanent  improvement  in  either  place. 
W.  H.  Perkins,  although  not  the  first  set- 
tler, was  one  of  the  earliest  to  explore  the 
township  with  that  in  view,  and  so  well  did 
he  like  it  that  as  soon  as  he  sought  to  build 
up  a  home  of  his  own,  he  came  back  and 
took  up  liis  claim.  He  was  a  native  ot 
Oneida  County,  New  York,  and  recognizing 
that  the  West  was  the  only  place  for  a  young 
man  without   capital   to  get  a  start,  came 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


291 


out,  after  some  delay's,  to  Chicago,  in  1833. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Levi  Hills,  and 
arrived  there  September  23, 1833,  and  found 
characteristic  evidence  of  the  newness  of 
the  country  in  a  camp  of  five  thousand 
Indians,  who  liad  been  gathered  on  the 
west  side  of  Chicago.  That  night  these 
travelers  rested  at  Beaiibien's  hotel,  which, 
as  lie  expressed  it,  was  kept  "like  one  hell, 
and  made  money  like  dirt,"  and  his  guests 
had  no  reason  to  doubt  the  correctness  of 
the  statement  in  either  particular.  In  the 
town  Perkins  met  J.  D.  Caton,  James  II. 
Collins  and  a  Mr.  Snell,  all  from  Oneida 
County,  New  York.  On  the  next  day  Snell 
and  Collins  accompanied  Mr.  Perkins,  all 
proceeding  on  foot,  to  explore  the  country. 
On  noon  of  the  26th  they  reached  the  cabin 
of  Chester  House,  located  where  Seward 
now  is,  in  Kendall  County.  Here  Mr.  Per- 
kins found  an  old  acquaintance  of  liis 
father,  who  had  come  out  and  settled  in 
the  previous  May,  and  gladly  volunteered 
to  take  his  team  and  pilot  the  party  in  a 
prospecting  tour  of  the  vicinity.  Under 
the  guidance  of  Mr.  House  the  party  went 
south  across  sections  4  and  9,  township  34, 
range  8,  and  returned.  The  next  day  they 
took  the  same  route,  going  further  south, 
but  finally  making  an  abrupt  turn  to  the 
west,  went  to  Ilolderman's  grove.  Here 
Mr.  Perkins  entered  into  an  arrangement 
with  Mr.  Holderman  to  work  some  of  his 
land.  Here  for  two  years,  with  no  com- 
pany but  his  three  yoke  of  oxen,  he  plowed 
and  planted.  In  1835,  having  secured  a 
wife,  he  came  to  An  Sable  and  settled  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  eight.  The 
first  actual  settler  was  Salmon  Rutherford, 
a  native  of  Xew  York.  He  came  in  Ma}', 
1833,  and   settled    on  section    twenty-six. 


He  was  a  man  of  an  impulsive  and  deter- 
mined disposition,  and  became  a  leading 
s])irit  in  this  township.  He  built  an  early 
hotel,  the  first  one  in  the  county,  and  gave 
its  location  the  name  of  Dresden.  An  early 
stage  line  made  this  spot  of  some  imjior- 
tance  for  a  time,  but  it  soon  died  out,  the 
withdrawal  of  the  staijes  giving-  a  final  blow 
to  any  pretensions  it  may  have  had. 

Following  Mr.  Rutherford,  came  three 
families  from  Delaware  County,  Ohio, 
Henry  Cryder,  Zach.  Walley,  and  N.  II. 
Tabler.  Mr.  Cryder  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia and  came  early  to  Ohio,  from  whence 
he  came  with  Walley  and  Tablei',  his  son- 
in-law,  and  a  family  of  unmarried  children. 
Their  goods  were  packed  on  a  large  wagon 
drawn  by  three  yoke  of  oxen,  while  two 
two-horse  wagons  furnished  the  conveyance 
for  the  three  families,  and  with  these  and 
eight  or  ten  head  of  cattle,  they  made  the 
journey  across  the  country.  The}'  were 
not  unacquainted  with  the  exigencies  of 
frontier  life,  and  made  little  difficulty  in 
performing  the  journey.  The  attractions 
of  the  "  An  Sable  country"  were  known  for 
miles  around,  and  its  praises  began  to  be 
sounded  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  "  Wa- 
bash country."  Of  course  one  wagon,  liow- 
ever  large,  could  bring  only  the  barest 
household  necessities  for  three  tamilies,  but 
among  these  were  the  carpenter's  tools  of 
Mr.  Cryder  who  was  a  mechanic.  Arriv- 
ing on  the  ground  the  men  lost  no  time  in 
erecting  a  temporary  shelter.  Logs  were 
cut  and  a  slied  of  three  sides  put  up  and 
covered  with  shakes,  while  along  the  open 
side  a  huge  fire  was  maintained.  These 
families  readied  their  chosen  home  in  Oc- 
tober, and  though  late  in  the  season  for 
such  rude  accommodations,  they  found  no 


292 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


troul)le  in  making  tliejnselves  comfortable 
witii  leaves  for  beds  and  logs  for  chairs  and 
tables.  (Cabins  were  put  up  at  once  for 
each  of  the  families,  Cryder's  on  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  eight,  Tabler's  on 
the  north  half  of  this  quarter,  and  AValley's 
on  section  seventeen.  Tliis  latter  location 
proved  unhealthful,  and  was  subsequently 
changed  for  a  site  on  the  no;-thwest  quar- 
ter of  section  eight.  These  cabins  were 
made  in  the  usual  style,  with  shake  roof, 
puncheon  floors  and  stick  and  clay  chim- 
neys. The  floor  of  the  loft  was  made  from 
lumber  which  had  to  be  procured  at,  and 
hauleil  across  the  prairie  from  Plainfiekl. 
The  furniture  was  the  product  of  such  skill 
as  the  men  possessed,  and  the  timber  of  the 
basswood  trees  found  here.  A  section  of  a 
good  sized  log,  smoothed  with  a  broad  ax 
and  furnished  with  a  rough  back  and  legs, 
supplied  the  absence  of  chairs.  Rude  bed- 
steads with  the  cords  brought  from  Ohio, 
and  "  ticks"  filled  with  leaves  made  a  com- 
fortable place  to  sleep.  The  manufacture 
of  these  household  belongings  occupied  the 
small  part  of  the  tall,  which  remained  after 
the  cabins  were  completed.  The  winter 
proved  a  remarkably  mild,  open  one,  and 
very  favorable  for  the  new  settlement. 

About  the  same  time  with  these  families 
came  John  Beard*  and  settled  on  section 
thirty,  where  he  was  soon  afterward  joined 
bv  his  son-in-law  and  his  family.  In  the 
spring  of  1834:,  Rodney  House  located  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  nine,  and 
in  the  same  year  three  men  by  the  name  of 
McElroy  came  from  Washington  County, 
Vermont,  and  located  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  the  same    section.     About    this 

*  His  city  at  the  head  of  the  Illinois  River  is  noted 
in  the  chapter  on  Felix  township. 


time  I).  M.  Thomas  caine  here  from  Uiiio, 
and  Leaniler  Cross,  marrying  a  daughter  of 
Chester  House,  settled  on  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  thirteen.  William  Lewis 
and  his  brothers  were  the  next  settlers, 
coming  very  soon  after  Thomas.  Of  the 
three  brothers,  William  was  a  piiysiciau 
and  located  his  claim  on  section  twenty-flvo, 
Joseph  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
thirteen,  and  Samuel  on  the  s(nitheast  quar- 
ter of  section  fourteen,  now  owned  and  oc- 
cupied by  William  Walter.  In  1835.  I. 
W.  Rutherford,  a  physician,  settled  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  tweiitv-two, 
and  commenced  his  im]3rovements  in  the 
following  year.  Samuel  Randall  was  an 
earh'  settler,  coming  in  with  Salmon  Ruth- 
erford as  a  young  man.  lie  afterward 
married  and  made  a  home  here  where  he 
died.  Thomas  Carl  was  another  settler 
who  came  in  about  1S36.  The  towtiship 
was  not  slow  in  flUing  up.  The  work  on 
the  canal  attracted  a  good  many  to  this 
vicinit}-,  and  when  the  work  stopjied  many 
without  other  resource  t<^)ok  up  the  land 
which  was  unoccupied.  These  were  chiefl}' 
natives  of  Ireland  who  had  come  from 
Canada  in  the  employ  of  a  canal  contract- 
or, and  who  now  hold  the  political  control 
of  the  township. 

The  land  here  was  one  literally  "flowing 
with  milk  and  honey."  The  great  sweep 
of  prairie  which  extended  toward  tlie  north- 
east to  the  verge  of  the  horizon  was  tjie 
resort  of  thousands  of  deer,  chickens,  and 
wolves  ;  the  river  furnished  fish  in  abun- 
dance, and  the  timber  echoed  with  the 
lively  clatter  of  the  small  game  to  which 
it  gave  a  precarious  shelter.  Tlie  honey 
bee,  the  harbinger  of  civilization,  preceded 
the  early  settlers  here   some  six  or   eight 


HISTORY  OF   GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


203 


yrars,  and  liad  made  the  river  bluffs  famous 
lor  tlie  stores  of  sweetness  found  in  hollow 
tree-;  along  the  streams.  The  Indians  were 
very  fund  of  this  delicacy,  and  never  failed 
to  rille  a  bee  tree  of  its  contents  when  they 
discovered  it,  but  from  tl»e  lack  of  proper 
lucilities  or  the  number  and  industry  of  the 
bees,  vast  stores  of  honey  were  accuuiu- 
hited  to  garnish  the  homely  fare  of  the 
pioneer. 

The  winter  of  1833-4  was  very  mild,  and 
in  January  the  weather  came  off  warm  and 
spring-like  during  the  day,  but  with  sharp 
cool  weather  at  night.  The  bees  deluded 
bv  the  inviting  warmth  of  the  sun  sallied 
from  their  hives,  and  becoming  <jhilled,  fell 
dead  upon  the  light  covering  of  snow  which 
lay  upon  the  ground.  The  new-comers  were 
not  at  loss  to  read  the  meaning  of  this  sign, 
and  the  Cryder  settlement  alone  found  thir- 
tv-three  trees  and  secured  their  contents. 
There  was,  of  course,  nothing  about  thee 
pioneer  establishments  in  which  to  store 
this  vast  amount  of  honey,  and  great  bass- 
wood  troughs  were  made  for  the  pur- 
pose and  tilled.  While  this  raid  did  not 
exterminate  the  bees  of  this  section,  the 
continued  ravages  of  the  settlers  soon  made 
these  "rich  finds"  mucli  less  frequent,  and 
those  who  enjoyed  the  sport  united  pleasure 
and  profit  in  bee-hunting.  An  experienced 
linnter  would  go  out  in  briglit  warm  da}'  in 
•winter  or  late  fall,  and  burn  some  honey- 
comb, which  seldom  failed  to  attract  the 
game  to  the  honey  which  was  provided  for 
them.  Loading  up  with  this,  the  bee  would 
rise  circling  into  the  air  and  then  fly  straight 
to  its  tree,  and  it  was  the  hunter's  business 
to  follow  the  fleet-winged  insect  closely  and 
thus  discover  its  secret.  To  do  this  requir- 
ed an  expert,  and    there  were  but  few  who 


were  marked  for  their  success.  Sometimes 
a  numberof  bees  from  a  single  tree  are  at- 
tnu;ted,  and  the  going  to  and  from  the  bait 
by  these  insects  makes  the  line  plain  enough 
to  be  easily  followed,  but  this  is  rare.  In 
o'her  cases,  the  best  that  can  be  done  is 
to  discover  the  direction  of  the  bee's  flight, 
and  taking  this — against  the  sun  if  possible 
— to  stumble  along  with  upturned  gaze, 
scanning  every  tree  for  the  toll-tale  knot- 
hole or  crack  in  the  tree.  I)\it  when  the 
tree  was  found,  the  battle  was  i>ut  half  won. 
The  tree  must  be  felled  and  the  occupants 
were  often  found  to  be  no  feeble  folk.  When 
the  hollow  of  the  tree  extended  down  to 
the  point  where  the  ax  must  penetrate  it,  the 
hunter  was  often  obliged  to  decamp  in  hot 
haste  as  soon  as  the  blows  had  aroused  the 
swarm.  David  Bunch,  of  Norman,  was 
noted  for  his  success  as  a  bee-hunter,  and 
was  greatly  assisted  by  a  dog  which,  in  some 
incomprehensible  way,  had  learned  the  se- 
cret of  bee-hunting.  Indeed,  so  keen  was 
the  animal's  interest  in  the  sport,  tliat  he 
occasionally  found  a  tree  entirely  alone  call- 
ing his  master  to  the  spot  by  his  barking. 
The  bee  was  easily  domesticated,  and 
many  of  tiie  settlers  captured  swarms, 
placed  them  in  a  section  of  a  hollow  tree, 
and  in  a  short  time  had  a  constant  source 
of  supply  for  the  table  and  the  market. 
In  many  cases  this  was  the  principal  re- 
source for  the  sweetening  used  in  the  culi- 
nary work  of  the  cabin,  and  was  the  basis 
ot  a  favorite  drink.  "  Metheglin"  was  made 
of  steeped  honey  comb  and  honey  ferment- 
ed. It  was  counted  an  excellent  drink  and 
much  preferred  to  cider,  and  when  strength- 
ened by  age,  became  a  powerful  intoxicant. 
This,  however,  has  passed  away  with  many 
other  of  the  homely   joys  of  jjioneer  days. 


294 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


The  bees,  too,  have  suffered  by  the  advance 
of  tlie  civilization  whicli  they  seem  every- 
where to  nslier  in.  Tlie  destruction  of  the 
prairie  llowers  and  tlie  ravages  of  the  bee 
moth  have  almost  resnlted  in  their  aniiihi 
lation,  and  it  is  only  by  the  strictest  care 
that  domestic  swarms  can  be  profitably 
maintained. 

Tiie  earliest  settlers  in  An  Sable  fonnd 
themselves  completely  isolated,  and  thongh 
in  a  country  abounding  in  the  riciiest  pro- 
vision of  nature,  fonnd  it  necessary  to  go 
long  distances  for  such  things  as  the  coun- 
try did  not  provide.  Their  first  flour  was 
secured  at  Reed's  Grove.  A  small  settle- 
ment had  been  made  here  a  year  or  two  be- 
fore, and  flour  had  been  brought  from  the 
Wabash  country.  Here  the  Cryder  settle- 
ment sent  for  the  winter's  supply.  For 
their  stock  they  bought  some  thirty  bushels 
of  corn  of  Marquis,  but  tiie  open  winter 
allowed  the  cattle  to  feed  on  the  prairie 
most  of  the  season.  There  was  a  fall  of 
snow  which  lay  on  the  ground  from  early 
in  January  to  the  10th  of  February.  The 
cattle  had  found  a  choice  piece  of  pasture 
south  of  the  ox-bow  bend  of  the  Au  Sable 
Creek,  which  they  refused  of  their  own 
will  to  leave  during  this  snow.  They  were 
driven  up  to  the  cabins  and  fed  some  corn, 
with  the  hope  that  this  would  'reconcile 
them  to  the  prairie  )iay  which  had  been 
provided  the  previous  fall,  but  in  the  morn- 
ing they  were  found  again  at  their  old  feed- 
ing sround.  A  considerable  band  of  Indians 
was  encamped  at  the  moutli  of  the  Au  Sa- 
ble, and  the  cattle  feeding  in  the  track  of 
their  Indian  ponies  found  plent}'  to  eat 
where  they  had  pawed  off  the  snow.  About 
1835  or  '6,  a  log  flouring  mill  Was  put  up 
on  the  Desplaiues  Kiver,  near  Channahon. 


The  buhrs  were  made  from  "  nioger-heads" 
and  turned  out  very  acceptable  flour. 

The  point  at  which  Salmon  Rutherford 
settled  early  took  on  the  importance  and 
name  of  a  village,  though  there  was  little 
to  warrant  these  pretensions.  His  log 
iiouse  was  very  early  replaced  by  a  large 
framed  structure,  and  Rutherford  took 
out  the  first  license  for  keeping  an  inn. 
The  stage  line  which  ran  in  opposition  to 
Frink  &  Walker's  line  made  this  a  point 
for  changing  horses,  and  gave  Dresden 
the  ])resti£re  of  a  post-office  and  an  occasion- 
al glimpse  of  the  outside  world.  The  sharp 
competition  between  the  rival  stage  lines, 
however,  diverted  the  route  to  a  shorter  line 
further  north,  and  the  final  withdrawal  of 
the  stage  altogether,  left  this  point  with  a 
hotel  and  a  name  only.  During  the  con- 
struction of  the  canal,  a  few  temporary 
buildings  gathered  about  the  old  hotel  and 
kept  it  coni])any  for  awhile,  but  these 
])assed  away  with  the  laborers,  and  the  place 
lapsed  into  its  original  rural  simplicity. 
Tiie  building  of  the  Rock  Island  &  Pacific 
railroad  confirmed  this  decree  of  fortune, 
and  built  up  a  substitute  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  town. 

The  vilkijje  of  Minooka  was  laid  out  by 
Ransom  Gardner  in  1852.  He  owned 
some  five  hundred  acres  of  land  at  this 
point,  and  labored  assiduoush'  to  secure  the 
location  of  the  line  near  his  property.  The 
little  town  grew  slowly  for  a  year  or  two, 
and  business  was  not  attracted  here  until 
about  1858.  Three  years  previous  to  this 
Christo]ilier  Tucker  put  up  a  store  build- 
ing and  brought  in  a  stock  of  general  mer- 
chandise, but  the  venture  proved  a  losing 
one,  and  he  left  the  place  in  the  following 
spring.      The    most  convenient  place    for 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


293 


making  purchases  at  this  time  was  Chaniiii- 
hon,  and  when,  in  tlie  fall  of  185(5,  Joseph 
Lewis  rented  the  old  Tucker  store,  he  found 
the  people   numerous   and  willing  enouj;;h 
to    make   a   profitable    bu<ineis.     In     tlie 
spring  of  1S57,   Leander   Smith,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  Gardner's,  came  to  Mino(jka  and 
erected    the  second   store   in    the   village. 
This  was  located  on  the  corner  and  is  now 
occupied  by  Martin  Kaffer.     In  the  follow- 
ing year  C.  V.  Hamilton  ])ut  uji  a  number 
of  business  buildiiiirs  which  are  now  owned 
l>v    George  Comerford    and     occupied    by 
Wheeler  &  Saddler,  and  Barker  &  Stauffer. 
Hamilton  at  the  same  time  erected  the  tirs-t 
liotel  which  was   known  for  some  time   as 
the  Hamilton   House,    but   is   now  owned 
by  Thomas   Sheick.     In    1S5S  a  grist-mill 
was  also  erected,   Gardner  &  Ileiner  origi- 
nating   the  enterprise.     This  was    a  good 
structure    with    three    run    of  stone,    and 
proved  a  great  convenience   to  the  farmers 
about,  who  gave  it  a  liberal  patronage.     It 
stood  until  1SW6  wlien  it  was  destro^'ed  by 
lire,    and    its    site  subsequently    occupied 
iiy  the  elevator  which  is   now    the   chief 
business  attraction  of  the  place.     The  first 
elevator  was   built   in  1868    by  Knapp   & 
Griswold,  which  was  burned  down  in  1880. 
In  the  following  year  A.  K.  Ivnapp  built 
the  present  fine  structure,  which  has  a  ca- 
pacity of  100,liOO  bushels,  at  a  cost  of  $15,- 
OUO.     Its   dimensions   are  36   by  70   feet 
foundation,  with  an  altitude  of  seventy  feet; 
has  a  car  shed  and   is  jirovided  with  all  the 
modern    improvements.     It   is  now  leased 
by   Henry    McEwen,  of  Morris,    who    has 
liandled    upward    of    450,000    bushels    of 
grain.     In  connection  with    this  business, 
Mr.    McEwen  carries    on  a  lumber    yard 
where  he  has    sold    some   500,000    feet  of 


lumber  in  the  past  year.  Connected 
with  the  lumber  yard  is  a  planing  mill, 
built  in  1873  by  A.  K.  Knapp  &  Griswold, 
run  by  McEwen.  A  hay  press  is  also  run 
by  the  power  of  the  mill,  where  about  a 
thousand  tons  of  hay  have  been  handled  in 
a  single  season.  Tliis  combination  of  en- 
terprises makes  Minooka  a  busy  little  town 
in  the  proper  seasons,  and  makes  a  con- 
venient market  for  a  good  many  miles 
ai'ound.  The  village  was  incorporated  De- 
cember 14,  1860,  and  now  claims  about  six 
hundred  inhabitants.  In  the  fall  of  1870 
a  considerable  tire  destroyed  four  or  five 
business  buildings  which  were  replaced 
duriiiff  the  following  winter  and  siiring, 
improving  the  appearance  of  the  business 
quarter.  Minooka  bears  a  quiet  air  of 
prosjjerity,  which  betokens  a  steady  and 
profitable  patronage,  if  not  a  large  one. 
The  business  part  of  the  town  is  consider- 
ably diversified,  and  numbers  three  general 
stores,  a  drug  store,  grocery,  market,  bar- 
ber shop,  pump  shop,  two  blacksmith  shops, 
two  wagon  shops  and  two  church  edifices. 
The  Catholic  church  of  St.  Mary's  par- 
ish is  the  stronger  organization  in  Minooka. 
It  was  early  organized  at  Dresden  where  a 
buildiner  was  erected  and  services  held  for 
some  years.  In  1862,  the  church  decided 
to  follow  the  tendency  of  business  and  pub- 
lic interests  and  removed  to  Minooka.  The 
Comerfords,  Kinsellars  anil  George  T. 
Smith  were  the  leading  members  who  took 
an  active  part  in  there-establishment  of  the 
church.  The  membership  at  that  time 
was  about  fifty,  which  has  since  been  nearly 
doubled.  The  church  edifice  is  a  neat 
wooden  structure  40  by  100  feet  foundation, 
with  an  altitude  of  100  feet,  and  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $6,000. 


203 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Tlie  fii'st  Methodist  Episcopal  Ciairch 
was  organized  in  1856  witii  some  nineteen 
nienibers.  Among  these  were  J.  G.  Smitli, 
Henry  Pendleton,  S.  and  A.  C.  Worthing, 
Michael  Ketchain  and  their  wives.  The 
first  sermon  was  jjreached  in  Ferguson's 
store  by  Rev.  T.  L.  Olmstead.  After  this, 
meetings  were  held  in  the  school-house 
until  the  present  place  of  worship  was 
erected.  Mr.  Henry  Pendleton  was  an 
active  worker  in  securing  the  new  church 
home,  which  is  a  pleasant  wooden  building, 
20  by  56  feet.  The  Sunday  school  was 
early  established  and  is  still  maintained 
tlie  year  round,  and  has  an  average  attend- 
ance of  fifty  pupils.  Tlie  church  now  num- 
bers some  fiftj'  members. 

The  An  Sable  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  whose  place  of  worship  is  situated 
on  section  seven,  is  really  tlie  older  organ- 
ization of  the  two  Methodist  churches.  It 
was  early  organized  by  Rev.  John  Devore, 
an  itinerant  from  the  Fo.x  River  Mission, 
at  the  residence  of  Henry  Cryder.  Meet- 
ings were  held  at  first  in  private  houses, 
and  later  in  the  school-house  as  soon  as  it 
was  built.  In  1878  the  neat  wooden  struct- 
ure on  the  northern  line  of  section  seven 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  some  §2,500.  It  is 
a  little  out  of  the  ordinary  style  of  rural 
church  architecture,  has  stained  glass  win- 
dows, and  is  in  every  way  a  credit  to  the 
■organization  to  which  it  belongs.  Some  of 
the  early  members  were  Henry  Cryder, 
Z.  Walley,  and  their  wives,  John  Craig, 
D.  M.  Thomas  and  others.  The  church  now 
has  a  membership  of  some  seventy  mem- 
bers. 

The  first  school-house  was  built  about 
1837,  on  section  eight,  for  which  the 
community  was  largely  indebted  to  Henry 


Cryder's  energy.  The  first  session  was 
taught  by  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Mr.  Ashley, 
from  Plainfield.  This  sufiiced  for  the  de- 
mands of  the  little  community  for  some 
eight  or  ten  years,  when  a  second  school 
house  was  erected  on  land  belonging  to 
Israel  Cryder.  This  was  a  log  building, 
and  served  as  a  meeting  house  for  some 
time. 

Minooka  Lodge  of  F.  and  A.  Masons, 
No.  628,  was  organized  in  the  winter  of 
1867,  and  worked  under  dispensation  until 
tiie  full  of  1808,  when  the  lodge  was  char- 
tered, with  G.  Dahlem,  A.  K.  Knapp,  G. 
C.  Griswold,  Jno.  T.  Van  Uolfson,  G.  S.  Cor- 
rell,  Sam'l  Adams,  W.  H.  Smith,  E.  W. 
Weese,  Jacob  Gedelman,  John  Colleps, 
Phaley  Gedleman,  J.  E.  McClure,  C.  V. 
Hamilton  and  W.  A.  Jordon  as  charter 
members.  The  first  officers  were  G.  Dahl- 
em, W.  M.;  A.  K.  Knajip,  S.  W.;  G.  C.  Gris- 
wold, J.  W.,  etc.  Tlie  lodge  is  now  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  and  holds  its  meet- 
ings on  the  first  and  third  Wednesdays  of 
each  month,  in  their  hall  in  the  third  story 
of  Coiiierford's  block. 

An  eflbrt  was  made  in  the  fall  of  1881  to 
organize  the  temperance  sentiment  of  tlie 
township  for  efl'ective  work  against  what 
was  felt  to  be  a  growing  evil.  William 
Walley  was  jiromiiient  in  this  movement, 
and  is  president  of  the  organization.  Mem- 
bers were  not  required  to  be  residents  of 
the  township,  and  many  from  Saratoga 
joined  the  movement.  Since  its  inaugu- 
ration, however,  the  society  has  taken  on  a 
political  character,  and  become  pledged  to 
the  prohibition  party.  This  organization 
holds  regular  meetings  in  the  Methodist 
meeting  house,  and  numbers  about  120 
members. 


{^^^tt^ , 


CHAPTER    XIY.* 


SARATOGA  TOWNSHIP- 


IT  was  Montesquieu  wlio  declared  that 
nation  happy  whose  annals  were  tire- 
some; but  while  this  speaks  for  the  peace- 
ful prosperity  of  a  people  it  furnishes  no 
glowing  periods  to  the  liistorian  nor  patri- 
otic panegyrics  for  the  citizen.  This  is  es- 
pecially true  in  the  case  of  Saratoga. 
Timber  lands  were  originally  very  little 
found  here,  and  Nettle  Creek  on  the  west 
and  An  Sable  on  the  east,  with  pleasant 
union  of  tinibei'  and  prairie,  attracted  the 
earlier  settlements.  Later,  as  the  original 
location  proved  unliealthful,  or  as  nearer 
settlers  failed  to  find  eligible  timber  sites, 
the  ]>rairie  land  of  Saratoga  was  invaded 
frrjm  either  side.  The  country  embraced 
within  the  limits  of  this  township  was  of 
the  most  attractive  character.  Save  a 
spur  of  timber  on  the  elbow  of  An  Sable 
Creek,  which  crosses  the  eastern  border  of 
Saratoga,  and  that  on  Nettle  Creek  in  the 
southwestern  corner  of  the  township,  the 
eye  met  only  a  broad  expanse  of  undulat- 
ing prairie  which  ended  only  with  the  line 
of  tlie  horizon  in  the  north.  Through  the 
central  portion  the  Saratoga  Creek  flowed 
an  easterly  course  throngh  the  township, 
and  the  east  fork  of  Nettle  Creek,  draining 
the  southwestern  part,  joined  the  main 
stream  in  Morris.  There  is  but  little  low 
land  here,  the  most  of  the  township  lying 

*  By  J.  H.  Battle. 


-PHYSICAL  FEATURES— THE  EARLY  SETTLERS— THE  NORWEGIAN 
EMIGRATION— THE  HOUGES  MENEGHED. 

north  of  the  second  "  bench."  The  south- 
eastern corner,  however,  is  characterized  by 
the  low  lands  which  are  found  between  the 
first  and  second  rises  from  the  Illinois 
River.  The  diagonal  road  which  enters 
the  township  near  the  middle  of  the  east- 
ern line  of  Saratoga,  follows  upon  the  mar- 
gin of  the  second  bench,  leaving  it  at  the 
Concklin  road.  From  this  point  the  line 
of  high  ground  continues  the  same  general 
southwesterly'  direction,  deflecting  slightly 
to  the  west,  and  passing  the  southern  line 
of  the  township  about  a  mile  east  of  Net- 
tle Creek.  The  rest  of  the  township  is 
admirably  situated,  and  one  would  expect 
to  find  a  dry  friable  soil  were  it  not  of 
prairie  origin.  As  it  is,  the  township  is 
noted  for  its  bad  roads,  resulting  chiefly 
from  the  character  of  the  soil,  which  seems 
to  have  a  special  athuity  for  water,  and  the 
highways,  piked  never  so  high,  become  in 
tlie  rainy  season  one  quaking  bog  of  im- 
passable mud.  This  question  of  roads  is  a 
very  serious  one  throughout  the  county. 
Considerable  expense  is  annually  laid  out 
in  "  piking  "  and  ditching,  but  the  charac- 
ter of  the  soil  renders  these  expedients  but 
partially  successful  even  for  a  twelve- 
month. There  is  plenty  of  accessible 
limestone  which  could  probably  be  used 
profitably  in  making  permanent  improve- 
ment upon  tlie  highways,  but  the  tax- 
payers  have   not  yet  learned  that  the  an- 


300 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


nual  mud  blockade  costs  the  people  at 
large  enougli  to  macudainize  every  princi- 
pally traveled  road  in  the  connty. 

Saratoga  was  oriji^inally  settled  Vy  emi- 
grants from  New  York,  who  ci-ystallized 
the  memories  of  their  old  home  in  the  name 
which  the  townsliip  bears.  The  first  settle- 
ment in  this  precinct  was  made  by  Joshua 
Collins,  in  the  spring  of  1844.  His  father 
came  from  Oneida  Connty,  New  York,  in 
1834,  following  the  lead  of  the  Walleys, 
Tablers  and  Cryders  to  Au  Sable  town- 
ship. Here  lie  lived  and  died.  His  son 
Joshua  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Cryder, 
and  in  the  following  spring  set  up  a  home 
of  his  own,  where  hi.?  widow  now  lives. 
In  the  same  year  PiiiUip  Collins  came  to 
Saratoga,  and  Alexander  Peacock.  The 
latter  was  an  Englisliman,  and  made  his 
claim  on  section  33,  including  in  liis  selec- 
tion the  present  Fair  Grounds,  which  he 
bought  some  time  later.  In  the  southern 
part  also  came  another  Englishman,  H.  M. 
Davidson,  about  the  same  year.  James 
Cronin,  an  Irishman,  whom  the  canal  work 
brought  to  this  region,  was  associated  with 
J^eacock  on  section  33,  in  the  year  of  1844. 
In  the  northeastern  corner  a  considerable 
tract  of  land  was  secured  as  early  as  1842 
or  '3,  by  John  B.  More,  whose  cabin,  how- 
ever, was  built  north  of  the  Grundy  Connty 
line.  Early  in  1844,  Carpenter  Concklin, 
in  whose  honor  the  central  road  of  the 
township  was  named,  took  up  a  claiui  on 
section  9,  and  was  followed  very  soon  by 
Ellas  Bartlett,  who  knew  the  Concklin 
family  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Bartlett 
was  an  unmarried  man,  and  followed  school 
teaching  very  early.  Conckliu's  daughter 
had  remained  behind  her  father's  family 
engaged  in  teaching,  and  after  being  here 


a  short  time,  Bartlett,  struck  by  the  sim- 
ilai'ity  of  their  tastes,  went  to  New  York 
and  brought  back  Miss  Concklin  as  his 
wife.  They  subsequently  engaged  in  teach- 
ing, and  for  a  time  conducted  the  Seminary 
at  Ott;iwa.  Daniel  Johnson  was  another 
early  settler,  as  was  Gersham  Hunt. 

About  1847  or '8,  the  immigration  of  Nor- 
wegians began  to  appear  in  this  township. 
The  first  came  from  La  Salle  County,  with 
one  or  two  from  other  sections.  They  were 
in  ])oor  financial  cireuinstances,  but  they 
brought  hardy  constitutions  and  abun- 
dant enei'gy,  and  were  not  long  in  getting 
u])on  an  eijual  footing  with  their  more 
favored  neighbors.  Their  native  tastes 
inclined  tliein  to  prefer  the  timber  lands, 
and  here  and  r.liere,  wliere  they  could  buy 
an  acre  or  two  of  timber,  their  sheepskin 
coats  and  calfskin  vests  could  be  seen  all 
through  the  northern  and  middle  part  of 
the  county. 

''The first  emigration  from  Norway  to  the 
United  States  was  in  1825.  Cling  Pearson, 
of  llcstliamer.  in  Norway,  came  over  in 
1822,  and  on  his  return  to  his  native  coun- 
try, gave  a  glowing  picture  of  America. 
He  found  the  people  of  Starvinger,  a  small 
town  in  his  neighborhood,  dissatisfied  with 
their  minister  appointed  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  desirous  of  changing  their  loca- 
tion, and  soon  persuaded  them  to  emigrate 
to  tlie  new  country.  They  purchased  a 
snuill  vessel,  a  two-masted  fishing  sloop,  for 
.  §1,800,  and  fifty-two  emigrants  set  sail  in 
their  little  craft  for  the  Western  Continent. 
They  sailed  through  the  North  Sea  and 
English  Channel  to  Madeira,  where,  get- 
ting short  of  provisions,  they  picked  up  a 
pipe  of  wine,  and  laid  in  a  stock  of  supplies. 
They    left    Norway     July     4th,     reached 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


301 


Fuiichal  Auo;ust  ISth,  and  New  York  on  the 
last  day  of  October,  1823,  their  number  hav- 
ing received  one  accession  on  the  journey. 
"  In  New  Yorli  tiiey  sold  the  vessel  for 
§400,  and  the  company  divided,  twenty- 
eififht  goin<i:  with  Cling  Pearson,  who  had 
secured  for  tiiem  a  free  passage  to  Orleans 
County,  New  York.  Here  the  colony 
bought  land  and  formed  a  settlement,  the 
first  Norwegian  community  in  America. 
But  the  leader  of  this  hegira  was  a  restless 
spirit,  and  soon  set  off  to  explore  the  far 
West.  He  reached  Illinois  and  struck  with 
its  attractions,  fixed  upon  La  Salle  County  as 
the  site  for  a  new  settlement  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen.  Cling  said  that  when  explor- 
ing the  country  afterward  occupied  by  the 
Norwegians,  that  he  laid  down  under  a 
tree  to  sleep,  and  in  his  dreams  saw  the 
wild  prairie  changed  to  a  cultivated  region, 
teeming  with  all  kinds  of  grain  and  fruits  ; 
comfortable  houses  and  spacious  barns 
dotted  tlie  land,  which  was  occupied  by  a 
rich,  prosperous  and  happy  people.  He 
woke  refreshed,  and  with  renewed  enthusi- 
asm returned  to  his  countrymen  in  New 
York,  and  persuaded  them  to  emigrate  to 
Illinois.  The  dream  was  a  natural  one  and 
might  have  been  conceived  when  awake, 
but   however   it  originated,  its  most  san- 


guine expectations  have  been  fully  realized. 
The  early  days  of  the  Norwegian  settle- 
ment in  this  country  were  full  of  poverty 
and  toil,  to  which  was  added  the  terrible 
ravages  of  Asiatic  cholera.  Happily  these 
days  are  past,  and  these  difficulties  sur- 
mounted ;  those  people  are  now  found  a 
wealthy,  prosperous  and  happy  people. 

"  The  first  Norwegian  colony  from  New 
York  came  to  La  Salle  County  in  183-i,  and 
included  some  of  the  original  fifty-three 
who  arrived  from  Norway  in  1825.  Since 
that  others  have  followed  from  the  Father- 
land, and  the  members  of  the  original  col- 
ony have  welcomed  many  of  their  old 
neighbors  to  the  land  of  their  adoption. 
Many  of  them  still  adhere  to  the  Lutheran, 
the  national  church  of  Norway,  but  many 
are  Methodist,  and  the  Mormons  have  made 
some  converts  among  them."  * 

The  only  church  in  the  township  is  the 
Houges  Menegbed.  This  is  a  Norwegian 
Lutheran  church,  and  was  organized  about 
1876.  The  society  proceeded  at  once  to 
build  a  place  of  worship  on  the  land  of  H. 
Osmonson,  which  was  erected  that  fall  at  a 
total  cost  of  about  $1,000,  including  the 
price  of  the  lot. 

*  Hist,  of  La  Salle  County. 


CHAPTER    XV.* 


WAUPONSEE   TOWNSHIP— ITS  MATERIAL  RESOURCES— EARLY  SETTLERS— PIONEER    LIFE 
ON  THE  PRAIRIE— THE  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL. 


NEATl  tlie  center  of  Grundy  Count}', 
abutting  on  the  south  bunk  of  the 
Illinois  River,  lies  Wauponsee  Township, 
or  in  the  technical  language  of  the  con- 
gressional survey,  township  33  nortli, 
range  7,  east.  Tlie  name  immortalizes 
that  prosaic  warrior,  better  cliaracterized 
by  the  closing  tragedy  on  the  Kankakee 
River  than  the  sentiment  of  the  "leatlier 
stocking  "  tales,  who  once  made  his  home 
near  the  western  line  of  the  township. 
This  name  was  early  applied  to  what  is 
now  Grundy  County,  but  these  extended 
territorial  limits  have  been  curtailed  from 
time  to  time,  until  now  it  contains  but  lit- 
tle larger  area  than  that  assigned  to  a  reg- 
ular congressional  townsiiip,  six  miles 
scpiare.  The  surface,  considerably  broken 
in  the  nortliwestern  corner,  is  general!}'  a 
rolling  prairie,  sloping  gradually  toward 
the  northwest.  The  natural  di^ainajje  is 
fair,  the  Mazon  River,  flowing  along  tiie 
eastern  border  and  taking  a  short  turn 
westward  near  the  northeastern  corner  and 
emptying  into  the  Illinois  near  the  middle 
part  of  the  town;  and  the  Waupccan  Creek, 
entering  west  of  the  middle  of  the  south- 
ern line  of  the  township,  passing  in  a 
northwesterly  direction  to  the  northwest 
corner  into  the  Illinois,  affording  an 
outlet  for  the  surplus  rain-fall.     The  out- 

*  By  L.  W.  Claypool. 


line  of  the  highlands,  which  reach  almost 
to  tlie  altitude  of  bluft's  in  the  northwest 
corner,  gradually  recedes  from  the  course 
of  the  Illinois  as  it  proceeds  eastward,  leav- 
ing a  space  of  nearly  two  miles  occu])ied  by 
the  first  and  second  bottoms.  These  are 
subject  to  annual  overflows  which  are  not 
an  unmixed  evil.  SkiflTs  owned  and  kept 
by  fanners  at  their  residences  a  mile  or 
two  away  are  suggestive  of  the  inconven- 
iences of  a  flood,  but  the  luxuriant  crops 
which  are  annually  produced  on  these  lands 
give  sure  token  of  the  blessing  which 
comes  in  this  guise.  Occasionally  a  late 
flood  or  one  accompanied  with  floating  ice 
does  considerable  damage,  but  on  the  whole 
these  inundations  are  not  unwelcome  to 
tiie  farmers.  Along  the  bottoms  the  soil 
is  a  rich  and  most  alluvial  deposit,  fertile 
and  of  inexhaustible  richness.  The  first 
and  second  rises  or  "  benches  "  are  marked 
b}'  a  preponderance  of  sand,  forming  a  pro- 
ductive loamy  soil  especially  adapted  to 
gardening  and  certain  fruits.  The  high 
plateau  beyond  is  more  of  a  clay  soil  ad- 
mirably calculated  for  good  results  in  corn 
and  grass  cultivation.  Here  the  timber  is 
principally  oak,  while  in  the  lower  portions 
of  the  township  black  and  white  walnut, 
blue  ash,  hackberry  and  some  maples  are 
found.  The  original  supply  of  timber 
was  much  less  than  now  appears,  and  dif- 
ferently distributed.     Along  the  margin  of 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


30i 


the  streams,  in  the  bottom  and  northern 
sides  of  ravines  tliere  was  a  considerable 
growth  of  trees,  whicii  by  judicious  liand- 
ling,  and  the  absence  of  prairie  liies  has 
spread,  so  that  the  lack  of  timber  is  now  ob- 
servable only  to  the  practiced  eye.  The  na- 
tive prairie  grass  is  yet  to  be  seen  here  and 
tliere,  and  is  prized  for  hay  equal  to  the  finest 
timothy.  The  attention  of  farmers  in  this 
township  is  chiefly  devoted  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  small  fruits  and  vegetables  upon  the 
Band  ridges,  large  numbers  of  melons  being 
shipped  from  this  jmint,  annually.  Else- 
where the  cultivation  of  corn,  with  stock 
raising,  and  some  dairying,  absorbs  the 
farmer's  efforts,  the  product  finding  a  ready 
and  profitable  market  at  Chicago. 

The  first  settlement  of  the  county  was 
made  in  this  township,  in  1S28,  by  Wm. 
Marquis,  lie  came  across  the  counfry  in 
a  wagon  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Wab.ish. 
He  was  of  French  extraction,  of  a  roving 
disposition,  and  being  sometliing  of  a 
trader,  was  probably  attracted  hither  by 
the  advertisement  of  the  canal  lands  and 
tiie  near  location  of  the  Indians.  What- 
ever the  reason,  he  came  here  and  halted 
his  wagon  on  the  south  fraction  of  section 
2,  33,  7.  Here  he  erected  a  building  near 
the  banks  of  the  river,  of  such  timber  as 
lie  could  handle,  aided  only  by  his  wife, 
cliildren  and  team.  He  was  more  trader 
than  farmer,  and  made  very  slight  improve- 
ments. He  cultivated  the  acquaintance  of 
the  Indians  that  lived  and  hunted  thi-ough 
the  contiguous  country,  and  through  them 
some  stories  of  Marquis  have  cojiie  down 
to  a  later  day.  It  is  said,  in  dealing  on  one 
occasion  with  Wauponsee  for  some  wild 
geese  feathers.  Marquis  insisted  on  paying 
kirn  in  pumpkins,  at  the  rate  oi  pound  for 


poinuL     This  was  too  much   for  ev-en.the 
indolent  credulity  of  an    Indian,  and  the 
enraged  old  chief  drove  him  into  his  cabin, 
smashing  the  pumpkins  after  him.     Mar- 
quis threatened  to  report  his  actions  to  the 
whites — with  whom   the    chief  was    not  in 
good   rejiute — but  the   Indian,  undaunted, 
replied,  "Whites  like  Indian  more  than  he 
like  Marquis;  he  talk  nice  and  smooth,  but 
he  (I — d  rascal."     This  is  said  to  be  not  an 
unfair  estimate  of  his  dealings  with  the  In- 
dians, by  whom  he  was  not   greatly  liked. 
The  whites  who  came  to  the  township  sub- 
sequently, found  in    him  a  good  neighbor, 
but   a  cunning  and   dangerous    opponent. 
Here  he  lived  for  several  years  complete!}' 
isolated,  trusting  for   subsistence  upon  his 
own  resiiurcei  alone.    The  story  of  the  death 
of   his   son,  about  twelve  years  old,  in  the 
winter   of   1834-5,  and  the    funeral,  gives 
some  idea   of   the  early  privations.       The 
father,  after  placing  the  body  of  his  child 
on  a  scafibld  out  of  doors  where    it  would 
be  safe  from  the  attack  of  marauding  ani- 
mals, left  his  family  sick  in  the  cabin   and 
walked   several  miles  to  get  help  from  the 
neighbors  for  the   burial     Three  of  them 
res]ionded,  Jacob  and    Perry  Claypool  and 
William  Eobb.     For  a  burial  case  they  cut 
off  an  old  canoe,  closing  the  open  end  with 
a  piece  of  board,  dressed  the  body  in  a  clean 
shirt,  and  placing  it  in    the    extemporized 
coflln,  C(jvered  it  with  a  board.     To  remove 
it  to  the  place  of  burial,  in  the  absence  of 
au}^  sort  of  vehicle,  a  yoke  of  oxen  was  at- 
tached to  the  afiair,  and  the  j  ioneer  cortege 
proceeded  in  this    unceremonious   manner 
through  the  snow  to    a   ridge  at  some  dis- 
tance, where  the  grave  had  been  prepared. 
The  young  team,  not    impressed  with   the 
solemnity  of  tlie  occasion,  made  a  nearly 


304 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


successful  attempt  to  run  away,  and  though 
the  burial  was  accomplished  without  any 
imseemly  accident,  there  was  painfully 
lacking  that  careful  tenderness  which  so 
mitigates  the  pain  of  the  funeral  ceremony. 
This  was  the  first  white  man's  funeral  in 
Grundy  County,  and  is  typical  of  the  pri- 
vations of  frontier  life — an  experience  rigor- 
ous enough  with  health  and  good  fortune  to 
support  it,  but  sad  beyond  expression  when 
sickness  and  death  are  added  to  its  miseries. 
In  1835  Marquis  sold  out  to  A.  Holderman 
and  remo%'ed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Au  Sable, 
where  he  bought  some  land  and  lived  a 
number  of  years.  lie  subsequently  lost 
the  principal  part  of  his  property,  and  left 
for  Texas  in  1850. 

In  1833  Col.  Sayers  came  from  the  lower 
settlements  to  AVauponsee,  and  made  a 
claim  on  the  east  half  of  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  14,  building  his  cabin  near 
t!ie  present  residence  of  J.  PI.  Pattison. 
He  never  came  here  to  live  or  to  make  fur- 
ther improvements,  but  sold  the  claim  to 
W.  A.  Hollo  way,  who  moved  into  the  cab- 
in in  March  of  the  following  year.  The 
latter  was  not  a  long  resident  of  this  town- 
ship, selling  his  place  next  year  and  buying 
laud  in  what  is  now  Felix  township,  where 
he  was  the  first  settler. 

Mr.  S.  Crook,  who  succeeded  Ilolloway 
in  the  Sayers  cabin  in  1835,  was  a  New 
York  merchant.  The  notoriety  which  the 
"  canal  lands"  got  through  the  State  agents 
was  such  as  to  create  the  belief  in  many 
minds  that  there  were  fine  opportunities 
here  for  successful  speculation  in  lands,  and 
attracted  many  who  found  themselves  mis- 
taken, and  soon  moved  elsewhere.  Among 
this  number,  perhaps,  should  be  placed  Mr. 
Crook.     He    brought    with    him    several 


trunks  filled  with  goods,  with  which  to 
trade  with  the  natives.  He  never  forma'iv 
opened  a  store  here,  but  found  ready  access 
to  his  goods  when  an  occasion  ottered  op- 
portunity for  trade.  He  left  Wauponsee 
in  the  following  year,  and  established  a 
store  at  Ottawa,  where  he  continued  in 
business  for  a  long  time. 

The  next  family  to  join  its  fortunes  with 
the  little  colony  in  this  townsliip  was  tliat 
of  Jacob  Claypool.  He  was  a  Yirginian  by 
birth,  and  moved  with  his  father  to  Ohio, 
settling  near  Chill icothe,  in  1799.  In  the 
war  of  1812  lie  served  in  a  rifle  company 
which  was  a  part  of  the  first  regiment,  and 
in  a  diary,  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son, 
L.  W.  Claypool,  has  left  an  interesting  his- 
tory of  the  movements  and  experiences  of 
that  part  of  the  army  to  wiiich  he  was  at- 
tached. He  was  in  the  campaign  about 
Detroit,  was  captured  with  Gen.  Hull  and 
paroled.  His  observation  of  the  Lake  re- 
gion made  a  deep  impression  upon  his 
mind;  and  when  the  canal  lands  were  ad- 
vertised he  became  possessed  with  a  desire 
to  make  his  home  near  the  lake  on  these 
lands.  Mr.  Claypool  had  something  of  the 
true  spirit  of  the  pioneer,  and  preferred 
the  isolation  and  freedom  of  the  frontier  to 
the  crowded  settlements.  On  arriving  at 
his  maiority  liis  fir~t  move  wa*  to  go,  with 
others,  to  tlie  east  fork  of  the  Miami  Rii-cr, 
in  Brown  County,  Ohio,  to  establish  a  new 
settlement.  He  was  therefore;  in  1833, 
anxious  to  leave  his  farm  and  go  further 
west,  and  determined,  whether  he  sold  his 
place  or  not.  to  go  to  the  lake  region;  and 
started  this  year  for  the  northern  part  of 
the  State  of  Ohio.  He  was  forced  to  re- 
turn, however,  after  getting  to  Dayton,  by 
the  sickness  of  his  horse.     In    the  follow- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


305 


ing  year,  having  an  opportunity  to  sell  his 
Ohio  farm,  lie  started  tor  the  canal  lands  in 
Illinois,  taking  his  son,  L.  W.  Ciaypnol, 
Nvitii  him,  on  a  prospectiiii;  tour.  His  de- 
sign was  to  follow  the  Illinois  lii\erby  boat 
to  Pei'U,  and  thence  to  walk  to  Chicago,  the 
aim  of  his  journey.  At  Cincinnati  they 
took  a  boat  "bound  for  the  lUindis  Itiver," 
on  wliicli  they  made  the  journey  to  Ueards- 
toun,  where  tlie  boat  ended  its  trip.  Dis- 
appointed, but  undaunted,  tlie  two  started 
out  on  foot,  and  made  their  way  finally  to 
the  residence  of  James  Galloway,  near  Mar- 
seilles. Here  Mr.  Clfiy]iool  rested  for  the 
night,  and  was  advised  in  the  morning  to 
go  to  Ilolloway's  caldn.  Here,  tired  with 
Ids  journey  and  pleased  with  the  prospect, 
lie  selected  the  southwest  (juarter  of  section 
20  as  Ins  future  home,  and  with  his  son 
then  struck  out  for  home,  following  the 
course  of  the  river,  determined  to  take  the 
first  boat  they  could  get.  They  were  for- 
tunate enough  to  find  one  at  Pekin,  on 
which  they  made  the  trip  to  Cincinnati. 
Mr.  Claypool  set  about  preparing  for  the 
removal,  and  in  making  up  a  party  to  ac- 
comi'any  him. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  (1S34)  Mr.  Clay- 
pool  returned  with  his  goods  on  wagons, 
accompanied  by  liis  family',  James  Pobb 
and  his  family,  Wra.  Brown  and  family, 
John  Snowhill  and  Wm.  Eu banks.  The 
little  company  came  over  the  country,  and 
getting  into  the  Chicago  trail,  Mr.  Clay- 
pool  was  then  anxious  to  go  to  Chicago, 
notwithstanding  lie  had  selected  another 
place.  At  the  point  where  the  road 
branched  off  toward  AVaujJonsee  the  cara- 
van was  brought  to  a  halt,  and  the  question 
of  going  to  the  lake  was  put  to  a  vote, 
and  Mr.  Claypool  being  in  the  minority, 


came  with  the  rest  to  his  chosen  spot. 
James  Ilobb  located  on  the  southeast 
quarter,  section  IS,  but  subsequently  sold 
out,  moved  out  of  the  township,  and  later 
returned  to  his  homestead  on  section  28. 
William  Brown  erected  his  cabin  on  the 
northwest  quarter,  section  30,  33,  8,  but 
in  184-2  he  sold  this  place,  moved  to  section 
13,  33,  7,  where  he  died. 

In  1835,  Richard  Griggs  settled  on  the 
southeast  quarter,  section  33,  built  liis  cabin 
and  fenced  a  few  acres,  but  soon  sold  out 
and  left  for  parts  unknown.  In  the  same 
3'ear  the  oldest  son  of  Jacob  Claypool, 
Perry  A.  Claypool,  put  up  a  cabin  on  the 
east  half  of  northeast  quarter,  section  28. 
He  had  returned  the  previous  year  to  Ohio 
to  consuinniate  his  marriage  to  Miss  Mary 
Ilollsted,  and  tlien  brought  his  bride  to 
AVauponsee  to  begin  life  upon  the  Illinois 
prairie.  The  year  following,  Geo.  W. 
Armstrong,  an  early  settler  of  La  Salle 
County,  and  of  a  veiy  prominent  family 
there,  came  to  Wauponsee,  and  erected  a 
cabin  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
18,  and  began  immediately  afterward  to 
erect  a  saw-mill  on  the  Waujiecan  Creek, 
finishing  it  the  next  year.  lie  added  to 
this  business  a  few  pieces  of  dry  goods  and 
a  stock  of  groceries,  which  constituted  the 
first  regularl}'  opened  store  in  the  town- 
ship, and  probably  the  first  in  the  county. 
There  was  but  little  business  in  so  sparse  a 
settlement,  and  the  venture  probably  did 
not  yield  great  returns.  The  scarcity  of 
timber  operated  unfavorably  to  the  interests 
of  the  mill,  though  it  undoubtedly  proved 
a  great  convenience  to  the  settlers,  who 
otherwise  were  forced  to  split  and  hew  out 
puncheons  as  a  substitute  for  boards.  The 
mill   changed    hands    several    times,  and 


306 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


finally  so  completely  disappeared  as  to  leave 
no  trace  by  which  its  actual  site  can  be 
identified.  Mr.  Armstrong  did  not  stay 
long  in  Wauponsee,  returning  to  his  former 
home  in  the  adjoining  county,  in  a  year  or 
two. 

Ezekiel  Warren,  who  came  to  La  Salle 
County  in  1832,  and  where  he  took  part  in 
the  Black  Hawk  War,  moved  into  Arm- 
strong's cabin  in  1S39.  Here  he  lived  two 
or  three  years,  and  then  located  on  the  east 
half  of  the  southeast  quarter,  section  17, 
33,  7.  James  Thompson  and  James  Berry 
came  into  the  township  about  1841.  Both 
were  Irishmen,  brought  here  by  interests 
of  the  canal,  and  have  proven  a  valuable 
acquisition  to  the  growth  of  the  town- 
ship. 

The  pioneers  who  thus  formed  the  little 
colony  that  early  gathered  in  this  townsliip 
were  familiar  with  the  isolation,  and  inured 
to  the  hardships  and  privations  of  frontier 
life.  But  with  all  this,  the  open  prairie 
presented  difiiculties  to  which  they  had 
hitherto  been  strangers.  From  this  point 
of  view,  wlieu  the  adaptability  of  the 
prairies  has  been  so  abundantly  proven, 
it  seems  unfortunate  that  the  early  ex- 
periences of  these  pioneers  led  them  to 
cling  to  the  timbered  portions  of  the  land, 
where  foul  water  and  miasma  aggravated 
the  inevitable  discomforts  of  frontier 
life.  The  cabin  built,  many  turned  their 
attention  at  once  to  building  tight,  ex- 
pensive fences.  The  Claypools  enclosed 
eighty  acres  with  a  stout  Virginia  fence, 
"  staked  and  ridered,"  and  others  fenced 
similar  fields,  but  they  soon  learned  that 
this  was  an  unnecessary  expense  here. 
Most  of  the  settlers  brought  in  horses  and 
cows,  but  the  former  pretty  generally  gave 


way  to  oxen  for  working  purposes,  and  hogs 
were  soon  introduced  from  tlie  older  settle- 
ments on  the  lower  jiart  of  the  river,  as  the 
most  available  way  to  supply  the  table. 

These  preliminaries  accomplished,  the 
most  urgent  necessity  was  to  secure  a  crop. 
The  plows  were  crude  aifairs,  strong  and 
serviceable,  but  requiring  great  team  power 
and  considerable  mechanical  skill  in  the 
plowman.  The  sod  was  found  tough,  not 
easily  "  tamed,"  and  very  uncertain  in  pro- 
ducing a  first  crop.  So  tenacious  was  it, 
that  the  furrow  turned  out  one  unbroken 
strip  of  sod,  and  occasionally,  when  not 
especially  careful,  the  plowman  had  the  dis- 
appointment of  seeing  3'ards  of  this  leath- 
ery soil  turn  back  to  its  natural  position, 
necessitating  the  tedious  operation  of  turn- 
ing it  all  back  by  hand.  The  result  of  all 
this  labor  was  generally  well  repaid  the 
first  year,  if  the  sod  became  thoroughly 
rotted,  though  it  produced  but  a  small 
cro]).  Oftentimes  the  second  and  third 
plowing  showed  the  soil  still  stubborn  and 
unkind.  Few,  even  among  farmers,  know 
much  of  the  labor  involved  in  "  breaking 
prairie,"  unless  they  have  experienced 
its  obstacles  and  overcome  them.  Corn 
was  the  only  crop  planted  at  first,  and  this 
furnished  food  for  man  and  beast,  and  a 
few  years  later  it  was  a  mark  of  unusual 
prosperity  to  be  able  to  furnish  wheat 
bread  to  especial  guests.  When  these 
diificulties  had  been  surmounted;  when 
rude  barns  and  stacks  of  grain  began 
to  mark  the  home  of  the  thriving  frontier 
farmer,  his  very  prosperity  made  him  the 
readier  victim  of  the  desolation  that  stalked 
abroad  in  the  prairie  fire.  Against  this 
evil  there  was  at  that  time  no  sure  defense, 
but  eternal  vigilance.     Mr.  Baldwin,  who 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


307 


has  described  this  so  well  in  his  liistury  of 
La  Siille  County,  says:  "From  the  time 
the  grass  would  burn,  which  was  soon  alter 
the  first  frost,  usually  about  the  first  of 
October,  till  the  surrounding  prairie  was 
all  burnt  over,  or  if  not  all  burnt,  till  the 
green  grass  in  the  spring  had  grown  suf- 
ficiently to  ])revent  the  rapid  progress  of 
the  fire,  the  early  settlers  were  continuallj^ 
on  the  watch,  and  as  the}'  usually  expressed 
the  idea, '  slept  with  one  eye  open.'  When 
the  ground  was  covered  with  snow,  or  dur- 
ing rainy  weather,  tlie  apprehension  was 
quieted,  and  both  eyes  could  be  safely 
closed.  A  statute  law  forbade  setting  the 
prairie  on  fire,  and  one  doing  so  was  sub- 
ject to  a  penalty,  and  liable  in  an  action  of 
trespass,  for  the  damage  accruing;  but 
convictions  were  seldom  effected,  as  proof 
was  diificnlt  to  obtain,  though  there  were 
frequent  fires.  These,  started  on  the  lee- 
ward side  of  an  improvement,  while  very 
dangerous  to  property  to  the  leeward,  were 
not  so  to  the  windward,  as  fire  progressing 
against  the  wind  is  easily  extinguished. 
The  apprehension,  therefore,  of  a  frontier 
farmer  may  be  readily  imagined.  Alone, 
in  a  strange  land,  he  has  made  a  comfort- 
able home  for  his  family;  has  raised  and 
stored  his  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  fodder  for 
his  stock,  and  sees  about  these,  stretching 
away  for  miles  in  every  direction,  a  vast 
sea  of  standing  grass,  dry  as  tinder,  waving 
in  threatening  movement  as  the  fierce 
prairie  wind  howls  a  dismal  requiem,  as 
over  fair  hopes  doomed  to  destruction. 

"  Various  means  were  resorted  to  for 
protection.  A  common  one  was  to  plow 
several  furrows  around  a  strip,  several  rods 
wide,  outside  the  improvements,  and  then 
burn  out   the  strip;   or  to    wait  until  the 


prairie  was  on  fire  and  then  set  fire  outside 
of  this  fun-owing,  reserving  the  inner  strip 
for  a  late  burn,  i.  e.,  until  the  following 
summer,  and  in  July  burn  both  old  grass 
and  new.  The  grass  would  start  immedi- 
ately, and  the  cattle  would  feed  it  close  in 
preference  to  the  older  grass,  so  that  the  fire 
would  not  pass  over  it  the  following  autumn. 
This  process  repeated  would  soon,  or  in  a 
few  years,  run  out  the  prairie  grass,  and  in 
time  would  be  replaced  by  blue  grass,  which 
will  never  burn  to  any  extent.  But  all 
this  took  time  and  labor,  and  the  crowd  of 
business  on  the  hands  of  a  new  settler,  of 
which  a  novice  has  no  conception,  would 
prevent  him  doing  what  would  now 
seem  a  small  matter;  and  all  such  effort 
was  often  futile.  A  prairie  fire  driven  by 
a  high  wind  would  often  leap  such  barriers 
and  seem  to  put  human  effort  at  defiance. 
"  A  ]irairie  fire  when  first  started  goes 
straight  forward  with  a  velocity  propor- 
tioned to  the  force  of  the  wind,  widening 
as  it  goes,  but  the  center  keeping  ahead;  it 
spreads  sideways,  but  burning  laterally,  it 
makes  but  comparatively  slow  progress, 
and  if  the  wind  is  moderate  and  steady, 
this  spreading  fire  is  not  difficult  to  man- 
age; but  if  the  wind  veers  a  point  or  two, 
first  one  way  and  then  the  other,  it  sends 
this  side  fire  beyond  control.  The  head 
fire  in  dry  grass  and  a  head  wind  is  a  fear- 
ful thing,  and  pretty  sure  to  have  its  own 
way  unless  there  is  some  defensible  point 
from  which  to  meet  it.  A  contest  with 
such  a  fire  requires  such  skill  and  tact  as 
can  be  learned  only  by  experience,  and  a 
neighborhood  of  settlers  called  out  by  such 
an  exigency  at  once  put  themselves  under 
the  direction  of  the  oldest  and  most  ex- 
perienced of  their  number,  and  go  to  work 


308 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


with  the  ahicritj  and  energy  of  men  de- 
fending tlieir  liomes  and  propertj  from 
destruction. 


"  Tlie   usual  wav   of  meeting 


an 


ad- 


vancing fire  was  to  begin  the  defense 
where  the  head  of  the  tire  would  strike, 
which  is  calculated  by  the  smoke  and  ashes 
brought  by  the  wind  long  in  advance  of 
the  fire.  A  road,  cattle  path  or  furrow  is 
of  great  value  at  such  a  place;  if  there  is 
none  sucli,  a  strip  of  the  grass  is  wetted  down 
if  water  can  be  procured,  which  is,  how- 
ever, a  rather  scarce  article  at  the  time  of 
the  annual  fires.  On  the  side  nearest  to 
the  coming  fire,  of  such  road  or  path,  tiie 
grass  is  set  on  fire,  which  burns  slowly 
against  the  wind  until  it  meets  the  coming 
conflagration,  which  stops  of  course  for 
want  of  fuel,  provided  tliere  has  been  suf- 
ficient time  to  burn  a  strip  that  will  not  be 
leaped  by  the  head  fire  as  it  comes  in. 
This  is  called  back-firing;  but  in  tliis 
method,  great  care  must  be  exercised  to 
prevent  the  fire  getting  over  the  furrow 
path,  or  wliatever  is  used  as  a  base  of  oper- 
ations. If  it  gets  over  and  once  under  way, 
there  is  no  remedy  but  to  fall  back  to  a 
more  defensible  position.  The  head  of  the 
fire  successfully  checked,  the  forces  divide, 
part  going  to  the  right  and  part  to  the  left, 
and  the  back-fii"ing  continued  to  meet  the 
side  fires  as  they  come  up.  This  must  be 
continued  until  the  fire  is  checked  along 
the  entire  front  of  the  premises  endangered, 
and  tlie  sides  secured. 

"Various  implements  were  used  to  put 
out  a  side  or  back  fire,  or  even  the  head  of 
a  fire  in  a  moderate  wind.  A  fence  board, 
four  to  six  feet  long,  with  one  end  shaved 
down  for  a  handle,  was  very  eflective  when 
struck  flat  npon   the  narrow  Btrip  of  fire. 


A  bundle  of  hazel  brush,  a  spade  or  shovel 
were  olten  used  with  effect.  The  women 
frequently  lent  their  aid  and  dexterously 
wielded  the  mop,  which,  when  thoroughly 
wet,  proved  a  very  efiicient  weipon,  espe- 
cially in  extinguishing  a  fire  in  the  fence. 
When  the  fire  overcame  all  opposition,  and 
seemed  bound  to  sweep  over  the  settlement, 
a  fear  of  personal  loss  would  paralyze,  for 
the  moment,  every  faculty,  and  as  soon  as 
that  danger  seemed  imminent,  united  efiort 
ceased,  and  each  one  hastened  to  defend  his 
own  as  best  he  could.  It  is  due  to  histor- 
ical truth  to  say  that  the  actual  losses  were 
much  less  than  might  have  been  expected, 
though  frequently  quite  severe.  The  phys- 
ical efforts  made  in  extinguishing  a  dan- 
gerous fire,  and  in  protecting  one's  home 
from  this  devouring  element  were  of  the 
most  trying  nature,  resulting  fatally  in 
more  than  one  instance. 

"The  premises  about  the  residences  and 
yards  being  trampled  down  by  the  family 
and  domestic  animals,  after  a  year  or  two 
became  tolerably  safe  from  fire,  but  the 
fences,  corn  and  stubble  fields  were  fre- 
quently burned  over.  When  the  prairie 
was  all  fenced  and  under  cultivation,  so 
that  prairie  fires  were  a  thing  of  the  past, 
the  denizens  of  the  prairie  were  happily  re- 
leased from  the  constant  fear  and  ai)pre- 
hension  which  for  years  had  rested  like  a 
nightmare  on  their  quiet  and  happiness, 
disturbing  their  peace  by  night,  and  caus- 
ing anxiety  by  day.  The  early  settlers  will 
ever  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  grand 
illuminations  nightly  exhibited  in  dry 
weather,  from  early  fall  to  late  spring, 
by  numberless  prairie  fires.  The  whole 
horizon  would  be  lighted  up  around  its  en- 
tire  circuit.     A   heavy   fire  six   or   seven 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUXTY. 


309 


miles  away,  would  afford  sufficient  light  on 
a  dark  night  to  enable  one  to  read  tine 
print.  When  a  fire  liad  passed  through  the 
prairie,  leaving  the  long  lines  of  side  fires 
like  two  armies  facing  eacli  other,  at  niglit 
the  siglitwas  grand  ;  and  if  one's  premises 
were  securely  protected  and  he  could  enjoy 
the  fine  exliibition  witliout  apprehension,  it 
was  an  awe-inspiring  sight  well  worth  going 
far  to  see." 

The  isolation  of  the  Wauponsee  commu- 
nity, while  not  that  of  many  a  frontier  col- 
ony, was  such  as  to  command  the  greatest 
respect  for  the  patient  endurance  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  county.  The  nearest  post- 
oflice  was  at  Ottawa,  while  the  onl}'  "  grist- 
mill" was  that  of  a  Mr.  Green  at  Dayton. 
Here  the  farmers  took  a  wagon  load  of  corn 
or  a  year's  supply  of  wheat  and  often 
waited  a  week  for  their  turn,  camping  out 
in  the  vicinity  in  the  meanwhile.  TJiis  lack 
of  milling  facilities  led  to  the  adoption  of 
many  substitutes,  such  as  grating  the  corn 
on  a  perforated  tin  or  iron,  parching  and 
grinding  in  a  coffee  mill,  or  more  com- 
monly pulverizing  it  with  a  huge  wooden 
mortar  and  pestle.  Sometimes  a  conven- 
iently placed  stump  furnished  the  material 
for  the  mortar,  otherwise  a  section  of  loe 
was  hollowed  out  to  form  a  bowl-like  recep- 
tacle in  which  the  corn  was  placed  and 
plied  with  a  heavy  wooden  pestle.  The 
finest  of  the  product  was  used  for  the  "  corn 
pone"  or  "  slapjack,"  while  the  coarser  part 
furnished  forth  the  characteristic  "horn- 
iny." 

Game  consisted  principally  of  wild  hogs 
and  wolves.  There  were  some  deer  to  be 
found  in  the  timber,  and  smaller  game 
such  as  squirrels,  woodchucks  and  prairie 
chickens  on  the  prairie,  but  the  first  named 


animals  furnished  the  principal  sport.  "Wild 
hogs  were  such  as  had  wandered  off  from 
the  older  settlements  and  gone  wild  in  the 
course  of  nature.  They  were  of  a  long- 
legged,  gaunt  species,  and  kept  the  timber 
pretty  closely.  They  were  no  particular 
damage  or  annoyance  to  the  early  settlers, 
but  furnished  capital  hunting  sport,  though 
of  not  very  long  duration.  The  wolves  were 
of  the  coyote  species  and  haunted  the  open 
prairies.  These  were  of  more  annoyance 
to  the  settlements,  and  a  bounty  was  early 
offered  by  the  county  for  their  scalps,  and 
is  still  paid  when  claimed  by  hunters. 
They  were  a  small  undersized  breed,  and 
would  make  the  night  dismal  with  their 
howling,  though  they  never  attacked  full- 
sized  animals  or  persons.  There  were  no 
sheep  in  the  township,  but  young  calves 
often  fell  an  easy  victim  to  these  insatiable 
beasts,  and  young  pigs  when  alone  or  ac- 
companied only  by  the  mother  sow  were 
often  captured.  They  were  hunted  with 
dogs,  and  when  run  down  would  fall  on 
their  backs  and  fight  very  much  like  a  cat. 
On  frozen  ground  and  when  filled  by  a 
recent  meal  they  were  run  down  without 
much  difficulty  on  horseback,  as  they 
seemed  to  avoid  the  timber  and  would  risk 
capture  rather  than  go  into  it.  An  in- 
stance is  related  where  a  wolf  was  thus 
run  down  and  suddenly  seized  by  the  hinder 
leg  as  he  lay  on  the  ground  ready  to  fight, 
was  whirled  about  the  hunter's  head  and 
killed  by  bringing  him  forcibly  on  the 
ground.  Their  nature  of  late  years,  how- 
ever, seems  to  have  undergone  a  decided 
change.  They  now  attain  a  much  larger 
size  and  inhabit  the  timber  almost  exclu- 
sively. Occasionally  one  is  still  shot  and 
exhibited   as   quite   a   curiosity.      Prairie 


310 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


chickens  are  still  found,  tliuuj^h  in  decreas- 
ing numbers,  and  serve  to  attract  sports- 
men from  less  favored  localities. 

Waupoiisee  was  in  the  line  of  early  trav- 
el— one  of  the  principal  traveled  routes 
passing  through  its  territory — and  the  old 
hotel  on  the  Mazon  was  for  some  time  a 
point  of  considerable  importance.  But  the 
regulation  of  the  roads,  the  building  of 
railroads  and  the  location  of  the  county 
seat  so  near  at  hand,  have  all  conspired  to 
discourage  the  growth  of  any  village  with- 
in its  borders.  Its  only  centers  of  attrac- 
tion are  the  school-houses  and  a  church 
building,  situated  rather  southeast  of  the 
center  of  the  township.  There  was  occa- 
sional preaching  in  the  cabins  by  passing 
ministers  as  early  as  '34  or  '35,  but  the  first 
regular  services  were  held  in  Wauponsee 
Grove,  just  over  tlie  township  line,  in  1837 
or  '8,  by  a  Rev.  Mr.  Rogers,  of  the  South 
Ottawa  circuit.  In  1839,  Ilarvey  Had- 
ley,  of  the  same  circuit,  officiated,  fol- 
lowed by  Jno.  F.  Devore,  who  was  the 
means  of  a  great  revival  in  1842  or '3. 

The  Mormons  were  also  early  in  the  field, 
and  had  their  preachers  out  quite  regularly 
until  184-1.  Elder  Pratt  is  especially  re- 
membered as  one  of  these  Evangelists  of 
the  Latter  Day  Saints.  They  made  several 
converts  to  their  peculiar  doctrines,  some  of 
whom  left  for  Nau  voo,  but  the  majority  lost 
their  faith  and  "slid  back."  The  first  church 
organization  in  the  township,  however, 
was  the  Wauponsee  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  J.  "W.  and  J.  P.  Riding,  though 
of  Congregational  proclivities,  were  prom- 
inent in  its  early  organization,  but  subse- 
quently withdrew.  For  nearly  ten  year^  it 
held  its  meetings  in  the  cabins  around  un- 
til about  1872,  when,  under  the  lead  of  Mr. 


Morgan  Button,  an  effort  was  put  forth  fur 
a  regular  place  of  worship.  The  result  of 
these  eflbrts  is  the  neat  wooden  edifice  in 
which  the  church  now  worships.  It  was 
dedicated  in  August,  1873,  and  cost  some 
$3,000. 

Schools  were  not  established  until  after 
the  formation  of  the  county.  The  com- 
munity was  small,  and  there  were  but  few 
scholars  to  attend  if  such  had  been  started. 
But  in  1843  a  school  was  opened  in  a  log 
cabin  erected  in  the  center  of  section  20, 
and  was  kept  by  Amanda  Pickering.  This 
was  not  a  public  school,  but  supported  by 
the  patrons,  who  "  swapped  "  pork,  corn, 
etc.,  with  a  little  monej',  for  the  less  ma- 
terialistic benefit  received  by  their  children. 
This  was  one  of  the  earliest  schools  in  the 
county,  and  the  cabin  is  still  pointed  out. 
The  second  school-house,  which  was  known 
as  the  "  Satterly  School  House."  was  con- 
structed of  logs  on  the  east  line  of  section 
15,  about  1848,  where  its  site  is  now  marked 
by  a  modern  structure,  in  which  the  chil- 
dren of  to-day  go  to  school.  This  old  school- 
house  svas  for  years  used  as  town  hall  for 
the  regular  town  meetings  and  occasional 
religious  services.  But  since  then  how 
marked  the  change!  Neat  school-houses 
are  found  m  every  quarter  of  the  township, 
where  advanced  methods  and  improved 
means  unite  to  fit  the  rich  and  poor  alike 
for  the  duties  and  dangers  of  life. 

Note. — The  Cicada,  or  Seventeen-year  Locust, 
has  been  a  visitant  of  this  country,  as  elsewhere,  and 
since  first  noticed  has  been  regular  in  its  coming-.  It 
was  first  noticed  in  1837,  and  in  June  of  that  year 
began  to  attract  very  general  attention.  They  came 
out  of  the  ground  about  the  last  of  May,  and  by  the 
middle  of  June  seemed  to  have  taken  possession  of 
the  country.  A  sudden  jar  on  a  small  bush  would 
put  to  flight  as  many  as  could  be  put  into  an  ordinary 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


311 


l),ul.  and  during'  the  middle  part  of  the  day  their 
noise  would  drown  the  tones  of  a  cow-bell  a  liundred 
yai'ds  away.  They  took  eveiy  green  thing  in  their 
way,  and  it  was  estimated  that  fully  one-third  of  the 
leaf-bearing  twigs  on  the  oak  timber  on  the  eastern 
banks  of  the  Mazon  was  destroyed  by  their  "prod- 
ding" to  deposit  eggs. 

In  1854  the  locusts  began  to  appear  about  the  28th 
of  May.  They  came  out  of  the  ground  a  large  bug, 
which  fastened  itself  to  a  twig  for  an  hour  or  two, 
when  its  encasing  shell  parting  along  the  central  line 
of  the  back,  disclosed  the  ravaging  locust.  In  a  few 
days  the  country  began  to  resound  with  thtir  noise, 
but  a  heavy  rain  early  in  June  seemed  to  destroy 
large  numbers.  By  the  middle  of  June  they  began 
to  deposit  their  eggs,  and  becoming  fat  and  enerva- 


ted by  their  gorging,  fell  an  ea.sy  prey  to  the  birds, 
which  destroyed  large  numbers.  They  wont  away  as 
rapidly  as  they  came,  and  by  July  1st  nothing  but 
dried  iVaaments  of  the  insect  could  be  discovered. 

In  IbTl  farmers  were  expecting  the  return  of  the 
locust  invasion,  and  kept  a  keen  watch  for  the  first 
appearance  of  the  scourge.  On  the  '20th  of  May  the 
bug  was  plowed  up,  and  by  the  25th  they  had  be- 
come quite  numerous  above  ground.  On  June  7 
these  insects  killed  sixti/  apple  trees  for  L.  W.  Clay- 
pool,  though  they  had  been  planted  three  years.  By 
July  2nd  there  could  be  heard  now  and  then  one  in 
the  woods,  but  all  the  rest  had  gone.  In  the  later 
visits  the  locusts  were  much  less  numerous  than  in 
1837. 


CHAPTER    XYL* 


FELIX  TOWNSHIP— ITS  TOPOGRAPHICAL  FEATURES-PIONEERS— FLOODS— SICKNESS— JUG- 
TOWN— THE  SILENT  CITY. 

forming  bottom  lands,  nearly  two  miles  in 
width  in  some  places;  the  road  which  fol- 
lows the  general  coarse  of  the  river,  mark- 
ing the  general  line  of  the  high  lands.  Im- 
mediately south  of  this  line  the  land  sinks 
somewhat  into  what  was  originally  low  wet 
meadows,  marked  by  broken  ontcroppings 
of  liinerock  and  bowlders.  On  the  north- 
ern iialf  of  sections  9,  10,  and  11,  is  Goose 
Lake,  a  relic,  probably,  of  the  great  water- 
course that  once  overflowed  this  region  and 
carried  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the 
Mississippi  River.  This  body  of  water 
is  a  sedgy  lake  of  swampy  tendencies, 
measuring  some  three  miles  from  east  to 
west,  and  little  more  than  a  half  mile  wide. 
In  seasons  of  high  water  this  lake  finds  an 
outlet  into  the  Kankakee.  South  of  this 
is  a  ridge  extending  east  and  west  throngh 
the  central  part  of  the  township,  originally 
covered  with  a  considerable  growth  of  tim- 
ber; and  again,  south  of  this,  another  space 
of  swamp  land  succeeds,  which  in  turn  is 
bounded  on  the  south  by  a  sand  ridge.  Clay- 
pool  Run  drained  this  swamp  into  the  Ma- 
zon,  and  more  recent  cultivation  has  length- 
ened this  run  and  improved  the  lands.  The 
natural  drainage  is  slight,  the  various  runs 
finding  their  way  into  the  Mazon  from  the 
western  end  of  Goose  Lake,  and  the  swamp 
lands,  in  the  southeast  corner,  and  another 
draining  the  eastern  middle  portions  of  the 
township  into  the  Kankakee  River.     These 


"-TTTII/VT'S  in  a  name?"  Certainly, 
V  V  not  very  much  when  it  stands  for 
a  designating  mark  only;  as  country  hos- 
tlers are  wont  to  chalk  numbers  on  vehicles 
to  identify  them  in  the  payment  of  the 
reckoning.  "Infoli.K"  would  have  been 
more  suggestive  of  impressions  derived 
from  an  early  experience  in  this  section  of 
Grundy  County;  but  the  early  "powers" 
held  Felix  Grundy,  Tennessee's  brilliant 
advocate,  in  high  es'^eem,  and  this  precinct, 
the  youngest  of  the  fourteen,  was  selected 
to  bear  the  Christian  name  of  him  whom 
the  county  honored.  There  was  little  ap- 
propriateness in  this  selection  and  the  name 
serves  rather  to  emphasize  the  unpleasant 
peculiarities  of  the  precinct  than  to  do 
honor  to  its  namesake.  This  township  lies 
in  the  eastern  tier  of  the  county;  is  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  the  Illinois  River,  on  the 
east  by  Will  County,  on  the  south  by  Brace- 
ville  Township,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
meandering  line  of  the  Mazon  River  and 
Wauponsee  Township.  Its  outline  is  quite 
irregular,  and  measures  seven  miles  in  its 
widest  part,  and  from  the  moat  northerly- 
point  on  the  river  to  the  southern  boundary, 
it  stretches  out  some  seven  and  a  half  miles. 
The  general  surface  is  low.  In  the  north- 
east corner  the  high  land  abuts  upon  the 
river,  and  trom  this  point  gradually  recedes, 

*B.v  J.  H.  Battle. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


313 


niiis  are  but  sluggish  streams,  and  scarcely 
do  more  than  to  mark  the  lowest  ])ortion 
of  the  low  grounds.  The  soil  is  princi])ally 
a  low  wet  clay,  a  deposit  near  the  western 
end  of  the  lake  proving  admirable  material 
forthe  man  ut'acturc  of  coarse  potter^'.  While 
!i  considerable  part  of  the  townsliip  is  niider 
a  good  degree  of  cultivation,  the  greater 
part  is  devoted  to  grazing,  Mr.  Holderman 
giving  especial  attention  to  stottk  raising. 
Among  tiiose  earliest  identified  with  the 
interests  of  this  township,  was  Peter  Lamp- 
sett.  He  was  a  "character"  in  his  way 
jukI  was  a  relic  of  that  large  and  at  one 
t  me  influential  class  of  pioneers,  the  Cana- 
dian voy;igeur.  lie  trapjied  through  this 
country  as  early  as  ISiiO,  and  this  lucatiuii 
es])ecialh'  suiting  his  jnirsuits,  atti-;u-fed  and 
held  him  here  long  after  the  rest  of  his 
class  had  moved  further  north.  lie  was 
known  among  the  earliest  settlers  as 
"  Specie,"  a  name  given  him  by  the  resi- 
dents of  the  county,  bca\ise  he  invariably 
refused  to  accept  paper  money  in  his  deal- 
ings, lie  seems  to  have  accepted  this 
name  good-naturedly,  and  his  descendants, 
still  found  in  this  region,  have  adopted  it  as 
their  surname.  "  Specie  Grove"  in  Delvalb 
County  was  named  for  him,  and  is  likely 
to  prove  his  most  enduring  monument. 
He  lived  on  the  JIazon,  but  never  owned 
any  land  there,  maintaining  a  homestead 
by  right  of  his  squatter  sovereignty,  and 
cultivating  only  a  small  jmtch  for  gaiden- 
ing  purposes.  He  first  discovered  coal  in 
the  county  and  picking  out  such  as  showed 
itself  where  the  Mazon  uncovered  it.  sold 
it  to  the  blacksmiths  of  the  vicinity.  W. 
A.  Holloway  came  into  the  township  from 
"Wauponsee  in  1S35,  bought  land  on  section 
I'i  near  where  the  wooden  bridge  was  put 


across  the  Mazon.  He  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  country  here,  however,  and  in 
184:0  left  this  county  for  Blooinington, 
Wis.  Mr.  Abram  Holderman  bought  land 
in  the  nurtiiern  part  of  the  township  about 
1S35.  He  p'aced  his  son  Henry  on  the 
farm,  but  he  stayed  only  a  year  or  two 
when  lie  became  tired  of  the  place  and 
went  further  west.  Then  another  son.  Bar- 
ton, took  possession,  but  in  a  short  time  he 
left  for  Missouri  in  search  of  brighter  for- 
tunes, and  in  18-47  or  184S  Samuel  Holder- 
man  took  possession.  He  ibund  here  the 
materials  tor  building  up  a  fine  fortune, 
and  gradually  added  more  land  to  his  place 
until  he  owned  some  five  thousand  acres 
on  which  he  ])astui-ed  droves  of  some  of  the 
finest  cattle  in  tlie  country.  This  large 
I'arm  has  but  recently  been  sold  to  Mr.  Jerry 
Collins.  In  1S39,  Abram  White,  from  the 
Fox  liiver  settlements,  Mr.  Kelso  and  Mar- 
tin Luther,  came  to  the  township. 

Among  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  countv, 
though  not  so  early  in  Felix,  was  John 
Beard.  He  was  a  southerner  by  birth  and 
early  emigrated  from  Maryland  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, thence  to  Indiana,  and  later  to  the 
mouth  of  the  An  Sable.  Lie  was  a  man 
of  about  fifty-five  years  of  age  when  he 
came  to  this  country,  and  was  probably  in- 
duced to  come  here  by  the  brigiit  prospect 
for  speculation  which  the  canal  lands  prom- 
ised. To  these  early  pioneers  the  lands 
along  the  route  of  the  proposed  canal  of- 
fered inducements  similar  to  the  western 
lands  which  now  lie  along  the  rapidly  con- 
structing railroads  in  the  west.  The  gov- 
ernment sections  were  no  sooner  in  the 
market  than  they  were  taken  up  b}'  settlers 
and  s]ieculators,  and  real  estate  in  this  re- 
gion early  rose  to   fabulous   prices  for  the 


31-1 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


time  and  place.  The  lands  were  known 
far  and  near  among  moneyed  men  and  many 
wlio  had  means  and  a  taste  tor  pioneer  life, 
put  both  funds  and  ]>ersonal  comfort  into 
the  speculation.  Mr.  Beard  had  a  large 
family,  several  of  his  children  being  mar- 
ried, and  though  there  were  few  considera- 
tions urging  liim  at  his  age  to  take  upon 
himself  the  further  privations  of  frontier 
life,  he  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
try  his  fortune  here.  He  came  overland  in 
a  three-horse  wagon,  without  incident,  and 
settled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Au  Sable  River 
about  1S33.  Here  he  remained  one  or 
two  years,  when  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
founding  a  city  at  the  head  of  the  Illinois 
between  the  I)es]ilaines  and  Kankakee  Kiv- 
ers.  This  it  was  hoped  would  be  the  head 
of  navigation,  and  here,  situated  on  a  hill 
with  admirable  natural  advantages,  was 
destined  to  grow  a  bubble  similar  in  kind 
to  the  South  Sea  and  Great  Mississippi 
schemes.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Beard 
liad  been  joined  at  the  mouth  of  the  Au 
Sable  by  his  son-in-law,  James  McKean, 
with  his  family.  They  came  from  Penn- 
sylvania with  a  wagon  drawn  by  three 
yoke  of  oxen,  and  driving  several  cows  and 
150  hogs.  The  progress  of  such  a  caravan 
was  necessarily  slow,  making  about  fifteen 
miles  per  day.  The  Indians  were  found 
in  large  numbers  all  along  their  journey, 
but  always  friendly  and  frequently  render- 
intr  valuable  assistance  in  getting  the  herd 
of  swine  out  of  the  bushes.  As  it  was, 
some  forty  were  lost  on  the  journey,  and  it 
is  probable  that  while  the  "noble  red  man" 
would  not  steal  a  hog  before  the  eyes  of 
the  owner,  these  estrays  generally  turned 
np  in  an  Indian  camp,  and  furnished  a  sat- 
isfactory meal  to  the  savages.     After  living 


at  the  mouth  of  the  Au  Sable  for  several 
years,  McKean  joined  his  father-in-law  on 
the  Kankakee.  Here  about  1839,  the  igni- 
ted families  put  up  a  large  saw-mill,  the 
machinery  for  which  was  bought  in  New 
York,  shipped  to  Chicago  and  brought 
thence  with  infinite  trouble  to  its  destined 
location. 

About  1838,  William  White  witli  two 
sons,  J.  L.  and  William,  came  from  Mari- 
etta, Oliio,  and  settled  in  Felix.  Mr. 
White  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
now  draws  a  pension.  He  is  still  a  vigor- 
ous old  veteran  of  ninety-four  years  of  age. 

The  early  settlers  in  this  township  came 
into  close  relations  with  the  Indians,  who 
were  here  in  considerable  numbers.  The 
abundance  of  game  attracted  them,  and  tlie 
settlers  finding  them  well  disposed,  encour- 
aged their  sta}' by  numberless  little  courte- 
sies. The  earliest  families  would  have 
found  it  quite  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  put  up  their  log  cabins  if  it  had  not 
been  for  tlie  help  of  these  natives.  When 
hogs  or  cattle  strayed,  the  Indians  could 
always  be  trusted  to  give  reliable  informa- 
tion concerning  them,  and  woiild  frequent- 
ly go  long  distances  to  bring  them  back  to 
a  favorite  white  man.  McKean  seems  to 
have  been  especially  favored  in  this  way. 
It  is  related  that  one  day  he  missed  some 
fifty  of  his  large  herd  of  swine.  On  in- 
quiry of  the  Indians  he  learned  where  they 
were.  Finding  the  hogs  were  his,  the  na- 
tives proposed  to  go  and  get  them,  but 
wishing  to  identify  them  himself,  they  ac- 
companied him  and  helped  to  drive  the  an- 
imals home,  for  which  assistance  McKean 
gave  them  one  of  the  animals.  Subse- 
quently, when  the  final  treaty  was  made 
with  them,  and  before  their  removal,  Mc- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


317 


Keaii's  cabin  was  thrummed  with  Indians, 
to  wlioiu  his  witb  furnished  breakfast  every 
nu)rning  as  regularly  as  to  her  own  family. 
At  the  payment  of  the  sum  stijjulated  in 
the  treaty,  the  Indians  urged  McKean  to 
present  his  bill  for  their  entertainment, 
but,  being  satistiod  with  the  return  they 
liad  made  him,  he  refused  altogether.  Mar- 
quis, of  Wauponsee,  was  more  willing  to  do 
this,  and  preferred  a  claim  of  8500,  which 
the  Indians,  wlio  disliked  liim  very  much, 
refused  to  acknowledge,  saying  they  had 
paid  him  for  everything  they  got,  and  so 
the  commissioners  allowed  him  nothing. 

Deer,  squirrels,  otter,  raccoons,  musk- 
rats,  inhabited  the  woods  and  marshes, 
while  prairie  chickens,  quails  and  wolves 
were  found  in  the  0])eti  country.  Deer 
were  unusually  jilentit'ul  here,  and  men  go- 
ing out  after  their  cows  and  taking  their 
guns,  seldom  failed  to  bring  back  the  hams 
(jf  a  tine  animal  as  tiM]>hies  of  their  marks- 
manship. It  very  early  became  the  habit 
of  the  ))ioneers  to  take  only  the  liams  of 
venison,  leaving  tiie  rest  of  the  carcass  to 
the  wolves  and  dogs,  and  it  was  no  unusual 
thing  to  see  twenty -live  hams  curing  in 
the  smokiug-house  at  once.  This  abun- 
dance of  game  was  a  great  relief  to  many  of 
the  pioneers.  Easy  as  hogs  were  kept,  and 
numerous  as  they  became  in  later  years, 
McKean,  who  kept  a  large  herd,  found 
ample  market  for  all  he  could  raise  among 
the  farmers  in  this  region.  Many  who 
could  not  buy,  lived  on  this  abundant  game, 
though  it  soon  became  tiresome  to  the  taste 
and  proved  a  poor  substitute  for  beef  and 
])(jrk. 

But  there  was  something  to  l)e  done  be- 
side hunt.  This  would  sustain  life,  but 
nould  not  subdue  the  wilderness  nor  brine 


in  the  happy  reign  of  civilization.  The 
earliest  effort  was  made  to  get  a  crop  of  corn. 
Tiie  first  crop  was  planted  by  cutting  a 
gash  in  the  inverted  sod  with  an  axe,  drop- 
ping the  corn  and  closing  it  by  another  blow 
beside  the  first.  Or  it  was  dropped  in  every 
third  furrow  and  the  sod  turned  on  it;  if 
the  corn  was  so  placed  as  to  find  the  space 
between  the  furrows,  it  would  find  day- 
light; if  not,  the  result  of  tlie  planting  was 
extremely  doubtful.  Of  course  cultivation 
in  this  case  was  im[)0ssible,  and  if  the 
squirrels  and  crows  gave  the  crop  an  oppor- 
tunity to  mature,  it  generally  proved  a  sat- 
isfactory return.  At  first  there  was  no 
market  for  the  surplus  product,  and  there 
was  only  the  household  and  the  limited 
amount  of  stock  to  provide  for.  Wheat 
was  not  cultivated  here  to  any  extent;  the 
location  was  not  suited  to  it,  and  farmers 
preferred  to  buy  what  they  needed  for  their 
own  use,  while  giving  their  whole  attention 
to  "razino;  and  corn.  The  lack  of  millino: 
facilities  was  another  inconvenience  that 
amounted  to  a  hardship.  The  nearest 
place  where  corn  or  wheat  could  be  ground 
was  at  Green's  mill,  in  Dayton.  Here, 
when  the  roads  were  passable,  the  people 
brought  their  corn  or  wheat,  and  waited 
with  such  patience  as  they  could  command 
until  thev  could  be  served.  This  waitinir 
frequently  consumed  a  week,  and  customers 
of  this  mill  always  went  prepared  to  stay 
until  they  got  their  "  grist,"  as  the  journey 
hither  was  not  one  to  be  undertaken  lightly. 
But  more  discouraging  than  these  were  the 
annual  floods  which  regularly  visited  this 
township,  and  brought  in  their  train  de- 
struction and  disease,  harder  to  bear  than 
any  amount  of  difficulties  which  energy 
and  pluck  might  surmount. 


318 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


Life,  in  a  new  coiintrv,  is  every wliere 
subjected  to  tlie  misery  of  niiihirious  dis- 
eases. The  clearini^  otf  of  tiniljer  oi'  tlie 
breaking  up  of  prairie  sod,  involving  tiie 
i-apid  deca}'  of  large  quantities  of  vegeta- 
ble matter,  gave  rise  to  the  inevitable  mi- 
asma, which  wrought  its  sure  work  upon 
the  human  system.  "Snfeh  sickness  was 
generally  confined  to  the  last  of  the  sum- 
mer and  fall.  There  was  but  little  sick- 
ness in  winter  except  a  few  lingering  fall 
cases  that  had  become  chronic;  there  were 
but  few  cases  after  severe  frosts,  and  the 
spring  and  early  summer  were  perfectly 
healthy.  It  was  commonly  remarked  that 
when  the  bloom  of  the  resin  weed  and 
other  yeliuw  flowers  api)L'ared  it  was  time 
to  look  for  the  ague.  The  first  spring 
flowers  on  the  prairie  were  mostly  piidc 
and  white,  thou  followed  purple  and  blue, 
and  about  the  middle  of  August  yellow 
predominated. 

"  High  water  in  spring,  flooding  the 
bottoms  and  filling  the  lagoons  and  low 
])!aces  along  the  streams,  and  then  dry- 
ing ofi'  with  the  liot  sun  of  July  and  Au- 
gust, was  a  fruitful  cause  of  disease,  and 
in  such  localities  it  was  often  quite  sickly, 
while  tiie  high  prairie  was  compai-atively 
exempt."  *  Felix  was  especially  exi)osed 
to  these  inundations,  and  hardly  a  year 
passed  without  an  extensive  overflow.  The 
one  of  1837  is  especially  remembered.  In 
the  early  spring  of  this  year,  a  sudden  flood 
broke  up  the  ice,  which,  forming  a  gorge, 
held  back  the  waters  until  their  weight 
made  the  ice  give  way,  and  the  flood  of 
water  and  ice  made  its  way  down  the  Illi- 
nois, submerging  the  islands  in  its  course 
and  flooding  its  banks  until  even  the  high- 

*Hist.  of  La  Salle  County — Baldwin. 


lands  were  reached,  threatening  destruc- 
tion to  homes  and  stcick  which  were  su]i- 
posed  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  anything 
save  another  deluge.  Huge  masses  of  ice 
were  lodged  iipon  the  banks  in  every  con- 
ceivable shape,  which,  gradually  melting  in 
the  spring  suns,  kept  the  soaked  earth  sat- 
urated until  the  middle  of  summer,  when 
the  hot  stifling  weather  of  AuLiust  gave 
rise  to  an  unusual  amount  of  sickness  all 
along  the  river.  "That  season,  exagger- 
ated arid  fearful  stories  were  sent  over  the 
countrj'  in  relation  to  the  sickness.  A  cor- 
respondent of  an  Eastern  paper  stated  that 
he  saw  in  a  cemetery  at  La  Salle,  300  graves 
that  had  never  been  rnined  on,  and  that  in 
a  new  coiintrv  where  a  settlement  was  but 
just  commeuecd.  This  might  have  been 
true,  but  the  cemetei'y  belonged  to  the 
Catholics,  and  was  the  only  one  this  side 
of  Cliicngo,  and  thousands  of  men  were 
there  at  work  on  the  canal,  and  they  nearl}' 
all  came  to  La  Salle  for  burial;  and  this 
was  late  in  the  fall  when  there  had  been  no 
rain  for  nearly  six  months."  * 

Altliouffh  there  was  but  little  to  attract 
emigration  to  Felix,  and  later  years  have 
demonstrated  its  ineligibility  as  a  site 
for  a  citv,  yet  two  very  considerable 
towns  have  found  a  place  and  varied  ex- 
perience within  its  limits.  Jugtown  was 
what  its  name  implies,  a  place  where  pot- 
tery interests  centered.  A  bed  of  good 
potter's  clay  was  found  near  the  western 
end  of  Goose  Lake,  and  in  1853,  William 
"White,  of  Chicago,  put  up  the  necessary 
buildings  and  machinery  for  the  manufact- 
ure of  drain  tile  especially  for  the  Chicago 
market.     Such   clay  was  not    to    be    found 

*  Baldwin. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


819 


readily,  and  tliere  seemed  to  be  a  briylit 
prospect  for  the  enterprise.  The  business 
expanded,  some  forty  or  fifty  men  were 
employed,  and  feathering  abont  the  works 
with  their  families  made  quite  a  town  of 
their  settlement.  A  great  difficulty  was 
met  at  the  very  outset  in  the  lack  of  ship- 
ping facilities.  The  roads  were  poor  at 
best,  and  the  product  of  the  works  had  to 
be  hanled  to  Morris  foi'  shipment,  though 
considerable  effort  was  made  to  utilize  the 
Kankakee  feeder  to  obviate  this  distance. 
This  did  not  prove  successful,  and  the  en- 
terprise gradually  went  to  decay,  and  with 
the  business  went  the  town,  leaving  little 
but  the  scarred  earth  to  mark  its  site. 

Kankakee  City  was  a  more  pretentious 
agirj-egation  of  houses,  though  hardly  so 
well  established  in  fact.  The  projected 
canal  was  the  subject  of  tlie  most  absurd 
speculations.  Its  leading  advocate  in  Con- 
gress, Daniel  P.  Cook,  declared  in  a  doc- 
ument addi-es-ed  to  his  constituents,  "  that 
in  less  than  thirty  ^ears  it  would  relieve 
the  people  from  the  payment  of  taxes,  and 
even  leave  a  surplus  to  be  applied  to  other 
works  of  public  utility."  Such  estimates 
were  industriously  circulated  by  the  friends 
of  this  great  scheme  among  the  capitalists 
of  the  East,  and  so  little  experience  was 
had  in  such  matters  then,  and  so  prone 
were  people  to  believe  in  the  existence  of 
an  "El  Dorado"  in  the  little  known  West, 
that  capital  forgot  its  traditional  caution, 
and  seemed  to  struggle  to  reach  its  fate. 
When  the  government  put  up  its  share  of 
these  lands  for  sale  there  was  an  excited 
struggle  between  the  actual  settlers  and  the 
speculators,  which  resulted  in  the  victory 
of  the  settlers  who  secured  the  land  which 
they  had   improved,  and  what  they  could 


pay  for  adjoining  them.  But  when  these 
purchasers  were  satisfied  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  land  left  which  was  subsequently 
picked  up  by  speculators,  who  held  it  at 
five  and  ten  dollars  per  acre.  These  prices 
were  so  high  as  to  discourage  immigration, 
and  land  dealers  resorted  to  every  device  to 
stimulate  the  rage  for  speculation.  The 
infatuation  seemed  to  be  contagious;  cor- 
ner lots,  claims,  pre-emptions  and  floats, 
were  the  chief  subject  of  conversation. 
Mr.  Baldwin  thus  describes  the  situation: 
"  A  lodger  at  any  of  the  rickety  hotels  at 
that  day,  would  have  to  sleep  in  a  room 
containing  four  or  five  beds,  and  from  the 
bargains  and  contracts  made  by  the  lodg- 
ers before  going  to  sleep,  might  well  im- 
agine himself  on  'Change,  or  in  AYall  street, 
New  York,  and  his  companions  all  mil- 
lionaires. The  writer  called  at  a  log  cabin 
toward  evening  of  a  rainy  day,  where  some 
half  a  dozen  farmers  were  assembled,  who 
had  evidently  engaged  in  high  speculation 
during  the  day.  One  of  the  number,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  me,  said,  as  he  slapped 
his  hand  very  complacently  on  his  thigh; 
'  I  have  made  ten  thousand  dollars  to-day, 
and  I  will  make  twice  that  to-morrow; ' 
and  I  learned  from  further  conversation 
with  his  companions,  that  he  had  been 
the  least  successful  one  in  the  company. 
Towns  and  villages  were  laid  out  at  al- 
most every  crossroad,  and  some,  where 
there  had  never  been  any  road.  I  set  out 
some  small  apple  trees  on  my  farm,  the 
only  ones  to  be  procured,  and  stuck  a  stake 
by  each;  a  stranger  coming  past,  inquiretl 
the  name  of  the  town  I  had  laid  out." 

Kankakee  City  was  an  oxitgrowth  of 
this  speculative  mania  and  was  pretention; 
enough  to  satisfy  the  most  exaggerated  an- 


320 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


nouncements.  In  its  palmiest  days  its  pop- 
ulation did  not  reach  seventy-five  souls,  yet 
it  had  ten  public  squares,  with  public 
parks  and  broad  streets  enough  to  have 
formed  a  nucleus  lor  another  New  York 
City.  The  plat  with  its  numerous  ad- 
ditions covered  about  two  thousand  acres, 
and  lots  were  sold  at  auction  in  Chicago 
and  New  York  City,  and  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  dolhirs  were  invested  in  this 
midsummer  night's  dream.  In  all  the 
prominent  real  estate  centers  were  seen 
highly  ornamented  plats  of  this  city,  beau- 
tiful with  magnificent  buildings,  and  busy 
with  the  traffic  of  ca])acious  warehouses, 
and  crowded  steamboat  wharves.  In  its 
early  history,  Mr.  lieard,  the  projector  of 
this  city,  was  ottered  $35,000  for  his  prop- 
erty, which  he  rejected.  But  the  crash 
of  1837  came,  and  all  this  paper  prosperity 
passed  away  like  morning  dew.  Emigra- 
tion almost  entirely  ceased;  the  work  on 
the  canal,  which  had  brought  a  certain  fic- 
titious prosperity  to  this  region,  barely 
struggled    on,    supported    by    State   scrip. 


Wheat  went  down  from  two  dollars  per 
bushel  to  fifty  cents;  ])ijrk  from  twenty- 
five  dollars  per  barrel  to  one  dollar  per 
hundred;  corn  to  ten  cents  per  bushel, 
and  all  this  in  dejjreciated  scrip  or  store 
goods  at  a  profit  of  one  hundred  per  cent. 
For  many  years  the  large  teri-itory  em- 
braced in  the  limits  of  Kankakee  City 
was  assessed  as  lots  and  thousamls  of  dol- 
lars were  loaned  n])on  this  property  as 
security,  but  the  burden  became  too  great 
and  the  land  was  finally  sold  for  the  ac- 
cumulated taxes,  and  whatever  titles  are 
now  held  to  this  property  are  based  upon 
tax  sales.  This  famous  city  has  long  since 
reverted  back  to  rustic  uses,  and  serves 
the  ])urposes  of  the  farm,  none  the  less 
sedately  for  having  at  an  early  day  put  on 
cit3'  airs. 

Note. — Tlio  site  of  Kankakee  City,  between  the 
forks  of  th'?  Illinois  River,  is  now  apart  of  An  Sable 
township,  being  assigned  to  that  township  because 
the  facilities  for  crossing  the  Desplaines  River  are 
better  than  for  crossing  the  Kankakee. 


CHAPTER    XYII.* 


ERIENNA  TOWNSHIP,  33  NORTH,  RANGE  6  EAST— CHANGES  OP  BOUNnARTES— EARLY  SET- 
Tt.E^MENT— HORROM  CITY— CI,ARKSON— NORMAN— SURFACE  FEAT- 
URES—PIONEERS— CHU.iCHES  AND  SCHOOLS. 


rpilE  C 


Con2;ressioiial  townsliip  33  iiurtli, 
G  east,  is  divided  into  nearly 
equal  parts  by  the  Illinois  River,  which  en- 
ters the  township  a  little  north  of  the  mid- 
dle point  of  its  eastern  bonndary,  and  flows 
sonthwestwardly  through  its  territor}'.  The 
difficulty  of  passing  the  river  for  the  pur- 
poses of  township  business,  has  enforced 
the  natural  division  by  political  separation, 
and  though  one  township  by  the  original 
survey,  these  portions  have  always  been  in 
different  precincts  and  borne  different 
names. 

Erienna  is  the  elder  of  these  twin  town- 
ships, and  is  situated  north  of  the  river. 
The  northwest  corner  is  a  high  plateau, 
ending  on  the  river  front  near  the  western 
boundary,  in  an  abrupt  descent  of  some 
eight}'  feet.  From  this  point  the  second 
bottom  or  bench  approaches  nearly  to  the 
river  brink,  leaving  space  for  barely  two  or 
three  hundred  acres  of  alluvial  bottom  lands. 
The  margin  of  the  plateau  from  the  western 
line  of  the  precinct  follows  the  trend  of  tlie 
river  bank,  its  margin  being  marked  by  the 
common  road  north  of  the  railroad  till  it 
reaches  the  eastern  line  of  section  10,  where 
it  curves  northwardly  out  of  the  precinct. 
South  of  this  line  of  the  highland,  with  the 
exception  of  an  oval  ridge  on  which   Mr. 

*By  J.  H.  Battle. 


Iloge's  residence  is  placed,  the  surface  of 
Erienna  is  principall}-  a  flat  sandy  soil,  un- 
derlaid witii  a  coal  deposit.  Long  Point 
Creek  risinjc  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
precinct,  furrows  through  the  plateau  and 
flows  to  the  canal,  the  course  of  which  it 
i'ollows  out  of  the  precinct  under  the  name 
of  Rat  Run.  Nettle  Creek — the  English  for 
Little  Mazon  of  the  Lidians — rises  in  the 
lower  ground  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  pre- 
cinct, and  takes  an  eastern  course  into  Mor- 
ris, where,  with  a  sudden  turn  south,  it 
joins  the  Illinois.  Along  the  stream  the 
surface  is  considerably  broken  and  clothed 
with  some  of  the  flnest  walnut  timber,  be- 
sides other  varieties,  to  be  found  in  the 
county.  On  the  highlands  the  timber  was 
of  a  scrubby  character,  a  certain  indication 
of  the  stiff'  claj'  soil  found  here.  The 
greater  part  of  the  farmers  devote  their 
lands  to  the  cultivation  of  corn,  though 
Messrs.  Hoge  &  Ilolderman,  who  own  very 
extensive  farms  here,  pasture  large  herds 
of  cattle. 

The  tirst  settler  in  Erienna,  and  one  of 
the  earliest  in  the  county,  was  Isaac  Hoire. 
lie  was  a  native  of  Fauquier  County,  Vir- 
ginia, and  shrewdly  foreseeing  that  money 
early  itivested  in  Illinois  lands  would  make 
a  large  and  sure  return  for  the  inv(^stment, 
came  here  ver}'  early  and  bought  his  lands 
in   this   township   at   the   flrst  sale  before 


£22 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


there  were  anj  other  -settlers  save  Marquis, 
perhaps.  He  was  a  young  unmarried  man, 
w'ltli  considerable  capital  and  impressed 
with  the  general  belief  that  the  prairie 
would  be  taken  up  only  where  timber 
was  to  be  had,  entered  the  most  of  his 
lands  in  the  timbered  section  along  the 
Nettle  Creek.  Other  members  of  his  fam- 
ily settled  in  Nettle  Creek  township  and 
for  some  time  after  his  purchase  there  was 
no  cabin  in  Erienna  to  indicate  the  pres- 
ence of  the  white  man.  Soon  afterward 
he  married  and  moved  onto  his  land  here, 
and  adding  to  his  possessions  by  further 
purchase  from  time  to  time  has  now  one 
of  the  large  farms  of  the  county.  An- 
other large  farm  owned  by  A.  Holderman 
occupies  the  larger  part  of  the  central  por- 
tion of  the  precinct,  which  with  that  of 
Mr.  Hoge's  is  devoted  largely  to  pasturage 
for  cattle.  The  large  herds  owned  by  Mr. 
Holderman  at  an  early  date  were  as  remark- 
able a  sight  as  a  herd  of  buffaloes,  and 
their  trails  to  the  watering  places  during 
the  summer  were  said  to  be  as  conspicuous 
as  those  of  the  buffaloes  on  the  plains. 
Mr.  Holderman,  however,  was  an  early 
settler  in  Kendall  County  and  bought  land 
here  somewhat  later. 

Columbus  Pinney  was  perhaps  the  first 
actual  resident  of  Erienna.  He  was  a 
native  of  New  York  State  and  came  out  by 
the  lakes  to  Chicago  and  from  thence  to 
Marseilles.  In  the  Spring  of  1836,  became 
to  section  12,  where  Datus  Kent  had  put 
up  a  log  house  and  barn  for  Kimball  of 
Marseilles.  Here  Pinney  kept  the  stage 
change  and  hotel  which  is  now  known  as 
"  Castle  Danger."  The  cabin  is  destroyed 
but  the  stable  still  serves  the  purposes  of 
a  barn,  though  it  stands  on  a  new  location. 


The  origin  of  its  later  name  is  very  ob- 
scure. After  staying  here  tiiree  years  Pin- 
ney  removed  to  Aurora  and  the  cabin  was 
empty  for  awhile.  It  was  subsequently 
inhabited  for  a  short  time  when  it  was  left 
untenanted  again.  It  was  used  occasion- 
ally by  wayfarers,  and  perhaps  horse 
thieves  and  prairie  bandits  found  it  a  con- 
venient place  to  stay  for  a  night,  but  no 
authentic  incident  can  be  learned  in  which 
the  name  could  take  its  rise.  Its  name  is 
well  fixed,  however,  and  generally  used,  and 
Is  probably  the  outgrowth  of  the  natural 
respect  for  the  mysterious. 

In  18-1:0,  O.  Cone,  a  native  of  Jefferson 
County,  New  York,  came  b\'  the  lakes  to 
Detroit.  Frotn  that  point,  with  his  family, 
he  came  in  wagons  across  the  country  to 
Marseilles,  where  his  brother-in-law,  Kim- 
ball, was  engaged  in  superintending  some 
public  improvements.  Cone  remained  here 
until  IS-tO,  when  he  rented  a  farm  of  Mr. 
Hoge,  on  section  6,  33,  7.  He  was  subse- 
quently elected  sheriff  of  the  county,  and 
afterward  retired  to  a  farm  which  he  pur- 
chased on  section  2,  33,  6.  Messrs.  Ken- 
nedy and  Kendrick  were  attracted  from 
Ohio  by  the  canal  work,  and  on  the  stop- 
ping of  operations,  settled,  in  1812,  on  sec- 
tion 7.  About  1845  or  '6,  Peter  Griggs 
settled  on  section  3,  and  about  the  same 
time  Abram  Holderman  came  into  the 
precinct.  In  1848,  Charles  Moody  came 
in  from  Marseilles  and  settled  near  where 
the  road  crosses  the  canal  on  section  15. 
After  this  the  settlement  of  the  precinct 
rapidly  increased.  The  completion  of  the 
canal  brought  in  a  large  number  of  persons 
seeking  a  home,  speculators,  tired  of  hold- 
ing property  which  did  not  appreciate  fast 
enough  to  more  than  meet  the  expense  of 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


323 


taxes  and  other  cliarsjes,  began  to  sell,  and 
the  settlement  soon  became  "general. 

llorroni  Citv  was  the  name  of  an  ainl)i- 
tious  plat  of  ground  which  was  staked  ont 
in  183(1,  by  Dr.  Ilorroin,  wlio  originally 
settled  soutli  of  the  river.  It  did  not  |)r(ive 
a  failure,  because  it  never  had  any  ]>riimise 
of  success.  A  short-lived  stage  route  passevl 
near  it,  but  beyond  the  imagination  of  its 
projector,  the  location  had  no  relation  to  it, 
or  anything  tangible.  Clarkson  was  the 
original  name  of  the  location  of  Castle 
Danger.  Kimball,  who  was  interested  in  the 
stage  line,  hoped  through  the  influence  of 
this  enterprise  to  build  up  a  village  which 
should  become  the  county  seat,  but  fate  de- 
cided in  favor  of  Morris,  and  Clarkson  did 
not  mature.  During  the  construction  of 
tlie  canal  a  number  of  temporary  shanties 
gathered  about  the  old  log  cabin,  but  they 
soon  jiassed  away,  leaving  it  solitary. 

In  the  precinct  was  extended  on  the 

cast  siile  to  the  corporation  limits  of  the 
C(Uinty  seat.  This  was  done  through  the 
influence  of  the  farmers  in  this  part  of  the 
county,  to  avoid  the  taxation  which  the  ex- 
tension of  the  city  limits  in  that  direction 
would  involve.  This  does  no  injustice  to 
Morris,  as  there  is  land  remainin.;'  in  that 
precinct  on  which  the  county  capital  may 
expand  into  a  very  considerable  town. 

NOEMAN. 

This  precinct,  abutting  upon  the  south 
margin  of  the  Illinois  River,  is  probably  the 
best  timbered  and  most  broken  portion  of 
Grundy  (Jounty.  Tiie  high  land  ap- 
proaches very  close  to  tlie  river  bank,  leav- 
ing not  more  than  five  hundred  acres  of 
bottom  lands  on  the  whole  river  front.  The 
high,  broken  land  iu  the  northwestern  cor- 


ner of  Wauponsee  extends  into  the  eastern 
border  of  Norman,  and  forms  in  this  pre- 
cinct quite  a  picturesque  hmdscape  along 
the  road  that  enters  it  from  the  nortlieast. 
A  peculiar  elevation  on  Bills'  Run  at  this 
point  is  a  striking  ireak  of  nature,  or,  as 
some  of  its  peculiarities  suggest,  an  im- 
])ortant  relic  of  the  Mound  Builders.  It  is 
a  circular  mound,  about  seventy-flve  feet 
high,  and  some  two  hundred  feet  diameter 
at  the  base.  It  stands  at  the  head  of  a 
little  bayou,  isolated  from  the  line  of  sur- 
rounding blufi^s,  save  for  the  connection  of 
a  narrow  causeway,  which  by  a  gentle  de- 
scent and  ascent  bridges  the  intervening 
valley.  It  is  entirely  bare  of  trees,  save  an 
oak  which  grows  out  of  the  side,  half  way 
toward  the  summit.  No  excavation  has 
been  attemjited  in  this  mound,  and  it  is 
doubtful  wliether  its  peculiarities  would 
warrant  any  considerable  expenditure  of 
time  and  money  with  the  hope  of  making 
valuable  discoveries,  but  the  difiiculty  of 
assigning  a  plausible  theory  lor  its  natural 
construction,  has  given  rise  to  considerable 
speculation  in  regard  to  it.  This  is  known 
as  "  Devil's  Mound,"  and  others  of  less 
note  have  a  similar  nomenclature,  though 
with  what  appropriateness  is'perhaps  diffl- 
cult  to  determine,  unless  one  accepts  the 
statement  of  the  young  man  who  suggested, 
"  because  we  wonder  how  the  devil  it  came 
here." 

The  middle  portion  of  the  river  front  is 
less  broken,  though  the  ground  rises  to  the 
final  "bench"  quite  abruptly,  until  the 
western  third  of  the  river  line,  where  is 
found  the  roughest  country  in  the  county. 
Bills'  Run,  rising  near  the  southern  line, 
in  the  eastern  part,  flows  north  through 
this   precinct  ai:d  loses  itself  in  the  low 


324 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COl'XTY. 


ground  which  borders  the  river.  Hog  Run 
takes  a  westei-ly  course  from  the  center  of 
Norman  and  flows  into  the  Illinois;  and 
further  west  Armstrong  Eun,  takino-  its 
source  near  the  southern  line,  flows  nearly 
direct  north,  and  empties  into  the  Illinois 
a  little  west  of  Hog  Run.  These  streams 
are  little  more  than  prairie  water-courses 
that  serve  to  carry  oft'  the  surplus  water  of 
the  surface,  and  are  dry  a  large  part  of  the 
year.  Their  names  are  suggestis'e  of  their 
own  origin.  The  timber  is  oak,  hackberry, 
walnut  and  maide.  Tiie  broken  character 
of  the  country  naturally  protected  the  tim- 
ber, and  the  early  settlers  found  here  a  good 
field  for  "  foraging,"  which  was  largely  in- 
dulged in  at  an  early  date.  The  soil  is 
largely  tlie  black  prairie  mold,  free  from 
bowlders,  and  rather  low  and  wet  in  the 
central  parts,  with  rather  strong  clay  lands 
on  the  higli  ground.  The  farmers  are 
largely  devoted  to  the  exclusive  cultivation 
of  corn,  and  feed  more  of  it  to  hogs  than  in 
other  parts  of  the  county.  There  is  some 
stock-raising,  Mr.  E.  E.  James  having 
given  considerable  attention  to  the  breed- 
ing of  horses. 

The  first  settler  in  this  precinct  was 
David  Buucli*  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  21.  He  was  a  native  of  !Xorth  Car- 
olina, but  moved  to  Tennessee,  and  from 
thence  came  to  Illinois,  coming  to  Norman 
in  the  winter  of  1834-5.  It  is  probable 
that  he  was  attracted  thither  by  the  fine 
timber  here,  which  had  been  bought  up  by 
the  speculators.  There  was  a  good  market 
for  logs  or  hewn  timber  at  Ottawa  and 
other  points  on  the  river,  and  as  there  was 
none  to  protect  it,  large  quantities  of  it 
were  stolen  by  early  settlers,  who  felt  justi- 
fied in  these  depredations  by  the   fact  that 


tlieir  holding  this  land  prevented  the  settle- 
ment of  the  county.  Mr.  Bunch  made 
the  cutting  and  rafting  of  this  timber  to 
market  his  principal  business,  and  for  some 
yenvs  made  no  eftbrt  to  make  a  home  here. 
He  afterward  cleared  up  a  good  farm,  on 
which  he  lived  many  years.  'In  the  same 
year  Datus  Kent  joined  him  here  and  went 
into  the  timber  business  on  the  same  basis. 
He  had  his  cabin  on  the  south  fraction  of 
section  15,  and  built  the  log  hotel  across 
the  river,  which  is  now  referred  to  as  Cas- 
tle Danger.  Kent  was  from  the  South,  and 
a  winter  or  two  was  enough  to  satisfy  him 
that  he  was  out  of  his  element,  and  left  for 
Arkansas  in  1837,  leaving  no  farm  im- 
provements. Henry  Norman  was  another 
prominent  settler,  and  came  in  about  1839. 
He  came  from  Brown  County,  Ohio,  from 
where  he  came  first  to  Braceville,  about 
1836,  but  subsequently  came  to  Norman 
and  put  up  his  cabin  on  the  east  half  of  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  25.  Here  he 
stayed  until  1842,  when  he  removed  to 
Morris.  His  son,  Thomas  J.  Norman,  re- 
mained at  the  homestead,  and  was  the  first 
supervisor  of  the  precinct  under  the  action 
of  the  county  in  1850.  It  is  from  him  that 
the  precinct  takes  its  name.  Dr.  Timothy 
Ilorrora  was  an  early  settler  here.  He  was 
one  of  that  large  class  of  persons  who  be- 
came infected  by  the  speculative  mania. 
He  settled  on  section  20,  and  with  a  lai-ge 
family  of  boj'S  began  to  make  a  home.  He 
was  a  peculiar  man;  had  a  taste  for  whis- 
ky, which  was  not  uncommon  in  that 
day,  but  which  led  him  into  a  great  many 
escapades,  and  gained  for  him  quite  a  rep- 
utation in  the  county.  His  mania  for 
speculation  led  him  to  found  Horrom  City, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  a  paper  me- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


325 


tropolis,  which  passed  throiigli  tlie  eoiuiiion 
experience.  He  finallj  moved  over  to 
Eriemia,  where  he  died  about  1860.  Joliii 
Sullivan,  an  Irisliinan,  who  was  brou^dit 
here  by  the  work  on  the  canal,  came  into 
Norman  about  1841.  He  came  here  with 
no  capital  but  his  liands  and  plenty  of 
pluck,  and  settled  on  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  13,  and  has  since  improved  a  iine 
farm.  In  Jnly,  1847,  E.  B.  James  came  in 
from  Kendall  County.  He  was  a  native  of 
Ohio,  and  came  to  Kendall  County  a  young 
man.  Here  he  married,  and  a  little  later 
came  to  Norman  and  settled  on  section  25. 
In  1848,  the  canal  being  finished,  the  lands 
rapidly  came  into  market,  and  Xorman 
shared  in  the  tide  of  emigration  which  raj)- 
idly  filled  up  the  county. 

In  forming  any  conception  of  frontier 
life,  one  is  apt  to  be  influenced  by  some 
preconceived  arbitrary  standard.  The 
pioneer  of  to-day  goes  not  into  an  unknown 
and  .unexplored  wilderness.  The  enter- 
prising newspaper  has  been  before  him; 
the  soil,  the  climate,  the  mineral  resources, 
the  agricultural  advantages — the  whole 
situation  has  been  exhaustively  mapped 
out,  while  railroads  carry  him  forward 
with  speed  and  comfort  to  the  scene  of  his 
frontier  labors.  Nor  do  the  modern  ad- 
vantages cease  here.  Having  fixed  upon 
his  field  of  operations,  material  ready 
framed  to  form  his  dwelling,  improved  ma- 
chinery to  till  the  soil,  and  a  century's  ex- 
perience, unite  to  rob  his  experience  of 
much  of  its  difficulties,  and  to  insure  a 
speedily  successful  outcome  of  his  venture. 
In  ten  years  he  has  surrounded  himself 
with  more  of  the  luxuries  of  civilization 
than  the  pioneers  of  Illinois  possessed  after 
twenty-five  years  of  effort.    And  these  rapid 


strides  of  progress,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, have  been  principally  made  within 
the  last  twentj'-five  j-cars.  While  the 
l)ioneer3  of  Illinois  profited  by  the  momen- 
tum acquired  in  the  advance  of  the  previ- 
ous century,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
they  have  placed  the  weight  of  their  expe  ■ 
rience  and  achievement  with  the  forces  that 
now  accelerate  the  advance  of  the  star  of 
empire  westward.  The  large  purchases  of 
timber  lands  by  speculators  in  1835  greatly 
retarded  the  settlement  of  this  section  of 
the  State,  and  Grundy  County  was  as  un- 
developed and  bare  of  civilizing  resources 
in  1847  as  many  parts  of  the  State  ten  years 
earlier.  AVIien  Mr.  James  came  to  Noi  • 
man,  in  thisj'ear,  there  wei'e  but  five  fam- 
ilies within  its  limits,  and  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  country  was  that  of  an  untamed 
wilderness.  The  completion  of  the  canal, 
however,  was  the  signal  for  a  mighty 
change,  and  from  tliat  time  forward  the 
county  took  on  a  rapid  change. 

The  early  settlers  brought  nothing  witli 
tliem  but  what  the  necessities  of  the  situa- 
tion demanded.  One  wagon  generally  suf- 
ficed to  bring  the  fiimily,  household  furni- 
ture, farming  implements,  and  frequently 
one  or  two  months'  supplies.  It  requires 
no  great  amount  of  consideration  to  be- 
lieve that  luxuries,  or  even  comforts,  could 
find  no  place  in  such  an  outfit,  and  so  the 
pioneer,  after  constructing  a  shelter  for  his 
family,  found  his  skill  and  ingenuity  taxed 
to  their  utmost  to  supply  this  deficiency. 
It  was  necessary  to  manufacture  tables, 
chairs  and  bedsteads  before  they  could  be 
used,  and  some  of  the  most  striking  inci- 
dents of  frontier  cabin  life  are  founded 
upon  this  universal  deartli  of  ordinary 
comforts.     The  early  years  of  a  new  settle- 


32fi 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


ment  were  occupied  in  8U]>plying  tliese 
wants  and  in  subjecting  tlie  land  to  the 
payment  of  its  annual  tribute.  This  ac- 
complished, the  pioneer,  ever  mindful  of 
the  prosperity  of  his  children  and  the  con- 
servation of  society,  summoned  the  church 
and  school  to  his  aid. 

The  Fox  River  settlement  was  early  made 
a  base  of  operations  by  the  Methodist 
chnrch,  and  from  a  missionary  plant  estab- 
lished here,  sent  out  its  itinerants  tlirougli- 
out  tlie  settlements  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  Illinois  River.  The  first  church  organ- 
ization in  Norman  was  a  Protestant  Meth- 
odist Church,  which  was  built  up  under  the 
administration  of  a  Rev.  Mr.  Fowler.  John 
Piatt  and  E.  B.  James,  with  three  or  four 
others,  constituted  the  membership,  which 
held  its  meetings  in  the  different  cabins 
about  the  neighborhood.  About  1S54,  a 
Methodist  Episco]ial  church  was  organized 
here,  which  gradually  displaced  the  older 
society  and  held  its  meetings  in  a  school- 
house  which  had  been  erected  in  the  mean- 
time. The  church  subsequently  held  its 
meetings  in  the  Baptist  church  building 
until  1S70,  when  it  erected  a  place  of  wor- 
ship on  the  southeast  corner  of  section  35. 
This  is  a  neat  frame  structure  erected  at  a 
cost  of  about  S2,S00,  and  reflects  credit  upon 
efforts  of  the  church  and  the  management, 
Eev.  J.  W.  Odell  and  Mr.  E.  B.  James,  who 
were  prominent  in  securing  it. 

The  Baptist  church  was  organized  here 
about  1854,  and  found  its  main  support  in 
the  families  of  Messrs.  Haymond,  Winters 
and  Manley.  This  church  used  tlie  one 
school-house  in  the  precinct,  alternating  its 
services  with  those  of  the  Protestant  Meth- 
odist and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  churches, 


until  about  1862.  Mr.  Thos.  Haymond, 
Lewis  Winters  and  the  Eev.  ]\Ir.  Fosket, 
were  jiroiiiinent  in  securing  a  church  build- 
ing at  this  time,  and  the  fnaine  building, 
thirty  by  fifty  feet,  situated  on  the  south- 
east quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 26,  is  due  to  their  labors.  It  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,700. 

The  first  school-house  was  a  log  struct- 
ure, built  in  1853,  at  Bills'  Point.  The  spot 
thus  designated  is  a  ''  point  of  timber"  near 
tlie  center  of  section  25,  the  name  of  which, 
it  is  said,  originated  with  Jacob  Claypool. 
Mr.  Ilaymond  relates  a  characteristic 
story  of  those  times  to  tiie  effect,  that 
going  to  Mr.  Claypool's  on  business  one 
day  he  was  accompanied  by  a  friend  fi'om 
tiie  East  wlio  was  here  on  a  visit.  His 
friend  naturally  wore  his  "  store  clothes," 
and  a  linen  shirt  and  collar.  This  was  a 
remarkable  innovatinn  upon  the  custom  of 
Grundy  County  at  that  time  and  made  a 
decided  impression  upon  Mr.  Claypool's 
mind.  Business  took  the  three  persons 
to  Bills'  Run,  when,  Mr.  Haymond  being  a 
new  comer  to  Norman,  inquired  the  origin 
of  the  name  of  the  run.  His  reply  was, 
that  some  years  before  a  Mr.  Bills  who  liad 
been  there,  created  such  a  sensation  by  his 
civilized  attire,  that  his  advent  had  been 
commemorated  by  giving  his  name  to  a 
ford,  a  stream,  and  this  point  of  timber. 
In  describing  this  hero,  Mr.  Claypool, 
pointing  at  Mr.  Ilaymond's  friend,  said: 
"He  wore  a  white  shirt  and  collar,  and 
was  just  such  a  dandy  as  he."  It  may 
therefore  be  accepted  that  the  name  of 
Bills'  Run  and  Bills'  Point  is  a  frontier 
compliment  to  a  white  shirt  and  collar. 
It  is   certainly   appropriate,  if  not  signifi- 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


327 


cant,  that  the  first  school-honse  was  erected 
at  this  point.  Here  Miss  Renitf  tanglit 
tlie  first  scliool  and  was  succeeded  by  Mrs. 
Stouteiii3-er.  Tliis  primitive  building  liar, 
been  succeeded  by  a  modern  structure  and 


the  number  multiplied,  so  that  whether 
through  tiie  increase  of  education  or  the 
breaking  down  of  frontier  isolation,  white 
shirts  and  collars  are  now  by  no  means  a 
rarity  in  Xoraian  Precinct. 


CHAPTEE    XYIIL* 


MAZON  TOWNSHIP— EARLY    TOPOGRAPHICAL   FEATURES— ITS  PIONEERS— GROWTH    AND 
DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT— NEW  MAZON— CHURCHES  AND  SCHOOLS. 


TOWNSHIP  32  nortli,  range  7 east,  is 
situated  as  near  as  uiay  be,  in  the  cen- 
ter of  Grundy  County.  Its  name,  Mazon, 
was  derived  from  the  stream  which  bears  this 
designation,  a  branch  of  whicli  crosses  a 
corner  of  the  township.  The  Indian  signi- 
fication of  the  word  is  nettle,  and  finds  its 
appropriateness  as  a  name  for  the  town- 
ship in  tlie  fact  that  this  plant  was  found 
inconsiderable  numbers  on  the  rich  timber 
bottoms  of  this  section.  The  Indians  and 
early  settlers  turned  this  plant  to  a  useful 
account,  taking  its  fibre,  in  the  absence  of 
hemp,  for  twine  and  a  coarse  thread.  The 
general  surface  is  very  level,  with  hardly 
variation  enough  to  afford  drainage  for  the 
surplus  water.  The  soil  is  good,  strong, 
black  muck,  and  will  prove,  when  properly 
drained  and  cultivated,  as  good  land  as  there 
is  in  the  county,  but  it  is  readily  affected 
by  moisture,  which  it  seems  to  hold  for  a 
lon^  time.  This  characteristic  is  the  bane 
of  travelers  and  road-makers,  and  often 
causes  the  farmer  expensive  delays.  The 
general  drainage  is  toward  the  northeast, 
the  township  being  marked  by  six  water- 
courses running  about  a  mile  apart,  in  a 
generally  parallel  course.  The  principal 
ones  are  the  Waupecan  Creek,  Johnny  Run, 
Murray  Sluice,  and  the  West  Fork  of  the 
Mazon.     These  are  all  insignificant  streams 

*  By  J.  H.  Battle. 


now,  generally  drying  up  in  the  hot  months 
of  the  summer  and  assuming  a  short-lived 
importance  in  the  spring  or  on  the  occasion 
of  a  freshet.  Their  early  history,  however, 
was  not  quite  so  tame,  when  from  various 
causes,  the  water  passed  oft'  less  readily, 
and  swollen  with  the  spring  freshet,  these 
streams  overflowed  their  low  banks,  unit- 
ing their  waters  and  giving  a  large  part  of 
the  township  the  appearance  of  a  lake  from 
six  inches  to  two  feet  deep.  The  timber 
was  originally'' found  along  these  streams, , 
the  ])rincipal  bodies  being  known  as  Wau- 
ponsee  Grove,  Johnny  Grove,  and  Owen's 
Spring,  on  section  24.  The  farmers  give 
the  most  of  their  attention  to  raising  corn, 
though  this  is  alternated  largely  with  stock- 
raisinf,  as  the  corn  market  proves  more  or 
less  profitable.  There  is  a  gradual  increase 
in  the  amount  of  corn  fed  from  year  to  year, 
and  many  of  the  best  farmers  believe  this 
to  be  the  most  profitable  disposition  to  make 
of  the  corn  crop.  Dairying  is  bec(tming 
a  more  marked  feature  here  also,  the  cream- 
ery established  in  Mazon  giving  quite  an 
im])etus  to  this  branch  of  farming  industry. 
The  first  settlement  of  the  township  was 
begun  in  1833  by  A.  K.  Owen,  who,  in 
company  with  Dr.  L.  S.  Tlobbins,  John 
Hogoboora  and  others,  came  into  the  pres- 
ent territory  of  Grundy  County  on  a  pros- 
pecting expedition.  To  this  party  of  ex- 
plorers the  southern  portion  of  the  county 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


329 


is  jtrineipall}'  indebted  for  its  early  settle- 
ment, and  it  will  doubtless  be  found  inter- 
esting to  learn  sometiiingof  tlio  bistory  of 
the  leader  of  this  party  and  at  tiio  same 
time  gain  some  knowledge  of  the  contem- 
poraneous history  of  the  northern  part  of 
the   State. 

Mr.  Owen  has  left  an  autobiography 
from  which  the  following  is  taken:  "My 
first  visit  to  Illinois  was  in  tlie  summer  of 
1819.  I  made  my  way  from  Syracuse,  N. 
Y.,  which  then  contained  a  population  of 
one  family  engaged  in  public  entertain- 
ment. The  next  town  of  any  note  was 
liutfalo,  which  was  then  being  rebuilt  after 
the  burning  by  tlie  Indians  and  Canadians 
during  the  war  of  1812-15.  The  next 
town  was  Cleveland,  composed  of  one  store, 
tiiree  or  four  mechanical  shops  and  eight 
or  ten  families;  next  was  Columbus,  Oiiio, 
containing  300  inhabitants.  The  first  mill 
was  then  being  built  on  the  Scioto  River. 
The  next  town  was  Dayton,  composed  of 
about  a  dozen  families;  next  Eaton,  of  six 
or  eight  families;  Conersville,  of  one  fam- 
ily; then  two  days'  journey  to  Terre  Haute, 
through  a  wilderness,  guided  by  a  blazed 
trail,  but  where  no  wagon  had  ever  passed. 
The  population  of  Terre  Haute  consisted  of 
about  a  dozen  families,  and  here  two  flat- 
boats  had  been  launched  and  loaded  with 
goods  for  trade  lower  down  on  the  river. 
From  Terre  Haute  the  route  lay  to  Ed- 
wardsville,  111.,  where  a  population  of  250 
or  300  was  found.  Here  I  attended  a  trial 
for  murder — People  v.  Edwards — for  the 
killing  of  Daniel  D.  Smith,  the  U.  S.  land 
agent.  After  a  three  days'  trial,  in  which 
the  accused  was  ably  defended  by  Felix 
Grundy,  of  Tennessee,  Edwards  was  ac- 
quitted, and  Grundy,  mounting  his  horse, 


took  his  fee,  in  sliajie  of  a  thousand  dollar 
negress,  behind  him  on  his  horse  and  paced 
ofi'  for  home. 

"  North  and  west  from  Edwardsvillo 
there  were  no  settlements  whatever.  My 
object  had  been  to  hunt  up  two  quarter 
sections  of  land  u]ion  the  bounty  tract,  but 
tlie  land  agent  having  been  killed  and  his 
place  not  yet  supplied,  all  I  could  do  was 
to  take  on  a  full  cargo  of  fever  and  ague 
and  return  to  New  York. 

"  My  next  visit  to  Illinois  was  in  the 
sjiring  of  1827  or  1828.  I  journeyed  from 
Ilazlegreen,  Alabama,  on  horseback  to 
Qiiincy,  111.  It  was  a  very  wet  season, 
and  I  had  creeks  to  swim  more  or  less 
every  day,  carrying  my  saddle  baijs  on  my 
shoulders.  I  ferried  the  Mississippi  at 
Golcondee,  six  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Illinois,  there  being  veiT  little  settle- 
ment thereabouts.  The  whole  of  the  mili- 
tary tract  was  then  included  in  Pike  County. 
Some  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Illinois,  under  the  Mississippi 
bluff,  was  a  little  town  called  Atlas,  settled 
by  two  Poss  faujilies.  From  there  to 
Quincy  were  two  families,  Harrison  and 
Thomas.  At  Quincy  were  also  two  fami- 
lies, Woods  and  Keys,  and  one  single  man, 
H.  II.  Snow.  The  first  county  election 
took  place  a  few  days  after  my  arrival. 
Snow  was  elected  circuit  and  county  clerk, 
recorder  and  justice  of  the  peace;  Wood 
and  Keys  held  the  balance  of  the  offices 
with  the  exception  of  sheriff' and  constable, 
which  were  bestowed  upon  me.  In  Au- 
gust of  the  same  year  I  accompanied  the 
first  wagon  from  Quincy  to  Galena.  The 
Sac  and  Fox  Indians  inhabited  Ilock  Island 
with  two  military  companies  on  the  island. 
There  were  no  other  whites   on  the  route. 


330 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


At  Galena  there  were  two  small  trading 
posts,  a  few  miners,  but  not  a  white  woman 
above  Qiiincy.  In  August  of  the  next 
year  I  was  again  in  company  with  the  first 
wagon  from  Galena  to  Chicago,  crossing 
Rock  River  above  Ilockford.  The  popula- 
tion of  Chicago  was  tlien  about  900,  with 
two  companies  of  troops  at  Fort  Dearborn. 

"  In  1829,  we  obtained  permission  to  or- 
ganize a  county.  At  a  meeting  held  for 
this  purpose  the  name  of  Daviess  was  sug- 
gested for  the  new  county,  but  it  was  ob- 
jected that  there  was  then  a  county  by  that 
name  in  the  State.  At  this,  John  Arm- 
strong jumped  np  and  suggested  Jo  Da- 
viess, which  was  accepted.  I  remained  at 
Galena  until  the  fall  of  1830,  when  I  took 
what  was  cal!ed  "  tiie  sucker  shoot;"  went 
down  the  river  to  winter,  which  was  a  very 
common  thing  with  the  miners.  I  put  up 
for  winter  quarters  on  Fancy  Creek,  eight 
miles  north  of  Springfield,  which  then  con- 
tained just  four  families  and  a  tread-mill 
for  grinding  corn. 

"  In  the  S])ring  of  1831,  I  found  myself 
the  wealthy  owner  of  two  horses  and  har- 
ness, but  no  wagon,  so  I  cut  a  couple  of 
poles  for  thills,  put  cross  pieces  behind  the 
horse,  set  on  ray  clothes  trunk,  hitclied 
my  other  horse  in  front,  and  then,  whip 
and  single  line  in  hand,  set  my  face  north- 
ward to  seek  my  fortune.  The  first  good 
fortune  I  met  was  in  the  person  of  Chloe, 
only  daughter  of  Ezekiel  Stacey,  living  on 
Oxbow  prairie.  Just  there  and  then  we 
made  a  life-long  contract,  got  consent  of 
her  parents,  and  next  morning  I  proceeded 
on  my  northward  journey  to  locate  and 
prepare  a  home.  That  night  I  reached 
the  cabin  of  a  Mr.  Long,  three  miles  south 
of  Ottawa  on    Coville  Creek.     Mrs.  Long 


was  very  low  with  dyspepsia  and  had  to  be 
fed  every  half  hour,  ller  liusband  being 
exhausted  by  his  unremitting  attention,  I 
volunteered  to  care  for  her  through  the 
night  and  did  so,  and  the  next  morning 
while  harnesiing  my  horses,  George  "Walk- 
er, the  first  sheriff  of  La  Salle  County, 
summoned  me  to  appear  forthwith  to  serve 
on  the  grand  jury,  it  being  the  first  session 
of  the  circuit  court  of  this  county.  Of 
course  I  pleaded  non-residence,  but  the 
sherift'  informed  me  that  he  had  summoned 
every  eligible  man  in  the  county  and  still 
lacked  one,  and  I  must  serve.  So  I  went 
to  Ottawa  and  was  appointed  foreman  of 
the  jury.  For  want  of  a  better  place  we 
held  our  deliberations  undjr  two  maple 
trees  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  situated 
about  ten  vards  apart.  Our  constable  was 
Moses  Booth,  and  he  was  ke])t  busy  run- 
ning from  one  tree  to  the  other  to  keep  the 
hogs  out  of  hearing  distance  of  our  deliber- 
ations. Tlie  only  complaint  before  the 
jury  was  for  breach  of  promise,  but  the 
jury  brought  in  no  bill.  On  presentation 
of  this  report,  the  judge  complimented  the 
good  people  of  the  county  as  a  law-abiding 
community,  from  the  feet  that  they  had 
nothing  for  the  grand  jury  to  do.  At  din- 
ner time  we  sent  the  constable  to  David 
Walker's,  the  only  cabin  in  the  place,  to  en- 
gage our  dinners,  and  got  answer  that  lie 
had  but  two  rooms,  one  for  the  court  ami 
one  for  the  kitchen,  and  that  the  judge  and 
attorneys  had  monopolized  these  accommo- 
dations. We  got  some  crackers  and  clieese, 
however,  at  a  little  trading  j)ost  kept  bv 
George  Walker,  and  was  allowed  to  enjoy 
this  frugal  meal  only  through  tlie  indefati- 
gable energy  of  our  constable  who  kept  the 
hogs  at  bay.     On  being  dismissed  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


331 


grand  jury,  I  retnnied  to  Mr.  Long's,  and 
at  liis  oiirnest  solicitation  bonglit  his  claim, 
giving  liim  one  of  my  horses  and  two 
months'  work. 

"On  the  17th  of  July,  1S31,  I  bor- 
rowed a  horse  and  six  dollars  in  cash  fro'n 
Mr.  Long,  and  went  to  Oxbow  ]iriiirie  and 
redeemed  my  vow;  then  returned  and  ])aid 
my  two  months'  work  due  on  my  claim, 
and  on  the  first  of  October  following,  went 
after  my  wife.  I  borrowed  a  yoke  of  oxen 
and  wagon  of  Mrs.  Armstrong,  living 
near  the  month  of  Coville  Creek,  attached 
a  rope  to  the  born  of  the  '  near  ox,'  and 
went  to  Oxbow  prairie,  returning  soon  af- 
ter with  my  wife  and  little  lionselio'.d  ef- 
fects, and  set  np  housekeeping  on  Coville 
Creek.  The  next  spring  the  Black  Hawk 
War  broke  out,  and  at  its  close,  I  sold  my 
claim,  and  in  the  following  spring  came  on 
an  exploring  expedition  to  Sulphur 
Springs."  This  party  made  their  Jiead- 
quarters  at  Johnny's  Grove,  and  claims 
were  made  in  what  are  now  the  townships 
of  Vienna,  Braceville  and  Mazon.  Owen 
was  the  only  one  who  settled  in  Mazon, 
choosing  a  site  on  the  West  Fork  of  the 
Mazon  Creek,  a  little  below  old  Mnzon 
Village.  This  was  in  the  spring  or  sum- 
mer of  1833.  By  tlie  help  of  one  man  he 
succeeded  in  erecting  a  log  cabin  fourteen 
feet  square,  into  which  be  moved  the  fol- 
lowing May,  and  began  housekeeping  with- 
out door,  window  or  floor.  For  a  short 
time  his  most  accessible  neighbors  were 
one  family  at  Ottawa,  one  at  Pontiac,  and 
one  at  Joliet,  each  from  twenty-six  to 
thirty  miles  away.  But  this  state  of  af- 
fairs continued  but  a  short  time.  In  this 
year  quite  a  number  of  settlers  came  into 
Wauponsee   and  other    townships  of  the 


county.  None  came  to  Mazon  until  the 
following  spring,  when  James  McCarty 
moved  from  ()ltawa  and  took  up  his  abode 
upiiu  Wauponsee's  little  corn  patch  of  three 
or  four  acres  on  section  five.  .  He  was  a 
baclielor,  had  served  in  the  campaign 
against  Black  Hawk,  and  found  no  trouble 
in  cam])ing  out  while  he  put  in  his  fir.st 
crop  of  corn.  This  he  did  with  a  hoe,  and 
in  the  fall  tiie  stalks  furnished  him  the  ma- 
tei'ial  with  which  be  built  his  winter  quar- 
ters. In  June  of  1S35,  he  bought  his  land 
at  the  "  land  sale  "  and  lived  here  until  IS-IS, 
when  he  died  and  was  buried  in  the  Clay- 
pool  burying  ground,  the  first  one  to  oc- 
cupy it.  FoUowins:  IMcCarty  late  in  tlic 
fall  came  Jesse  Newport,  troin  Belmont 
County,  Ohio.  He  settled  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  section  six,  secured  his  land 
at  the  ]mblic  sale  in  1835,  and  improved 
his  place  until  1839,  when  he  rented  it  t(j 
Mr.  JJewey,  an  English  innnigrant,  and 
went  to  Hennepin  where  he  died  in  181:0. 
In  the  same  fall,  James  C.  Spores  built  a 
cabin  on  the  east  half  of  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  five,  and  improved  his 
claim  here  for  three  or  four  j'ears  when  he 
sold  out  to  John  L.  Pickering,  and  moved 
to  the  "  far  West." 

James  P.  Ewing  came  to  Mazon  in  the 
spring  of  1835,  building  his  cabin  on  the 
west  half  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion six.  The  land  here  was  very  wet,  and 
greatly  discouraged  his  cflbrts  at  making  a 
home.  lie  lived  here  two  or  tliree  years, 
followintr  at  times  his  trade  of  shoemaker. 
He  finall}'  sold  out  to  Jesse  Newport, 
tliough  not  before  he  had  lost  a  child  by 
the  ravages  of  the  miasmatic  climate. 
Pickering,  who  bought  out  Spores,  was  of 
Quaker  extraction,  and  came  from  Belmont 


332 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


County,  Oliio.  lie  was  one  of  tlie  early 
county  officers  and  lived  here  for  many 
years,  but  subsequently  moved  to  Blooni- 
inwton  in  this  State.  Tae  niarriauje  of  his 
daughter  Sarali  to  Gales  ^Vustin,  by  Jacob 
Claypool,  J.  P.,  was  probably  the  first  wed- 
ding in  the  township. 

About  tlie  same  time  witli  Ewing  came 
John  Ridgway,  who  bought  land  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  five,  and  built 
his  cabin  tliei-e.  He  improved  this  place 
until  about  1837,  when  he  sold  out  to 
Nicholas  Summers  and  went  to  Indiana. 
David  Spencer  became  a  settler  here  about 
this  time  also,  built  his  cabin  just  above 
Pickering,  and  subsequently  married  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  Summers  and  went  to  In- 
diana. In  the  fall  of  1835.  Augustus  H. 
Owen,  a  lawyer,  came  from  New  York  and 
tiiok  u|)  his  residence  in  the  Ilogoboom 
cabin.  This  was  the  first  lawyer  in  Grun- 
dy County,  but  he  soon  discovered  that  he 
was  considerably  in  advance  of  his  age, 
and  finding  no  demand  for  his  legal  abili- 
ties, he  moved  in  1S36  to  Ottawa,  where 
he  followed  his  ])n>fession  for  a  year  or  two 
and  was  subsequently  drowned  in  liock 
River. 

In  the  summer  of  1835,  J.  C.  Murray 
came  to  Mazon  from  Oswego  County,  New 
York.  He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  A.  Iv. 
Owen,  and  being  desirous  of  getting  more 
land  where  his  growing  family  could  find 
opportunity  of  securing  homes  for  them- 
selves, he  was  induced  to  come  to  Mazon 
on  the  representations  of  Mr.  Owen.  He 
came  with  his  famil}'  by  the  lakes  to  Chi- 
cago, and  was  just  forty-nine  days  on  the 
water.  He  brought  with  his  liousehold  ef- 
fects two  new  wagons,  but  of  course,  no 
teams,  and  leaving  his  family  at  Chicago 


he  came  to  Owen's  on  foot.  The  latter  at 
once  returned  to  Chicago  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  taking  his  own  team  and  liiring 
another  to  bring  the  Murray  family  to 
their  new  home.  Owen  went  to  Ilennejiin 
subsequently,  and  Murray  rented  the  farm 
for  awhile,  in  tiie  meantime  looking  up  an 
eligible  site  for  a  permanent  home.  He 
then  bought  land  on  the  old  Chicago  and 
Bloomington  trail  near  the  Murray  sluice 
on  section  33.  ITis  cabin  was  called  the 
"  Half  Way  House,"  it  being  situated 
about  an  equal  distance — sixty-eight  miles 
— from  either  terminus  of  the  road.  This 
cabin  was  one  of  tiie  earliest  in  the  town- 
ship to  be  built  out  on  tb.e  ))rairie.  The 
family  was  moved  in  before  completed,  and 
a  blanket  ibr  some  time  served  to  close  the 
doorway.  There  was  no  floor  save  the 
earth,  and  the  oidy  board  to  be  got  was 
finally  sawed  and  spliced  so  as  to  furnish  a 
suitable  do(n-. 

Mr.  Murray  was  drowned  in  Johnny 
Run  in  June  of  ISi-t,  an  aci-ident  which 
aftords  a  striking  incident  in  the  life  of  the 
early  times.  Mr.  Murray  was  then  on  the 
grand  jury,  which  was  in  session  at  Mor- 
ris, and  was  a  guest  of  Mr.  Armstrong,  the 
pioneer  hotel  keeper  of  that  place.  There 
had  been  quite  a  freshet,  and  from  various 
causes  the  landlord  found  himself  out  of 
meat  for  the  morning  meal.  Murray,  who 
liad  several  pieces  of  smoked  meat  at  home, 
volunteered  to  go  in  the  night  and  get 
them  to  supply  the  deficiency.  He  started 
out  on  horseback  and  got  home  safely,  but 
on  his  way  back  to  Morris,  he  missed  the 
ford  and  was  drowned. 

James  McKeen,  an  early  settler  in  the 
county  and  identified  with  the  early  history 
of  several  townships,  was  also  an  early  res- 


<lf 


■^L'/^^UZ'PyL     J/c^/tl^J 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


335 


ident  of  this  township.  He  first  moved  to 
the  mouth  of  the  An  Sable,  thence  to  the 
old  •'  Kankakee  city,"  and  later  to  the  old 
Clover  Place  near  the  through  trail.  Here 
he  kept  hotel  for  awhile,  when  about  184(1, 
he  located  on  section  23,  near  the  old  village 
of  Mazon.  llirain  Fuller,  a  relative  of  A.  K. 
Owen,  came  from  New  York  about  1839 
and  settled  in  Mazon.  In  1840  or  41,  the 
Gibson  family  came  to  Mazon  from  Wau- 
ponsee  township  ;  the  family  consisting 
of  Robert  and  Silas,  and  two  sisters,  Ann 
and  Bathsheba,  came  to  Norman  township 
about  1837  or  8.  The  boys  were  coopers 
by  trade  and  found  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  speculators'  timber  a  profitable  source  of 
sujiply.  The  sisters  married  and  Silas  died 
belbre  Ilobert  came  into  Mazon.  He  first 
settled  in  Wauponsee  Grove,  but  subse- 
quently bought  land  in  sections  10  and  11, 
on  Johnny  Hun,  where  he  improved  a  large 
farm. 

Of  the  early  experiences  of  this  settle- 
ment there  is  nothing  peculiar  to  this  town- 
ship to  be  noted.  The  nearest  post-office 
was  at  Ottawa,  then  Dresden,  and  later  at 
Morris.  The  nearest  mills  were  those  at 
Dayton,  Wilmington,  and  Milford,  or  Mill- 
ington.  In  some  respects  the  community 
in  Mazon  were  less  favorably  situated  than 
some  others  in  the  county.  The  number  of 
streams  across  the  surface  of  the  township 
indicates  the  slow  natural  drainage,  and  it 
was  no  unusual  occurrence  for  these  to  join 
by  overflowing  their  banks.  Under  these 
circumstances  all  traveling  was  out  of  the 
question.  Mr.  A.  O.  Murray  relates,  on 
such  an  occasion,  his  father's  family  found 
themselves  with  a  very  slender  supply  of 
provisions  in  the  house.  A  man  had  been 
engaged  to  go  to  mill  at  Dayton,  but  the 


sudden  rise  of  water  had  cut  ofl'  his  re- 
turn. The  neighbors  who  were  accessible 
were  in  nearly  as  bad  a  plight,  and  there  was 
no  resort  save  to  take  account  of  stock  and 
wait  for  the  subsidence  of  the  waters.  They 
found  their  whole  stock  consisted  of  some 
beans  and  salt,  and  on  these,  of  which  there 
was  no  great  supply,  the  family  prepared  to 
subsist  for  an  indefinite  time.  Fortunately 
they  had  a  new-milch  heifer  which  supplied 
the  family  with  milk  and  butter,  the  latter 
serving  to  render  more  palatable  the  slip- 
pery elm  bark  which  was  fried  to  eke  out 
the  meager  store.  A  sharp  freeze  which 
rendered  a  passage  through  the  submerged 
territory  more  diflicult,  protracted  this  ex- 
perience for  three  weeks.  This  diflSculty 
in  getting  to  mill  was  felt  to  be  a  serious 
drawback  in  this  section  for  years,  and  was 
not  obviated  until  the  county  was  formed, 
and  bridges  built  across  the  principal 
streams.  Mr.  Charles  Huston  relates  a 
tedious  experience  of  this  sort  as  late  as 
1845.  The  community  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  township  had  been  travel-bound 
for  some  time,  and  while  each  farmer  had 
plenty  of  wheat  and  corn,  their  families 
were  using  boiled  wheat  or  grated  corn  as 
a  substitute  for  flour.  Huston,  a  new- 
comer, had  neither,  and  proposed  to  earn 
some  flour  by  taking  a  load  to  mill  fur  the 
community.  His  wagon  was  soon  filled 
with  wheat,  and  he  set  out  on  his  journey. 
He  found  but  little  difficulty  in  getting 
across  streams  by  ferry  or  ford,  but  the  fre- 
quent sloughs  tiiat  blocked  his  way  were 
not  so  easily  surmounted.  Four  times  each 
way  he  was  obliged  to  unload  his  wagon 
and  carry  its  contents  around,  while  his 
team  used  their  utmost  powers  to  drag  the 
empty  wagon  through  the  quagmires.     On 


336 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


his  return,  his  team  worn  out  with  the 
tedious  journey,  he  was  obliged  to  get  as- 
sistance to  get  his  empty  wagon  out  of  one 
of  these  phiees. 

There  was  but  little  stock  in  the  tnwiislii]) 
save  the  hoi'ses  and  oxen  which  served  as 
teams  to  the  farmers.  Ji  few  cows  and  liou's 
were  kept,  but  there  was  little  market  :or 
them,  and  agood  cow  could  be  bought  for  tix 
or  eight  dollars.  The  ai)undauee  of  irame 
relieved  the  settler  of  the  necessity  of  buy- 
ing meat  or  of  using  such  animals  as  they 
had,  save  for  a  change  or  steady  supply. 
Deer,  prairie  chickens,  and  wolves  were 
found  in  great  numbers.  The  latter  some- 
times proved  troublesome  to  young  stock, 
but  the  price  which  the  county  paid  for 
their  scalps  more  than  com])ensated  for 
their  depredations. 

The  through  trail  wliich  passed  along 
the  southeastern  corner  of  tliis  town- 
ship gave  this  section  some  prestige.  A 
Sjreat  deal  of  teamino:  was  done  on  this 
trail  from  as  far  south  as  Springfield,  while 
considerable  stock  was  driven  alonw  this 
route  to  Chicago.  The  teamsters  as  a  rule 
were  a  rough  class.  They  slejit  under  their 
wagons  at  night,  brouglit  their  own  pro- 
visions and  did  their  own  cooking.  Tlieir 
teams  were  generally  turned  into  the  near- 
est corn-patch,  a  liberty  which  settlers 
learned  not  to  resent.  Tiie  corn  was  of 
but  little  value,  and  unless  the  owner  was 
of  a  muscular  build  and  willing  to  take  liis 
pay  "  out  of  the  hide  "  of  the  offender  there 
was  little  chance  of  redress.  Thns  the  pro- 
fessional teamster,  though  he  got  compai-- 
atively  very  little  pay,  continued  to  make 
his  trip  to  Chicago  from  the  south  with 
wheat,  and  return   loaded   with   salt  and 


stoi-e   goods,  a    favorable    trip   consuming 
from  two  to  three  weeks. 

Mr.  Huston  relates  a  trip  to  Chicago, 
which  illustrates  a  common  experience  of 
the  time.  Some  drovers  had  found  it  nec- 
essai-y  to  slaughter  some  bogs  which  were 
nnable  to  travel  further,  and  engaged  Mr. 
Huston  to  take  a  load  to  Chicago  for  twelve 
dolhirs.  It  was  in  January,  and  in  com- 
])any  with  iinother  team  he  started  on  his 
trip  by  way  of  Morris.  As  they  crossed 
the  ice  on  the  river  at  tliis  place,  the  rain 
began  to  tall  with  the  temperature.  The 
roads  gradually  became  heavier,  and  little 
more  than  half  way  to  the  city  it  was  found 
necessary  to  leave  a  part  of  each  load, 
buried  in  a  haj' stack,  to  prevent  the  pork 
from  thawing  out,  and  proceed  to  the  city 
with  half  a  load,  wliich  was  accomplished 
Old}'  after  almost  superhuman  exertion. 
On  discharging  their  load,  the  teams  were 
obliged  to  get  the  remainder,  and  deliver 
it  in  Cliicago.  In  the  meanwhile  the  mud 
of  the  roads  was  gradually  getting  deeper 
until  the  last  trip  was  made  with  the  wheels 
sinking  to  the  hub  most  of  the  way.  The 
return  trip  Mr.  Huston  utilized  by  bring- 
ing a  thousand  feet  of  pine  lumber  for  his 
buildinn-  then  "■ointj  up  at  Mazon.  As  fre- 
(juently  occurs  in  an  open  winter,  the 
weather  changed  to  a  cooler  temperature  as 
suddenlv  as  it  had  warmed  to  a  thaw,  and 
the  return  trip  was  made  tlirough  mud, 
gradually  stiffening  with  the  cold,  which 
greatly  retarded  the  progress  homeward. 
On  arriving  at  Morris,  the  river  was  found 
banks  full  and  impassable,  and  to  save  time 
the  wagons  were  loaded  with  coal  from 
Goold  Ilidge,  and  taken  to  Kendall  County 
where  it  was  disposed  of  to  blacksmiths.   On 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


3S7 


their  return  the  river  was  found  still  im- 
passable. Ice  iiad  formed  in  the  center  of 
the  river,  but  at  eitlier  margin  was  a  S])ace 
of  running  water  which  defied  passage. 
After  waiting  some  time  and  becoming 
impatient  with  delay,  Mr.  Huston  con- 
ceived a  plan  to  cross  the  stream.  Using 
his  lumber  to  bridge  the  margins  on  either 
side  and  after  testing  the  strength  of  the 
ice  by  pushing  his  wagon  on  it  by  hand,  and 
subsequently  leading  a  liorse  on,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  cross.  Hitching  one  horse  on 
the  end  of  the  tongue  of  the  wagon,  and 
leading  the  other  in  the  rear,  the  weight 
was  so  distributed  as  to  promise  a  safe  pas- 
sage. Unfortunately  the  bridge  on  the 
south  margin  proved  defective,  and  wagon 
and  horses  were  precipitated  into  the  freez- 
ing water.  The  leading  horse  proved  true, 
and  swam  out,  bringing  tiie  waaron  on  to 
solid  ground.  The  led  horse,  however,  re- 
fused to  swim,  and  it  was  only  with  great 
exertion  and  the  strength  of  the  other  an- 
imal, that  he  was  brought  to  shore.  In  tiie 
meanwhile  Mr.  Huston  had  spent  an  hour 
or  two,  waist  deep  in  water  getting  his 
team  in  shape  and  saving  his  hard  earned 
lumber.  The  latter  he  piled  up  in  a  safe 
place  on  the  bank  and  reached  home  nearly 
frozen  after  just  three  weeks'  absence. 

The  early  traffic  on  the  Bloomington  and 
Chicago  road  was  very  large  and  seemed  to 
warrant  tiie  belief  that  tlie  canal  would  not 
greatlj'  interfere  witli  it.  Mr.  Cliarles  Hus- 
ton who  had  come  from  Syracuse,  N. 
Y.,  in  184:5,  had  kept  hotel  there  and 
doubtless  could  see  no  good  reason  with 
such  advantage  as  the  trail  atforded,  why  a 
city  should  not  grow  up  here  as  readily 
as  elsewhere.  At  any  rate  in  1848,  urged 
by  a  Mr.  Hall  of  Ottawa,  who  agreed  to 


open  a  store,  he  bought  land  of  McKeen 
and  laid  out  forty  acres  in  streets,  squares 
and  lots. 

The  store  was  started  but  subsequently 
was  sold  out  to  Wm.  B.  Royal.  As  the 
country  develojicd  all  enterprises  based  on 
the  permanency  of  trail  traffic  failed.  The 
railroad  and  canal  put  an  end  to  teaming  and 
''  droving,"  and  the  store  here  languished. 
A  co-operative  store  was  inaugurated,  but 
this  finally  failed,  passing  into  private  hands 
and  being  eventually  closed  out  by  fire 
about  1854.  Some  years  later  a  temper- 
ance society  put  up  a  building,  renting  the 
under  part  for  a  store,  but  the  railroad  put  a 
finishing  stroke  to  the  declining  prosperity 
of  the  town  and  the  metropolis  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  "  center."  The  building  of 
the  Pekin,  St.  Louis  &  Chicago  railroad 
gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  village  growth 
of  the  township,  but  transferred  it  to  the 
location  of  the  depot.  A  store  was  begun 
here  about  1875,  by  McAfee,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Giftord  and  later  by  M.  Isham. 
A  church,  a  school-house,  a  half  dozen  stores 
two  grain  elevators,  and  a  cluster  of  rather 
new  looking  wooden  buildings,  represent 
a  village  of  some  500  inhabitants,  which  is 
known  by  the  post-office  and  railroad  au- 
thorities as  Mazon,  but  is  popularly  desig- 
nated by  the  addition  of  "  New  town"  in 
parenthesis,  to  distinguish  it  from  old 
Mazon. 

An  enterprise  which  does  much  to  build 
up  the  village  is  a  creamery  which  was 
established  at  the  Miller  cheese  factory  in 
1880.  In  the  following  winter  it  was 
brought  to  the  village  and  now  occupies  a 
building  devoted  exclusively  to  its  pur- 
poses. The  project  was  conceived  and  put 
in  force  by  T.  Rankin,  who  found  it  impos- 


338 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


sible  to  profitably  handle  farmer's  butter, 
which  he  bought  in  the  course  of  his  l)us- 
iness.  In  starting  the  creamery  he  revolu- 
tionized the  cheese  business  which  luid  a 
fair  start  iiere,  and  greafly  extended  the 
business  of  his  general  store.  Nine  teams 
are  maintained,  each  of  which  makes  a 
daily  circuit  of  twenty-tiveor  thirty  railes, 
skimming  tlie  milk  of  patrons  and  bring- 
ing in  the  cream  to  the  factory,  at  the 
same  time  taking  orders  and  delivering 
goods  from  his  store  to  any  who  may  de- 
sire them.  The  cream  is  bought  by  the  inch; 
the  milk  being  placed  in  cans  of  a  foot  in 
diameter,  the  thickness  of  the  cream  is 
xioted  through  a  graduated  glass  inserted 
in  the  side  of  the  can.  An  inch  of  cream 
is  calculated  to  make  a  pound  of  butter, 
and  varies  in  the  price  paid  ■.vith  the  gen- 
eral changes  of  the  butter  market.  The 
capacity  of  the  factory  is  1,100  pounds  of 
butter  per  day,  and  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year  is  crowded  to  its  full  capacity,  in. 
volving  an  annual  outlay  of  from  $25,000 
to  $35,000  for  cream  alone. 

The  Methodist  church  was  the  earliest 
religious  organization  to  gain  a  foothold  in 
this  conmi unity.  Missionary  agents  of  the 
Congregational  society  were  early  in  the 
township,  especially  in  the  southern  part, 
but  for  various  reasons  their  efforts  did  not 
result  in  any  marked  permanent  ac'iieve- 
ment.  In  "William  and  Charles  Koyal, 
who  came  into  Mazon  about  18-17,  the 
Methodist  organization  had  zealous  work- 
ers, and  a  society  was  formed  which  erected 
a  place  of  worship  at  Old  Mazon,  about 
1851.  When  the  new  town  sprung  up, 
this  building  was  sold,  and  now  serves  as  a 
granary,  not  far  from  its  former  site.  The 
])resent  neat,  wooden  structure   at   Mazon, 


was  erected  about  1877,  at  a  cost  of  $2,1:00, 
and  is  the  only  one  in  the  village. 

The  Wauponsee  Grove  Congregational 
Church  is  a  society  in  the  northwestern 
corner  of  the  township.  This  church  was 
organized  Ma}'  6,  lS6i,  with  seventeen 
members,  among  whom  were  II.  B.  Good- 
rich, William  llotchkiss,  F.  T.  Benton,  Ab- 
bott Barker,  John  Sample,  and  their  wives. 
Ilev.  James  Longhead,  of  Morris,  had  been 
holding  Sabbath  services  here  before  this, 
and  continued  to  supply  this  point  and 
another  neighborhood  with  alternate  serv- 
ices. In  ISGS,  a  resident  pastor  was  se- 
cured, the  church  holding  its  services  in 
the  school-hoKse  in  the  meanwhile.  May 
27,  18(i9,  a  site  was  selected,  and  one  acre 
of  land  donated  for  the  erection  of  a  church 
building,  and  being  the  jubilee  year,  the 
effort  to  secure  a  church  home  was  greatly 
assisted  by  the  enthusiasm  evinced  by  the 
Congregational  membei-ship  at  large. 
Memorial  offerings  were  received  from 
various  persons  and  churches  abroad,  to 
which  was  added  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
ladies  of  the  society  here,  who  pledged  a 
thousand  dollars  toward  its  erection.  The 
building  was  erected,  dedicated  June  3, 
1871,  and  in  March  of  the  following  3'ear, 
the  church  voted  itself  self-sustaining,  hav- 
ing received  aid  from  the  American  Home 
Missionai'y  Society  since  its  organization. 
Ithasnow  a  membership  of  some  sixty- 
two  members,  and  a  Sunday  school  of 
about  106  attendants. 

The  earliest  school-house  was  probably 
on  section  2i,  and  was  built  in  1837.  In 
its  time  it  was  the  finest  cabin  in  the  set- 
tlement. It  was  a  square  structure,  built 
of  logs,  with  windows  made  of  six  panes  of 
glass  placed  in  a  single  horizontal  line  in  an 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


339 


enlarged  crack  between  the  lo^s.  Against 
the  log  just  below  this  window,  supported 
by  pegs  driven  into  tlie  side  of  the  struct- 
ure, was  a  rough  puncheon  which  bv  court- 
esy was  called  the  desk.  Before  this,  on 
rude  slab  benches,  the  scholars  sat  and 
faced  about  as  they  cojjied  the  ejiigrani- 
matic  wisdom  which  adorned  the  top  line 
of  the  copy-books  of  a  quarter  century  ago. 
This  cabin  had  a  floor  of  riven  ])lanks, 
trimmed  to  lay  reasonably  still  when  trod 
upon,  and  was  the  admiration  ot  the  com- 


munity.    Mr.  Axtell  was  the  first  wielder 
of  the  birchen  scepter. 

No  trace  of  these  primitive  times  now 
greet  the  eye;  the  men  and  women  of  that 
early  day,  with  all  their  toil  and  privations, 
have  gone  and  made  no  sign;  they  labored, 
and  the  present  generation  has  entered  in- 
to their  labors;  the  present  stands  upon 
the  shoulders  of  the  past;  and,  if  manfully 
meeting  the  duties  of  the  present  hour,  we 
lift  the  world  higher  by  the  full  stature  of  a 
man,  the  pioneers  of  this  land  will  not  have 
toiled  in  vain. 


CHAPTEE  XIX.* 


VIENNA  TOWNSHIP-PIONEERS  OF  THE  PRAIRIE— THE  CHANGES  OF  FIFTY  YEARS- 
NOIS  CITY— VERONA— THE  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL. 


-ILLI- 


IN  following  the  arbitrary  distinctions  of 
township  lines,  the  liistorian  of  the 
early  settlement  finds  himself  placed  in  an 
unnatural  position.  The  events  to  which 
this  connty  was  indebted  for  its  first  in- 
habitants, recognized  no  such  limitations. 
The  broad  expanse  of  prairie,  radiant  witli 
the  beauty  of  the  early  summer's  flowers,  or 
brown  with  the  ripened  food  for  a  thou- 
sand herds,  was  unmarked  to  the  pioneer, 
save  by  distant  groves  that  indicated  the 
water-courses.  The  adventurous  settler, 
attracted  by  the  flattering  report  of  friends, 
or  lured  on  by  his  love  of  frontier  life  and 
adventure,  placed  his  family  and  goods  in  a 
wagon,  and  casting  ofi'  his  moorings,  be- 
came a  wanderer,  knowing  no  home  but 
the  canvas  that  served  him  as  shelter  by 
night.  His  choice  of  land  was  dictated  by 
caprice,  and  generally  resulted  in  an  un- 
fortunate selection,  though  it  often  took 
years  of  sickness,  and  even  bereavement  bv 
death  itself  to  convince  him  of  his  error. 
The  points  of  timber  were  generally  chosen, 
or  some  spring  of  water,  both  of  which,  ex- 
perience has  proven  to  be  the  most  insalu- 
brious locations  open  to  choice.  But  here, 
patiently  enduring  toil  and  privation,  tJie 
pioneer  surmounted  the  difliculties  of  his 
situation,  and  has  left  an  enduring  monu- 
ment to  his  memory  in  these  fruitful  fields 

*Bv  J.H.  Battle. 


and  thriving  towns.  There  seem  to  have 
been  few  indications  in  that  early  day  as  to 
the  points  to  which  subsequent  growth 
would  accrue  with  the  greatest  advantage. 
Choice  was  determined  by  the  most  frivo- 
lous chance;  expectation  was  at  a  dead  level. 
This  situation  was  not  inconsistent  with  an 
almost  feverish  excitement  over  the  effect 
which  the  construction  of  the  canal  was  ex- 
pected to  have  on  this  whole  region.  The 
great  consideration  which  "puzzled  the 
will,"  was  where  the  "  bonanza's  "  liffhtnins 
would  strike.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore, 
that  the  early  settlement  of  this  county, 
molded  by  such  motives  and  influences, 
should  be  characterized  by  no  definable 
method.  But  the  later  growth  of  society 
has  long  since  modified  these  early  tradi- 
tions. Years  of  association  in  the  capacity 
of  a  political  precinct  have  given  rise  to  a 
community  of  interests,  out  of  which  have 
sprung  policies  and  practices  plainly  ap- 
parent even  to  the  stranger,  and  town- 
ship lines  now  bind  tiie  country  population 
with  as  strong  a  tie  as  national  bounda- 
ries. 

Vienna  lies  just  west  of  Mazon,  and  in 
its  topography  and  early  history  is  closely 
related.  It  is  rather  of  a  higher  elevation, 
parts  of  it  being  considerably  broken  and 
all  of  it  somewhat  rolling.  It  is  traversed 
diagonally  in  a  northeasterly  direction, 
by  five  unimportant  streams,  Hog  and  Bills' 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUXTY. 


341 


Runs  flowing  into  Norman,  the  Waupecan 
and  a  nameless  stream  passing  into  Mazon, 
and  Thunder  Creek  joining  Jolinny  Rini  in 
tlie  hitter  township.  The  cliariicter  ol'  tliese 
water-courses,  of  the  soil  and  tiniher  is 
similar  to  those  noted  in  Mazon.  The  jitir- 
snitot"  the  farmers  is  similar,  save  that  ^Ii-. 
Harford,  who  has  given  considerable  atten- 
tion to  cattle  raising,  is  now  turnini^  liis 
effort  to  breeding  horses  of  the  jS'ornian 
blood. 

The  first  claim  made  in  this  township 
was  in  1S33.  In  that  year  Edwin  Shaw 
and  Slieldon  Bartholomew  came  to  this 
section  with  A.  K.  Owen,  who  settled  in 
Mazon.  These  men  selected  farms  at  the 
point  now  known  as  "  Parer's  Grove,"  but 
beyond  naming  the  place  "  Spring  Grove" 
from  a  large  spring  found  at  one  end  or 
it,  no  attempt  was  made  by  them  to  take 
permanent  possession  of  it.  Not  long 
after  the  visit  of  these  persons  an  English 
family  by  the  name  of  Grove,  took  up  a 
claim  on  sec^tion  4  at  Hog's  Point.  Here 
they  built  a  cabin  and  cultivated  tliei 
ground  until  the  tail  of  1836,  when  Jonah 
C.  Newport,  a  native  of  Belmont  County, 
Ohio,  bought  them  out.  About  1S3-1,  or 
perhaj)S  a  year  earlier,  Gejrge  W.  Arm- 
strong settled  on  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  6,  where  he  resided  two  years.  He 
then  moved  to  Wauponsee,  from  whence 
he  subsequently  returned,  and  bought  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  1,  township  33, 
range  5  (now  in  La  Salle  County),  where  he 
built  a  cabin  and  where  his  modern  res- 
idence now  is.  About  the  same  season, 
Charles  Parer,  from  Ottawa,  came  to  this 
region,  made  a  claim  near  the  present  res- 
idence of  Mr.  Harford  at  "  Spring  Grove." 


He  cut  considerable  hay  for  his  stock,  and 
built  his  cabin,  but  unfortunately  the  fire 
caught  in  the  dry  prairie  grass  and  con- 
sumed the  hay,  cabin  and  fixtures.  It  is 
not  clear  how  this  accident  occurred.  It 
is  said,  however,  that  the  whole  family  had 
gone  to  Ottawa  and  in  their  absence  the 
confiagi-ation  took  place.  On  Mr.  Parer's 
return,  finding  nothing  left  but  blackened 
ruins,  he  abandoned  the  place,  his  family 
never  coming  back  to  the  township.  This 
was  the  extent  of  the  population  in  this 
community  until  the  coming  of  John 
Dewey  in  1841. 

Mr.  Dewey  was  an  English  mechanic, 
and  attracted  by  the  reports  from  friends 
who  lived  at  Vermillion,  sent  his  wife  and 
two  children  to  his  American  relatives,  to 
spy  out  the  land  while  he  kept  his  situation. 
Thev  came  in  1837,  and  sent  back  so  favor- 
able a  report,  that  he  came  in  the  follow- 
ing year  and  decided  to  cast  in  his  for- 
tunes with  this  new  prairie  country.  He 
catne  to  Jesse  Newport's  in  Wauponsee 
that  3'ear  and  rented  the  place,  bringing 
his  family  forward  the  year  folhjwing 
Here  he  stayed  until  1S41,  when  he  came 
to  Vienna  and  rented  the  farm  of  Jonalj 
Newport  at  Hog  Point.  Three  years  later 
he  came  to  "  Parer's  Grove."  About  the 
same  time  with  Dewey,  came  John  B. 
Moore,  and  settled  on  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  section  5.  He  came  from  Philadel- 
phia with  a  young  family,  made  a  home 
liere  but  moved  away  some  years  since. 
About  1845,  Henry  Hyslop  settled  on  sec- 
tion 22,  and  his  was  the  pioneer  cabin  on 
the  praiirie.  He  was  soon  followed  by  the 
"VVilks,  Curtis  and  Antis  families.  The 
canal  also  made  its  contribution  to  this  set- 


342 


HISTORY  OF  GKUNDY  COUNTY. 


tleinent  in  tlie person  of  Anthony  Maloney, 
who  settled  on  section  7,  where  he  lived 
many  years. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  that  part  of  rrrnn- 
dy  County  not  lying  contiguous  to  the 
canal,  settled  very  slowly  during  the  first 
ten  years.  This  is  to  be  accounted  for, 
not  so  much  because  of  its  less  desirable 
character  as  of  the  action  of  speculators. 
Most  of  the  earliest  claims  were  made  on  the 
margin  of  the  river,  and  the  claimants  were 
on  the  ground  to  purchase  their  land  at  the 
public  sale  in  1S30.  After  this  sale,  specu- 
lators bought  large  tracts  in  the  interior  of 
the  county,  especially  the  timbered  por- 
tion. The  price  was  at  once  raised  above 
government  prices  and  of  course  found  but 
little  sale.  There  were  here  and  there  sec- 
tions which  were  supposed  to  be  less  de- 
sirable or  had  been  overlooked  by  gen- 
eral land  buyers,  and  tliese  were  gradually 
picked  up.  As  soon  as  the  settlement 
grew  large  enough  (and  the  legal  require- 
ments were  not  severe)  a  township  or  pre- 
cinct organization  was  effected  and  after 
the  five  years  of  release,  taxes  were  laid  as 
to  force  non-resident  land  owners  to  pay 
at  least  their  full  share.  Their  timber 
was  considered  free  plunder  and  so  little 
sympathy  was  felt  in  any  settlement  for 
this  class  of  property  holders,  that  it  be- 
came unpopular  for  any  one  to  assist  in  lo- 
cating lands  for  them.  This  policy,  main- 
tained for  several  years,  soon  convinced  cap- 
italists that  the  land  was  not  a  good  in- 
vestment, and  becoming  tired  of  paying 
comparatively  exorbitant  taxes,  and  get- 
ting very  little  protection  for  what  they  did 
pay,  they  were  glad  to  put  the  land  in  the 
market,  getting  merely  enough  to  reim- 
burse them  for  their  outlay,  and  not  always 


getting  ofi"  so  well  as  that.  The  result  was 
that  up  to  about  1850,  the  county  was  only 
sparsely  settled,  but  subsequently  filled  up 
with  remarkable  rapidity. 

Another  feature  of  the  settlement  here 
in  contrast  with  the  experience  of  pioneers 
of  Ohio  and  the  Middle  States,  may  be 
noted:  there  seems  to  have  been  far  less 
demand  here  for  that  invention  which  is 
the  offspring  of  necessity.  Machinery  for 
mills,  though  transported  over  long  dis- 
tances, could  be  secured;  in  the  older  States 
they  were  rudely  manufactured  on  the  spot. 
Here  the  larger  ])art  of  personal  apparel 
was  purchased  at  stores  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  distant;  there  everything,  from  the 
hat  to  the  shoe,  was  manufactured  at  home. 
Here,  though  timber  was  scarce  and  the 
country  sparsely  settled,  glass  windows 
were  the  rule,  house  hardware  not  difiicult 
to  obtain,  and  "frame"  dwellings  early  ap- 
peared; there  these  things  were  the  mark 
of  wealth  and  distinction,  and  ajipeared 
only  after  the  settlement  had  considerably 
grown.  But  history,  in  early  settlements, 
does  not  exactly  repeat  itself.  Experience 
must  be  taken  into  the  account,  and  what 
one  generation  achieves  must  accrue  to  the 
advantage  of  its  successor.  The  pioneer 
experience  of  the  Pilgrims  was  unique  and 
could  not  be  reproduced  in  a  later  day; 
that  of  the  Middle  States  modified  the 
early  settlement  of  this  western  land,  and  the 
far  AVest  of  to-day  i-esembles  more  the  "  roy- 
al road  to  fortune  "  than  the  "  hard  road  to 
travel,"  which  the  pioneers  of  other  genera- 
tions found. 

But  with  all  this  modification  of  the 
stern  experience  of  pioneer  life,  the  trials 
of  the  first  settlers  were  anything  but  eas}' 
to  be  borne.     The  community  settled  here 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


343 


found  the  only  accessible  mills  at  Verm  11- 
lionville,  AYilinington  and  Dayton.  Here 
the  soil  was  found  to  yield  fine  crops  of 
winter  wheat,  and  flour  was  not  so  great 
a  luxury.  Fruit  did  finely,  espccialU' 
peaches,  and  tliere  was  uo  dearth  of  or- 
chards, though  apples,  taking  longer  to 
mature,  did  not  yield  early,  and  the  cliange 
of  late  years  has  never  made  apples  so 
prominent  in  the  county.  The  severe  win- 
ter of  1853  or  1854:  killed  the  larger  part 
of  the  peach  trees,  and  fruit  interests  have 
languished  here  ever  since.  The  ready  tact 
of  the  pioneer  housewives  and  the  uupain- 
pered  tastes  of  that  early  day  found  a  good 
substitute  for  fruit  in  the  pumpkin.  When 
frozen  they  were  prepared  and  stewed  down 
to  a  syrup,  which  furnished  the  sweeten- 
ing for  most  of  the  culinary  purposes  of 
the  cabin,  and  mixed  with  fresh  stewed 
pumpkin  formed  the  coveted  sweetmeat. 
They  were  planted  in  large  numbers  and 
stored  in  a  vault  constructed  underneath 
the  hay-stacks  to  be  fed  to  tlie  cattle  during 
the  winter.  Well  may  this  "fruit  loved  of 
boyhood,"  be  apostrophized  by  the  poet 
and  be  honorably  placed  in  a  State's  coat- 
of-arms.  There  was  but  little  weaving 
done  by  the  women  of  this  township,  not 
a  single  loom  to  be  funnd  here  and  only 
one  field  of  flax.  Mrs.  Dewey  did  try  to 
raise  silk-worms,  and  succeeded  in  securing 
some  return  for  her  efforts,  but  it  was  pur- 
sued more  as  a  pastime  than  a  means  of 
profit  and  was  soon  abandoned.  In  her 
early  eflbrts  to  assist  her  husband  she 
learned,  in  Vermillionville,  the  tailor's 
trade,  and  became  quite  noted  in  a  small 
circle.  In  tliis  way  she  acquired  considera- 
ble  stock.  Cattle  were  cheap,  and  when  a 
settler  was  able  to  have  Sunday  clothes  he 


was  glad  to  trade  off  a  heifer  or  yearling  for 
the  making  of  a  coat.  The  other  parts  of 
the  suit  could  be  made  at  home,  but  the 
outer  garment  required  more  skill,  and 
Mrs.  Dewc}'  turned  iier  ability  to  good  ac- 
count. 

Game  was  found  here  in  the  usual  abun- 
dance. Deer  passing  from  one  point  to 
another  have  been  counted  travelincf  in  sin- 
gle  file  to  the  number  of  one  or  two  hun- 
dred, while  lynxes  and  wolves,  especially 
the  latter,  were  "  too  numerous  to  mention." 
An  incident  is  related  of  the  latter  animal 
which,  though  it  occurred  outside  of  the 
limits  of  this  township,  is  vouched  for  by 
present  residents  as  having  happened  "just 
across  the  river."  A  country  dance  had 
called  a  knight  of  the  bow  some  distance 
from  his  home  and  detained  him  till  the 
early  hours  of  the  morning.  On  his  return 
he  heard  the  hungry  howling  of  the  wolves, 
which  seemed  to  be  following  on  his  trail 
and  coming  unpleasantly  nearer  him.  Soon 
convinced  that  he  was  in  danger,  he  scram- 
bled, fiddle  box  in  hand,  into  a  tree  which 
stood  near  by,  and  was  soon  surrounded  by 
those  miscreants  of  the  prairie.  Safe,  but 
annoyed  at  his  detention,  the  weary  musi- 
cian whiled  away  the  time  and  "  soothed  the 
savage  breast"  with  strains  that  had  served 
a  pleasanter  occasion  earlier  in  the  night. 
The  dawn  released  him.  If  this  be  true, 
it  is  not  less  strongly  authenticated  that 
this  was  the  only  case  of  sucli  boldness  on 
the  part  of  the  prairie  wolves  of  this  region. 
They  were  found  troublesome  in  the  de- 
struction of  young  stock,  but  otherwise 
quite  harmless.  Prairie  chickens  were 
found  in  great  abundance,  and  furnished 
rare  sport  as  well  as  a  generous  supply  for 
the  larder.     But  these,  with  the  deer,  have 


344 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


pretty  i^-enerally  disappeared.  Many  be- 
lieve the  latter  left  the  country  about  1845, 
when  it  is  said  vast  herds  migrated  across 
the  Mississippi. 

Vienna  was  rather  out  of  the  principal 
line  of  through  travel,  and  had  little  in  the 
circnnistaiices  of  her  business  activity  or 
location  to  encourage  the  growth  of  a  vil- 
lage,  but  the  mania  for  founding  cities 
seized  a  Mr.  Bullock,  and  in  1836  he  laid  out 
Illinois  City,  north  of  tlie  Waupecan,  with 
a  great  public  square,  and  streets  enough 
to  satisfy  a  very  thriving  village.  Its  only 
remains  is  the  worn-out  plat  in  records  of 
the  county.  Verona  was  an  outgrowth  of 
the  Pekin,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  railroad. 
It  was  laid  out  near  the  center  of  section 
26,  by  Martin  Finch  and  Ambrose  Kinley. 
The  ground  was  platted  in  February,  1877, 
and  in  about  a  year  grew  to  its  present 
dignity.  There  is  really  no  demand  for  a 
large  village  here,  and  even  now  lias  the 
appearance  of  being  overgrown.  Tliree  or 
four  stores  are  now  doing  more  or  less  busi- 
ness, which,  with  the  usual  blacksmith  and 
wagon  shop,  two  churches,  and  some  liun- 
dred  dwelling  houses,  constitute  the  village 
of  Verona.  Its  name  may  have  found  its 
BU!.'gestion  in  the  title  of  the  play,  as  its 
founders  may  not  inappropriately  now  be 
called  the  "  two  gentlemen  of  Verona." 

Schools  played  an  early  part  in  this  town- 
ship. Mrs.  Dewey  was  a  woman  of  con- 
siderable education,  and  anxious  to  turn 
her  various  accomplisliments  to  a  money 
account  in  aid  of  her  husband,  began  teacii- 
ing  school  during  her  temporary  stay  at 
Vermillionville.  On  coming  into  Vienna, 
she  opened  up  in  her  cabin  the  first  board- 
ing school  in  the  county.  She  had  but  a 
few  pupils,  and  proposed  only  to  teach  the 


rudiments,  but  children  were  then  so  few 
that  they  came  from  live  miles  away. 
They  stayed  during  the  week,  going  home 
Saturday  to  stay  over  the  Sun(l:iv  and  holi- 
day. This  school  was  not  long  maintained. 
Tiie  first  school-honse  was  soon  built  near 
Hog  Run,  and  the  pioneer  school  taught 
by  A.  Warnock. 

The  effbrts  of  the  church  on  the  frontier 
were  genei'ally  almost  as  early  as  tiie  first 
pioneer.  The  Methodist  church  had  a  sta- 
tion on  the  Fox  River,  and  no  sooner  were 
two  or  three  families  gathered  in  each 
other's  vicinity  than  a  missionary  itinerant 
discovered  and  preached  to  them.  The  size 
of  the  audience  did  not  seem  to  detract 
from  the  interest  of  tlie  occasion,  and  many 
an  effective  sermon  has  been  delivered  in  a 
little  cabin  before  two  or  tliree  auditors. 
Tlie  earliest  of  these  preachers  were  many 
times  quite  illiterate,  and  others,  though 
scarcely  less  so,  were  remarkably  success- 
ful. The  Mormons  were  here  early,  but 
found  the  people  possessed  of  an  independ- 
ent judgment  which  was  not  to  be  swayed 
by  a  latter  day  revelation.  The  earliest 
organization  efl:ected,  however,  was  by  the 
Baptist  denomination,  in  1850.  The  Fell- 
ingham  family  were  among  the  settlers  of 
this  time,  and  were  earnest  members  of 
this  church.  Mr.  W.  M.  Fellingliam  was 
a  minister,  and  served  the  Ebenezer  Bap- 
tist Society  in  this  capacity  until  his  death, 
his  brothers,  George  and  John,  acting  as 
deacons.  Until  about  1862,  services  were 
held  in  the  school-house,  but  at  this  time  a 
modest  frame  building  was  erected  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  25,  at  a  cost  of 
about  eight  hnudred  dollars.  The  mem- 
bership does  not  now  exceed  ten  members, 
and  services  are  held  only  once  a  month. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


345 


The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Vienna  was 
organized  February  27,  1858,  by  tlie  Rev. 
S.  IT.  Loss,  a  missionary  agent  of  this 
church,  with  some  fourteen  members.  For 
some  years  they  lield  their  services  in  a 
school-liouse,  but  in  1870  a  good  frame 
building  was  erected  as  a  place  of  worsiiip. 
Tiie  edifice  cost  about  $3,300,  and  was 
placed  on  the  northwest  corner  of  section 
36.  In  1877,  when  the  town  of  Verona 
sprang  up,  the  building  was  removed  to  the 
village,  where  it  now  stands.     The  church 


has  suffered  severely  from  removals,  so  that 
it  now  numbers  only  some  fifteen  or  six- 
teen members. 

The  only  other  church  in  Vienna  is  the 
]\Iethodist  Episcopal.  This  was  organized 
in  1S7(),  and  in  the  following  year  erected 
their  present  place  of  worship  at  a  cost  of 
about  $2,800.  The  leading  s])irits  of  this 
ciiurch  were  I.  C.  Tilden,  M.  Dix,  and  J. 
Kendall.  Its  membership  now  reaches 
about  fifty. 


OHAPTEE    XX.* 


BRACEVILLE  TOWNSHIP— COAL  MEASURES- 

BRACEYILLE  lies  just  east  of  Mazou 
township,  and  continuiug  the  gradual 
rise  of  land  in  the  eastern  part  of  that 
precinct,  becomes  quite  broken  and  pictur- 
esque along  the  branch  of  tlie  Mazon  creek. 
East  of  this  stream  the  land  gradually  sub- 
sides to  a  generally  level  character,  and 
stretches  out  along  the  eastern  part  in  an 
expanse  of  wild  prairie.  The  trend  of  the 
water-courses  indicates  an  elevation  in  the 
central  part,  though  it  is  but  slight,  and  of 
the  character  of  a  plateau.  The  Mazon 
Creek  enters  from  the  south,  a  little  east  of 
the  middle  line  of  the  township,  and,  cir- 
cling to  the  west  and  north,  follows  the  gen- 
eral direction  of  the  western  boundary, 
passing  into  Mazon  and  between  Waupon- 
see  and  Felix  at  the  northwest  corner. 
The  soil  along  the  river  is  good  farming 
land,  but  in  the  interior  and  eastern  parts 
the  liglit  covering  of  sod  rests  upon  a 
nearly  pure,  sandy  soil,  which  is  protitably 
available  for  little  more  than  grazing.  The 
eastern  portion,  however,  is  richly  underlaid 
with  coal,  which  more  than  compensates 
for  the  meager  productiveness  of  the  sur- 
face. This  deposit,  extending  into  the  ad- 
joining counties  of  Will  and  Kankakee,  has 
given  rise  to  considerable  business  activity 
in  this  vicinity,  and  a  number  of  brisk 
mining  villages  have  sprung  up  within 
some  six  miles  of  each  other. 

*  By  J.  H.  Battle. 


■EARLY  SETTLEMENT— THE  OPEN  PRAIRIE. 

The  earliest  development  of  coal  was 
made  in  the  counties  east  of  Grnndy,  but 
about  1858  some  miners  opened  a  co-oper- 
ative shaft  on  land  belonging  to  N.  Cotton. 
Water  proved  a  great  hindrance  and  ex- 
pense here,  and  the  project  was  about  to 
fail,  when  some  others  were  induced  to  give 
the  enterprise  assistance.  They  brouglit 
to  the  work  more  enthusiasm  than  capital, 
however,  and  tlie  effort  was  about  to  prove 
an  entire  failure,  when  Mr.  Meiian  was  en- 
listed in  the  work  and  the  shaft  pushed 
down  to  the  coal.  At  this  point  Mr.  Boyer 
bought  the  shaft,  and  did  some  mining. 
Some  four  or  live  years  later,  Mr.  Augus- 
tine put  down  a  sliaft  on  his  land,  but  the 
business,  crippled  by  the  lack  of  capital, 
languished  until  about  1880,  when  foreign 
capital  took  up  the  matter  and  has  made 
this  part  of  the  county  a  busy,  thriv- 
ing section.  The  principal  coal  lands  are 
owned  and  worked  by  large  corporations, 
of  which  the  Wilmington  Coal  Mining  & 
Manufacturing  Company  and  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  Company 
are  the  leading  ones.  The  Chicago  Trib- 
une last  year  gave  an  interesting  sketch 
of  these  coal-fields  in  December  of  1881, 
from  which  the  following  extract  is  taken: 

"  The  finest  and  richest  of  these  coal- 
fields are  now  being  worked  with  all  the 
most  improved  facilities  which  unrestricted 
capital  can  supply.  Strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, the  best  veins  lie  nearest  the  surtace, 


HISTORY  OF  GRUXDY  COUNTY. 


347 


in  marked  contrast  with  the  vaunted  coal- 
fields of  Eiighmd,  where  none  of  the  mines 
are  less  than  500  feet,  and  some  as  low  as 
3,800  feet  below  the  surftice.  The  coal  here 
is  in  veins  of  three  feet  tliiekness,  much  of 
it  not  over  fifty  feet  below  the  surface,  and 
of  unexcelled  quality;  in  many  i-espects, 
excepting  for  gas  and  coke  ])urposes,  per- 
haps, excelling  the  famous  Pittsburgh  bitu- 
minous coal.  Here  the  mineral  is  found  free 
of  clinkers,  sulphur  and  iron,  making  a 
charming  grate_coal,  and,  forbhicksmitliing 
purj)oses,  without  equal. 

"  I  began  my  inspection  with  the  Fair- 
banks mine  in  Essex  township,  of  Kankakee 
County.  This  mine  is  twenty  miles  west 
of  Kankakee,  four  miles  southeast  of  Gard- 
ner, and  five  miles  south  of  I5raceville. 
At  Fairbanks,  I  found  a  ]iarty  of  surveyors 
engaged  in  running  out  a  line  for  a  railroad 
from  Buckingham  to  Uraidwood,  a  distance 
of  fifteen  miles.  At  Buckingham  this  road 
will  connect  with  the  Southwestern  Branch 
of  the  Illinois  Centi'al  Eailroad,  thence 
crossing  the  Indiana,  Illinois  &  Iowa  Rail- 
way, the  Wabash,  St.  Louis  &  Pacific,  the 
Kankakee  &  Seneca,  and  the  Chicago,  Al- 
ton »!c  St.  Louis,  making  three  direct  lines 
to  Chicago,  and  three  east  and  west.  The 
name  of  the  new  road  is  the  Wilmington 
Coalfields  Pailroad,  with  which  it  is  de- 
signed to  form  a  belt  around  the  coal-fields. 
It  is  the  intention  of  the  managers  of  the 
enterprise  to  construct  this  road  in  a  first- 
class  manner,  and  when  it  is  comy)leted,  to 
transport  coal,  farm  products  and  passen- 
gers. 

"The  lands  owned  by  the  Wilmington 
Coal-iields  Conipanj'  comprise  some  2,600 
acres  in  Grundy  and  Kankakee  Counties. 
At  the  invitation  of  the  mining  boss  I  de- 


scended into  the  mine.  The  surface  soil 
this  year  yielded  a  corn  crop  averaging 
from  forty -five  to  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre, 
and  the  grass  lands  over  two  tons  of  hay. 
The  shaft  is  six  by  fourteen  and  a  half  feet, 
divided  into  two  compartments  of  six  feet 
each,  two  foet  and  a  half  being  utilized  as 
an  air  shaft,  and  a  double  cage  kept  run- 
ning. It  is  down  ninety-five  feet.  For 
fifty -six  feet  two  inches,  it  is  built  of  tim- 
bers solidl}'  spiked  together,  and  below  that 
it  is  made  of  two  by  four  inches  scantling, 
placed  on  edge  and  spiked  together,  form- 
ing the  wall  casing.  This  was  built  in 
twenty-eight  days,  and  is  sufficient  for 
hoisting  1,000  tons  of  coal  per  day. 

"  At  the  bt)ttom  I  found  no  water.  The 
roof  was  as  dry  as  the  interior  of  a  house. 
The  ordy  water  which  was  in  sight,  and 
that  was  very  little,  was  that  which  came 
down  from  the  top  of  the  shaft.  Below  was 
laid  a  double  track  for  the  cars,  which  are 
used  in  hauling  out  the  coal.  There  were 
four  rooms  being  worked,  and  the  weird 
appearance  of  the  miners  digging  at  the 
solid  coal  was  a  sight  to  be  remembered. 
The  mine  ceilings  are  held  in  place  by  tim- 
bers, twelve  inches  square.  There  is  ten 
feet  of  solid  timber  from  the  lip  of  the  shaft 
out  each  way,  three  feet  from  the  center 
and  two  feet  space  between  each.  The 
roof  overhead  is  formed  of  two-inch  planks. 
All  the  digging  is  done  with  picks,  the 
coal  being  undermined  and  dropping  down 
of  its  own  weight,  thus  obviating  the  use 
of  gunpowder.  The  roofing  overlying  the 
coal  is  what  miners  term  '  soapstone,'  but  is 
really  shale  clay,  and  is  impervious  to 
water.  Below  the  coal  is  a  bed  of  fire  clay, 
which  would  doubtless  make  good  fire 
brick. 


348 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


"  flavins  looked  tlirouKli  the  new  mines, 
I  started  over  tiie  country  to  Braceville. 
This  little  town  is  on  the  Ciiicago  and 
Alton  railroad,  and  is  inhabited  by  about 
1,000  people.  Last  summer,  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Hallway  Company 
purchased  the  old  Bruce  mine,  which  it  is 
now  working.  It  also  bought  of  James 
AYhitton,  1,680  acres  of  coal  land,  paying 
$1(18,000  in  cash.  This  land  is  underlaid 
with  coal  of  a  quality  not  nearly  equal  to 
that  of  Fairbank.  The  Milwaukee  and  St. 
Paul  company  is  now  getting  out  from  275 
to  300  tons  of  coal  per  da^'  from  the  old 
shaft,  which  is  about  the  measure  of  its 
capacity.  The  company  has  a  second  shaft 
down  now,  aiid  is  working  twentv-tive 
rooms  in  it.  But  water  is  found  very 
troublesome  here,  and  often  prevents  work- 
ing the  mine  to  its  full  cajjacity.  When 
I  was  there,  No.  2  shaft  was  working  but 
six  rooms  out  of  the  twenty-tive,  and  these 
were  not  entirely  dry.  They  employ  sev- 
enty-live miners,  but  only  eighteen  of  them 
could  work  because  of  water.  At  present 
there  are  four  pumps  at  work  in  this  shaft 
getting  out  the  water,  and  they  have  not 
succeeded  in  clearing  it  out.  They  run 
three,  four  and  five-inch  pipes  to  the  sur- 
face, and  the  volume  of  water  that  is  raised 
can  scarcely  be  computed.  In  No.  3  shaft, 
when  the  company  was  sinking  it,  an  acci- 
dent occurred  to  the  pump,  and  the  mine 
was  literally  drowned  out.  The  shaft  is 
117  feet  deep,  and  the  water  rose  to  within 
thirty -live  feet  of  the  surface.  In  this  sec- 
tion water  overlaps  the  coal  at  every  point, 
and  streams  of  it  run  through  the  mineral 
at  a  number  of  places. 

"  In  Godley,  which  is  a  little  east  of 
Braceville,  Baird  and  Hickox  have  a  mine 


running,  and  miners  told  me  that  there  were 
few  dry  places  there.  The  standard  price 
paid  for  mining  is  $1.05  per  ton  in  winter 
and  95  cents  in  summer,  but  at  Godley 
they  are  obliged  to  paj'  from  $1.25  to  $1.30, 
which  is  from  ten  to  twenty-five  cents 
above  the  ruling  price  on  the  prairie, 
simply  on  account  of  vpater.  The  depth  of 
the  old  Bruce  shaft  costs  the  company 
working  it  to  pay  as  high  as  $1.50  per  ton 
for  mining  in  some  spots." 

The  shafts  opened  along  the  western 
border  of  this  township  are  all  of  this  char- 
acter, but  notwithstanding  this  drawback, 
mining  in  this  vicinity  is  being  pushed 
with  renewed  vigor  of  late  years.  At  Coal 
City,  and  the  Diamond,  in  tiie  northeast 
corner,  are  larger  coal  interests,  and  riding 
along  the  central  part  of  the  township  one 
may  imagine  the  lake  not  far  away,  and 
the  distant  columns  of  smoke  rising  at 
pretty  regular  intervals  on  the  eastern 
horizon  to  indicate  the  passage  of  a  fleet 
of  steamers.  Many  experts  believe  the 
coal  to  be  found  west  of  the  Mazon  will 
prove  a  finer  quality  and  much  more 
cheaply  mined  than  at  the  present  scene 
of  operations. 

The  first  settlement  of  this  township  was 
closel}'  allied  to  that  of  Mazon,  Dr.  L.  S. 
Bobbins,  one  of  the  Owen  party  of  1833, 
coming  to  Sulphur  Springs  in  1834-,  and 
building  his  cabin  on  the  land  he  had  se- 
cured hy  claim  the  year  before.  In  the 
following  year  the  Eslinger  family  settled 
north  of  the  Mazon,  below  the  Chicago  and 
Alton  railroad.  The  head  of  this  family 
was  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  had  a  large 
fiimily  of  boys.  They  stayed  here  some 
three  or  four  years,  made  some  improve- 
ments, but  for  some   reason  left  for  other 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


349 


p:irts.  Soon  after,  the  place  was  burned 
over  and  tlie  bniUlinj^s  and  fences  destroyed. 
About  1836  tlie  "  West  Colony  "  settled  on 
tiie  Mazon  Creek,  toward  the  soutiieast 
Corner  of  the  township.  But  little  more 
than  this  is  known  of  this  settlement. 
AVliiit  the  origin  of  the  enteriirise,  or  name 
was,  is  not  known,  and  of  their  existence 
but  few  persons  have  any  renieinbrunce. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  several  cabins 
were  built  here,  and  considerable  improve- 
n)ent  made,  but  the  scheme,  for  some 
reason,  proved  a  failure,  and  tlie  place  en- 
tirely abandoned  after  a  short  time. 

In  the  winter  of  ISSi-o  John  Crafff 
came  to  Braceville  and  settled  on  section 
19,  where  he  remaitied  nntil  his  death. 
Cragg  was  a  pattern  maker  by  trade  and  a 
fine  workman.  He  was  following  his  trade 
at  Patterson,  N.  J.,  when  he  heard  the  flat- 
tering stories  of  the  Illinois  country.  But 
the  long  journey  and  the  nnknown  experi- 
ence to  be  expected  on  a  frontier  farm  made 
him  hesitate  to  come  alone.  He  talked  tiie 
matter  over  with  his  friends  and  associates, 
Edward  Holland  and  a  Mr.  Gates,  and  with 
them  made  a  compact  to  go  to  the  West  and 
settle  near  each  other,  agreeing  that  each 
should  forfeit  fifty  dollars  should  he  tail  to 
carrvout  his  part  of  the  accreeinent.  Crai-o- 
was  married  and  had  his  wife  with  him. 
The  others  were  less  fortunate,  for  wiiile 
married,  their  wives  were  j-et  in  the  old 
country.  It  was  arranged  that  Cragg  and 
his  wife  sliould  come  on  and  make  a  claim 
for  himself  and  Holland,  while  Gates  re- 
turned across  the  ocean  for  his  own  and 
Holland's  wife.  Gates  fonnd  his  task  a 
more  difficult  one  to  accomplish  than  was 
anticipated.  His  own  wife  and  Mrs.  Hol- 
land, urged  by  their  family  friends,  refused 


to  face  the  perils  and  privations  of  the 
frontier,  and  Gates,  choosing  the  less  of  two 
disoppointments,  remained  at  his  old  home, 
while  Holland,  after  waiting  for  his  wife  in 
vain  for  a  time,  acting  on  the  same  princi- 
ple perlia|)s,  came  to  Illinois  and  settled 
just  over  the  line  in  Mazon,  and  set  up  a 
blacksmith  shop.  He  was  never  joined  by 
his  wife,  and  afterward  solaced  his  lacer- 
ated feelings  with  another  less  afraid  of 
tVontier  life. 

On  his  journey  West,  Cragg  came  by  way 
of  St.  Louis,  where  he  stayed  some  time. 
Here  he  met  a  family  who  liad  left  the 
vicinity  of  Ottawa  during  the  Indian 
troubles  of  IBS'?,  and  who  ofTered  him  the 
use  of  half  of  a  double  log  cabin  they  had 
there.  This  famil}'  was  about  to  return  to 
their  claim  overland,  while  Cragg  and  his 
family  came  by  the  river.  It  was  agreed 
that  when  the  overland  party  reached  the 
vicinity  of  their  cabin  they  should  sound 
a  horn,  when  Mrs.  Cragg  was  to  reply  with 
a  similar  signal.  The  latter  family  had 
been  ensconced  in  their  new  quarters  sev- 
eral days  when  the  expected  blast  was 
heard,  and  had  experienced  just  enough  of 
the  isolation  of  their  position  to  learn  of 
the  arrival  of  companions  with  no  little 
satisfaction.  Mr.  Cragg  had  busied  him- 
self in  proS])ccting  the  country  about  for  a 
location,  and  soon  fixed  upon  his  place  on 
the  ]\Iazon,  and  after  building  his  cabin 
moved  into  it.  The  log  cabin  which  is 
still  standing  was  situated  near  the  trail 
which  was  principally  followed  by  the 
travel  toward  Chicago  from  the  south.  In 
this  small  building,  hardly  large  enough  for 
the  family,  they  dispensed  the  courtesies 
and  com  torts  of  a  frontier  inn.  The  euests 
were  not  less  rough  than  squeamish,  and 


350 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


are  represented   as  hardly  superior    to  the 
Indians  in  their  social  accomplisliinents. 

Ill  184:6,  came  John  Kerns  from  JSew 
York  and  settled  in  the  southern,  and  E.  R. 
Booth,  who  settled  in  the  soiitliwestern 
part.  In  ISiS  came  D.  R.  Dowd,  from 
Trumbull  Count}',  Ohio,  and  settled  on  the 
western  line  of  the  township  near  Mr. 
Booth.  He  was  the  first  supervisor  and 
gave  the  name  of  his  Ohio  home  to  this 
new  townshi]).  In  1849  came  Thomas 
Martin  and  Robert  Huston.  The  latter 
was  a  weaver  by  trade,  and  came  from  New 
York  by  the  Erie  Canal,  the  lakes  and  the 
Michigan  and  Illinois  Central  to  Morris. 
He  was  from  May  1st  to  21st  in  getting  to 
Morris.  During  the  trij)  the  weather  had 
been  propitious,  but  no  sooner  had  he  set 
foot  on  Illinois  soil  when  a  discouraging 
rain  set  in.  A  team  was  hired  to  take  his 
goods  and  family  to  their  destination  near 
where  the  ^  illage  of  Braceville  is  located. 
The  rain  came  down  rapidly  and  they  just 
succeeded  in  fording  the  Jolmny  Run  be- 
fore it  became  impassable.  They  reached 
a  deserted  cabin  near  their  place  that  night, 
though  they  were  obliged  to  travel  much  of 
the  way  in  water  from  a  few  inches  to  two 
feet  deep.  Here  the  team  was  blockaded, 
and  was  forced  to  wait  three  weeks  before 
it  could  return.  This  sort  of  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  new  country  brought  on  the 
usual  attack  of  the  fever  and  ague,  and  for 
nine  months  Mr.  Huston  was  not  able  to 
do  anything  toward  putting  up  a  house  of 
his  own.  In  the  meantime  he  located  his 
soldier's  warrant,  which  he  had  purchased 
at  a  cost  of  $165,  and  began  to  invest  the 
balance  of  his  money  in  getting  him  a 
house.  After  getting  a  team  he  made  trips 
to  Chicago,  teaming  for  others  and  bringing 


a  load  of  lumber  back  for  his  house  which 
he  erected  on  the  prairie.  This  was  per- 
haps the  first  frame  building  in  the  towur 
ship.  Other  early  families  were  those  of 
B.  A.  Crisler  and  H.  Cassingham,  who  set- 
tled on  the  western  side  of  the  Mazon. 

The  larger  ]iart  of  this  township  was 
originally  prairie  land,  and  enough  of  it 
still  remains  in  its  natural  condition  to 
give  one  a  fair  idea  of  what  the  whole 
country  once  was.  The  wild  gi-ass  of  these 
lands  made  excellent  pasture  and  liav. 
With  the  range  the  early  settlers  had,  their 
cattle  would  put  on  more  flesh  and  in  less 
time  than  on  any  other  pasture.  The 
sedge  which  grew  along  the  sloughs  was 
the  first  to  start  in -the  spi-ing,  and  fur- 
nished the  earliest  pasture.  The  bent  or 
blue-joint,  which  was  principally  found 
along  the  sides  of  the  sloughs,  or,  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  pioneer,  "  between  the 
dry  and  wet  land,"  was  preferred  by  stock 
to  all  other  varieties,  especially  when 
mixed  with  the  wild  pea  vine.  This  made 
the  best  hay,  and  as  its  yield  was  very 
large,  was  generallj'  selected  for  this  pur- 
pose. But  tlie  combined  ravages  of  stock 
and  scythe  rapidly  exterminated  it,  so  that 
in  many  cases  the  gronnd  where  it  grew 
became  almost  bare  of  vegetation.  The 
stock  and  the  farmer  then  i-esorted  to  the 
upland  grasses,  but  before  the  settlers  mul- 
tiplied so  as  to  limit  the  range  of  the 
stock,  the  older  and  more  experienced  of 
the  herd  would  go  long  distances  to  find 
their  favorite  pasture,  necessitating  on  the 
part  of  the  pioueer  a  hunt  of  several  da\'s 
to  recover  them. 

The  native  grasses  were  not  less  marked 
for  their  medicinal  qualities.  Cattle  and 
horses  seemed  to  be  remarkably  free  from 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


353 


diseases  so  lonc^  as  they  could  find  plenty 
of  wild  hay  or  grass  to  feed  upon.  Horses 
raised  upon  tiie  prairie  were  said  never  to 
be  afflicted  with  the  heaves,  while  horses 
brought  here,  suffering  with  this  malady, 
•were  speedily  cured  by  simply  feeding  on 
the  native  grasses.  This  advantage,  how- 
ever, was  somewhat  offeet  by  the  colic 
which  this  rank  feeding  frequently  pro- 
duced in  horses  with  fatal  effect.  The  in- 
troduction of  tame  grasses  has  largely* 
remedied  this  evil,  and  most  fanners  are 
now  able  to  supply  their  stock  with  a  mix- 
ture of  the  two  kinds.  But  the  wild  grass 
of  the  present  is  not  found  in  all  its  virgin 
purity.  The  pea  vine  is  almost  if  not  en- 
tirely' extinct,  while  the  grass  itself  is  very 
inuch  modified,  and  is  not  valued  in  the 
markets  equal  to  good  timothy. 

The  village  growth    of  Braceville  town- 
ship is  the  result  of  the  mining   industry 


found  here.  Braceville  village  was  laid  out 
in  1861  by  N.  Cotton,  who  did  the  work 
liimself,  using  a  sixteen  foot  pole.  It  may 
be  imagined  that  as  the  village  grew  it  was 
sometimes  rather  difficult  to  adjust  con- 
flicting claims  with  the  claims  of  the  plat, 
but  that  lias  been  regulated,  and  a  village 
of  1,800  inhabitants  is  now  found  here. 
The  recent  increased  activity  among  the 
mines  in  this  vicinity  has  added  a  consid- 
erable number  to  tiie  population  in  the 
past  year.  But  the  large  number  of  cheap, 
poorly  constructed  dwellings  does  not  be- 
token solid  prosperity,  especially  when  this 
is  taken  in  connection  with  the  large  num- 
ber of  vacant  stores,  and  lack  of  public  im- 
provement. The  Diamond,  in  the  extreme 
northeast  corner,  and  Coal  City,  located  a 
little  south  and  west  of  Diamond,  are  simi- 
lar towns  but  of  smaller  size. 


CHAPTER    XXL* 


GOODFARM   TOWNSHIP- 


'THE    LAY     OF    THE    LAND  "-EARLY    SETTLEMENT-PIONEER 
EXPERIENCES— SCHOOLS— CHURCHES. 


GOODFARM,  like  most  of  tlie  town- 
ships south  of  the  river,  is  well  sup- 
plied with  prairie  water-courses.  It  lies 
just  south  of  Mazon  township,  and  contrih- 
utes  to  the  streams  which  have  been  noted 
there,  viz.:  Murray  sluice,  Mazon  Creek, 
Brewster  and  Wood  sluices.  The  two  lat- 
ter are  the  most  im))ortant  here,  ami  join 
the  "  West  Fork  of  the  Mazon "  in  the 
townsliip  wiiich  bears  the  same  name.  The 
direction  of  these  streams  are  nearly  due 
north,  and  the  general  aspect  of  the  land 
is  that  of  a  rolling  jirairie  vei-y  liberally 
supplied  with  groves.  Much  of  the  land  is  in- 
sufficiently drained  and  has  a  low  wet  appear- 
ance,though  the  name  of  the  township  pretty 
correctly  characterizes  its  soil  as  a  whole. 

James  McKean  was  the  first  settler  in 
this  township.  He  seems  to  have  delight- 
ed in  the  isolation  of  the  frontier  and  to 
have  moved  from  a  noigliborliood  as  soon 
as  it  became  generally  settled.  He  was 
here  as  early  as  1841.  About  1S-14-,  J.  M. 
Clover  came  from  Indiana  and  bonifht  his 
place,  on  section  two,  in  the  northern  edge 
of  the  township.  Two  or  three  3'ears  la  er 
Elijah  Saltmarsli  came  and  settled  on  sec- 
tion five.  He  was  of  southern  birth  and 
had  been  a  flatboatman  on  the  Ohio  Eiver. 
His  life  on  the  river  at  a  time  when  boat- 
ing involved  a  rough,   boisterous    experi- 

*  Bv  J.  H.  Battle. 


ence,  developed  him  into  a  decisive,  ener- 
getic man,  and  he  l)ecaine  a  leading  spirit 
in  the  townshij).  He  had  a  large  family 
and  made  a  good  farm,  but  in  his  later 
years,  unsatisfied  with  this  settled  country 
he  went  to  Oregon  where  some  of  his  fam- 
ily had  pieceded  him.  Elnathan  Lewis,  a 
native  of  Yerniont,  next  followed  into  this 
townshi]>.  Ho  had  emigrated  to  New  York 
and  from  thence  to  AlcIIonry  County  in 
this  State,  from  whence  he  came  to  Good- 
firm.  Other  settlers  about  tliis  time  were 
Elijah  Lewis,  David  Gleason  and  E.  F. 
Brewster. 

In  1849,  E.  B.  Stevens  came  from  Kala- 
mazoo Count}',  Michigan.  His  route  was 
across  the  country  and  his  conveyance, 
a  wagon.  Michigan  was  then  an  old  set- 
tled State,  and  the  cheap  latids  of  Illinois 
]3resented  quite  an  attraction  to  those  of 
limited  means.  lie  came  to  this  present 
loca  ion  on  section  thirty,  and  bought  the 
claim  of  Henry  Brown  who  had  been  here 
a  year  or  two.  Here  Stevens  found  a  log 
cabin,  a  straw  barn  and  some  Lombardy 
pojilars  set  out,  but  the  rest  was  left  for 
him  to  accom])lish.  After  buying  his 
land,  a  barrel  of  flour  and  ten  bushels  of 
oats,  he  had  no  money  left.  He  came  in 
the  spring,  and  making  a  good  garden  he 
inaiiau'cd  to  sustain  his  family  until  the 
fell  when  he  got  his  wheat  threshed,  and 
a  start  for  another  vear. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


355 


About  1S50,  a  tide  of  German  einisra- 
tion  l)ogan  to  flow  into  tlie  towiisliip,  wliicli 
continued  until  this  nationality  constitutes 
fully  one-half  of  the  population.  The  first 
of  this  German  element  was  Leonard  Fisher, 
a  native  of  Bavaria,  who  came  in  1851.  In 
1852,  came  Jno.  L.  Meier,  followed  by 
Hoffman  Hoag,  Pfeitfor  and  P.uckliard  • 
Host  of  these  jieople  came  from  the  same 
section  of  Bavaria  and  settled  near  each 
other  here.  They  are  good  farmers  and 
thrifty  both  in  public  and  private.  The 
town  house  is  one  of  the  neatest  in  the 
county,  and  has  near  it  a  neat  tool-house 
for  the  protection  of  the  township  road  im- 
plements. 

There  was  but  little  variety  in  the  early 
e.xperiences  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  county.  Those  who 
came  later,  as  in  Goodfarm,  found  milling 
fticilities  better  but  no  more  accessible; 
stores  better  supplied  with  frontier  necessi- 
ties but  not  much  easier  to  purchase;  more 
neighbors  but  no  better  means  of  commu- 
nication.  Their  lives,  like  those  of  their 
predecessors,  were  a  continual  struggle 
with  the  stubborn,  natural  difficulties  which 
surrounded  them,  and  none  were  so  com- 
pletely isolated  as  to  make  a  few  years'  later 
settlement  of  any  appreciable  advantage. 
Those  who  came  atter  the  completion  of 
the  canal,  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  a  nearer 
market  than  Chicago,  and  perhaps  an  in- 
crease in  the  value  of  farm  products,  but 
the  roads  were  not  improved  and  the  open 
prairie  wilderness  still  interposed  its  dif- 
ficulties. These  obstacles  were  perhaps 
the  most  ditiicult  which  the  pioneers  of 
this  county  were  called  upon  to  surmount. 
So  long  as  the  paucity  of  settlements  al- 
lowed a  pretty  free  selection  of  route,  mud- 


holes  could  be  evaded,  and  a  worn  track  . 
avoided.  But  this  practice  had  also  its 
disadvantages.  In  a  couTitry  without  con- 
tinuous fences,  and  few  landmarks  save  the 
groves,  it  required  some  considerable  skill 
and  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  county  to 
sticcessfully  cross  even  a  small  prairie  in 
broad  daylight.  Mr.  Baldwin  relates  an 
incident  of  "  a  gentleman,  fresh  from  New 
England,  who  was  viewing  the  country  on 
the  Vermillion  and  proposed  to  take  a  bee 
line  to  Ottawa  across  the  prairie  on  foot. 
He  was  advised  to  take  the  road,  as  being 
easier  traveling  and  decidedly  safer;  that 
without  any  track  he  mi<rht  get  benighted 
on  the  prairie,  for  although  the  day  was 
clear  he  would,  for  part  of  the  distance,  be 
out  of  sight  of  timber,  and  he  might  mis- 
take his  course  and  be  lost.  He  foolishly 
rejected  this  advice  with  some  indignation, 
and  at  noon  set  out  on  his  journey  of  some 
six  miles.  About  twelve  o'clock  that  night, 
exhausted  and  nearly  famished,  he  got  to  a 
settlement  on  the  V^ermilliun  five  miles 
further  from  Ottawa  than  the  place  from 
whence  he  started.  In  the  morning  he  was 
willing  to  tollow  the  road."* 

Crossing  the.  uncultivated  prairie  at 
night  was  a  very  uncertain  venture  even  to 
the  most  expert.  If  the  night  was  clear 
the  stars  were  a  reliable  guide  and  the  pio- 
neers became  quite  proficient  in  the  simpler 
rudiments  of  astronoinj'.  In  a  cloudy 
night  and  a  snowy  or  foggy  day  their  re- 
sources were  less  sure.  A  steady  wind 
often  proved  the  only  guide.  The  traveler, 
getting  his  bearings,  would  note  how  the 
wind  struck  his  nose,  the  right  or  left  ear, 
and  then,  keenly  alive  to  these  sensations, 

•History  of  La  Salle  County. 


35G 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


would  80  maintain  his  course  as  to  keep 
the  bearing  of  the  wind  always  the  same, 
and  reijardless  of  all  other  guides  would 
generally  reach  his  destination  without  dif- 
ficulty. To  do  this  required  no  little  skill 
and  a  steady  wind.  If  the  latter  changed 
gradually,  the  better  the  skill  the  wider  the 
traveler  diverged  from  home.  Without 
these  guides  it  was  a  mere  accident  if  a 
person  succeeded  in  crossing  even  a  small 
prairie.  The  tendency  is  to  move  in  a  cir- 
cle, and  when  once  this  is  begun  and  ob- 
served by  the  traveler,  the  only  resource 
is  to  camp  in  the  most  convenient  place 
and  manner  and  wait  for  morning.  Each 
family  had  its  signal  light  which  was  read- 
ily recognized  by  its  members.  It  was  a 
frequent  practice  to  erect  a  pole  by  the 
chimney  of  the  cabin  and  place  a  lighted 
lantern  at  the  top.  Others  had  a  light  in 
the  window,  which  often  saved  a  dreary 
night's  experience  on  the  prairie. 

The  liistory  of  every  township  is  full  of 
misadventures  of  this  sort.  A  gentleman 
and  his  wife  were  belated  on  their  return 
home  on  a  cloudy  night,  and  though  hav- 
ing some  clue  to  the  way,  sought  in  vain 
for  some  glimmer  of  his  home  signal.  His 
horses  seem  to  have  become  completely  be- 
wildered, and  after  having  urged  them 
forward  for  some  time,  the  travelers  be- 
came convinced  they  were  journeying  in  a 
confused  circle,  and  were  preparing  to  camp 
out  in  their  wagon,  when  a  weak  flash  of 
light  betrayed  the  location  of  a  residence  in 
the  near  distance.  Getting  the  direction 
at  the  instant,  the  house  was  gained  in 
a  few  minutes,  and  they  found  it  to  be 
their  Ions;  sought  home.  The  children  had 
gone  to  bed,  and  carelessly  removed  the 
light  from  the  window,  but  a  brand  faUing 


out  of  the  fire-place  had  flashed  the  signal, 
which  saved  them  from  an  unjileasant  pre- 
dicament. 

A  gentleman  and  his  wife,  on  another  oc- 
casion, went  across  an  eighty  acre  fleld  to 
visit  a  neighbor.  On  returning,  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  they  lost  their 
way,  and  notwithstanding  tliere  was  a  fence 
on  one  side  of  this  field,  the  couple  became 
hopelessly  bewildered,  and  would  have  been 
obliged  to  remain  out  all  night,  had  not 
their  daughter,  anxious  at  their  staying  so 
late,  opened  the  cabin  door  to  listen  for 
some  evidence  of  their  coming.  The  light 
thus  flashed  out  into  the  darkness,  revealed 
to  them  their  position,  which  was  within 
calling  distance  of  their  home,  and  where 
they  had  been  vainly  wandering  some  two 
or  three  hours. 

Such  experiences,  unpleasant  in  the  warm 
weather,  were  too  often  fatal  in  the  winter 
season.  The  trackless  prairie,  covered  with 
a  deceptive  expanse  of  snow  and  swept  by 
a  tierce  blast  which  pierced  the  most  ample 
clothing  and  the  hardiest  frame,  made  the 
stoutest  heart  waver.  Journeys  upon  the 
prairie  were  never  undertaken  under  such 
circumstances,  save  under  stress  of  the  most 
urgent  necessity.  But  nearly  every  early 
settler  can  remember  some  experience  in 
winter  season  traveling,  while  some  never 
reached  the  home  thev  sought,  or  the  end 
of  the  journey  reluctantly  begun. 

With  the  settlement  of  the  prairie,  and 
the  regular  laying  out  of  roads,  traveling 
became  less  dangerous,  though  scarcely 
less  difiicult.  The  amount  of  labor  which 
could  be  devoted  by  the  few  people  in  the 
scattered  settlements,  made  but  little  efleet 
upon  the  roads  of  a  country  which  seemed 
particularly  exposed  by  the  character  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


357 


soil,  and  tlie  conformation  of  its  surface  to 
the  unfavorable  action  of  rain.  Even  now 
the  fiirniini^  community  pays  a  heavy 
annual  tribute  to  muddy,  impassable  roads. 
Tliirtj'-five  years  ago,  a  man  caught  by  high 
water  away  from  home,  was  detained  tor 
two  or  three  weeks,  and  many  a  trip  about 
the  county  was  made  more  in  a  boat  than 
in  a  wagon.  Matthew  Johnson,  who  c:inio 
from  Jefferson  County,  Ohio,  in  1852, 
landed  in  Morris  in  April  of  that  year. 
He  had  relatives  in  Felix,  and  started  over 
to  see  them.  He  found  a  wagon  totally  in- 
adequate for  the  undertaking,  and  had  to 
resort  to  a  boat  to  reach  his  friends'  house. 
The  natural  outgrowth  of  a  low,  wet 
country,  with  the  "breaking"  of  a  rank 
soil,  was  miasmatic  disease.  During  the 
first  forty  years  of  the  settlement  in  Grundy 
County,  the  fever  and  ague  reigned  su- 
preme, and  seemed  to  mock  at  quinine  and 
infusions  of  barks.  Doctors  were  scarce, 
and  the  settlers,  brought  np  with  a  pro- 
found belief  in  the  medicinal  virtues  of 
sassafras  and  boneset,  preferred  to  save  the 
expense  of  a  professional  visit.  Nor  did 
tlrey  suffer  greatly  by  this  practice.  But 
in  the  case  of  accident,  the  lack  of  talented 
surgeons  proved  a  terrible  misfortune,  re- 
sulting in  many  a  misshapen  limb,  or  the 
loss  of  it  altogether.  An  incident  is  re- 
lated of  an  early  settler,  who  was  accidentally 
shot  by  anotlier  in  handling  a  gun.  A 
heavy  load  of  shot  shattered  the  bone  just 
below  the  shoulder.  The  artery  fortunately 
escaped  injury,  and  the  wound  was  done 
up  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  only  two 
doctors  in  the  county.  On  coming  to 
Ine  wounded  man  the  doctors  disagreed. 
One  declared  amputation  necessary,  but 
the  other  refused  to  consent   to   an  opera- 


tion, and  in  the  utter  lack  of  any  proper 
instrument  for  the  purpose,  the  arm  was 
allowed  to  hang.  In  this  way  the  wound  was 
left  to  nature  and  the  simple  care  of  the 
Women  folks.  A  number  of  pieces  of  bone 
were  taken  out  in  the  process  of  dressing 
the  wound,  but  one  large  piece  remained 
obstinate,  and  kept  the  wound  unhealed 
for  a  year.  In  the  meantime  the  wounded 
man,  with  his  arm  in  a  sling,  handled  his 
team  alone,  hauling  timber,  lumber  and 
farm  product.  Finally,  taken  with  a  throat 
disease  in  Chicago,  he  consulted  a  physi- 
cian in  the  Medical  College,  when  his  arm 
came  under  observation,  and  was  subse- 
quently gratuitously  treated  before  a  class 
in  the  college.  Similar  cases  were  by  no 
means  rare,  and  serve  to  indicate  some  of 
the  unwritten  hardships  of  pioneer  life. 

The  happy  commingling  of  grove  and 
plain  marked  by  numberless  streams,  made 
this  township  a  favorite  resort  of  game. 
The  buft'alo  had  left  this  region  before  the 
advent  of  the  settler,  but  the  high  prairie 
bore  abundant  evidence  of  his  former  pres- 
ence here.  Here  and  there,  all  over  the 
plain  were  found  skeletons  of  this  animal 
lying  where  the  hunter's  missile  had  over- 
taken him  or,  if  Indian  tradition  is  to  be 
believed,  where  a  heavy  snow  had  impris- 
oned and  starved  him.  There  are  found  in 
frequent  numbers  upon  the  prairie,  rings  of 
especially  thrifty  grass  which  are  explained 
upon  various  theories.  The  Indians  repre- 
sented that  in  a  certain  winter  long  a^o,  a 
great  fall  of  snow  found  the  buffaloes  scat- 
tered about  on  the  prairie.  These  animals, 
unwilling  to  venture  out  into  the  untracked 
deep,  kept  up  an  incessant  tramp  in  a  lim- 
ited circle  until  starvation  and  deatli  ended 
the  march.     Whatever  truth  there  may  be 


353 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


in  this  tradition,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
position  of  many  of  these  skeletons  favor 
it  very  strongly.  Deer  were  found  here  in 
great  abnndance,  and  to  the  skillful  hunter 
fell  an  easy  prey.  During  the  wet  season 
when  water  was  to  be  found  in  abundance 
upon  the  open  country,  the  deer  were  found 
here.  Getting  on  the  windward  side  of  the 
animal  the  hunter  found  ample  shelter  in 
the  long  grass  to  approach  within  eas}'^  shot. 
In  the  dry  hot  season  the  deer  frequented 
the  groves.  Then  the  hunter,  proceeding 
against  the  wind,  followed  up  or  down  the 
course  of  one  of  the  water-courses  along 
which  the  groves  were  located.  The  deer 
are  troubled  by  a  fly  at  this  time  of  year 
which  attracts  so  much  of  their  attention 
that  they  are  easily  approached  from  the 
proper  side.  The  animal  stands  feeding 
for  a  few  minutes  until,  driven  to  fury  by 
the  insect,  it  sudden!}'  drops  close  to  the 
ground  to  elude  its  tormentor.  Tlien  sud- 
denly rising  again  it  feeds  a  short  time  and 
again  as  suddenly  sinks  to  the  ground.  This 
action  eives  the  hunter  peculiar  advantages 
which  were  never  thrown  away  upon  the 
pioneers.  Wild  turkevs,  wolves,  wild  bees, 
and  the  smaller  srarae  that  still  throng  the 
timber,  not  only  supplied  the  table  and  fur- 
nished rare  sport  to  the  hunter,  but  often 
proved  a  valuable  source  from  which  to  eke 
out  the  meager  income  derived  from  the 
farm  crops.  One  farmer  sold  wild  turkeys 
and  deer-skins  enough  in  Chicago  to  buy 
his  wife  a  good  winter  cloak,  at  a  time 
when  his  crops  had  proved  an  utter  failure. 
After  the  first  few  years  the  pioneer  had 
time  to  plan  for  something  more  perma- 
nent   than    present    necessities,   and    the 


school-house  with  its  molding  influences 
became  an  institution  in  every  community. 
In  Goodfarm  the  first  school-house  was 
erected  in  1850,  on  the  east  half  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  IS.  It  was 
built  by  subscription,  some  giving  lumber, 
others  giving  work,  and  six  ])ersons  giving 
one  dollar  each.  The  lumber  was  drawn 
from  Horse  Creek  in  Will  County,  and 
with  the  six  dollars  was  bought  all  that  the 
country  and  the  labor  did  not  furnish. 
Elvira  Lewis  was  the  fiist  teacher  here. 
About  1S56  a  second  school-house  was 
built  near  the  German  cemetery,  and  the 
first  session  of  school  taught  by  Philip 
Gauzert. 

The  first  church  organization  was  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  denomination.  This  soci- 
ety was  formed  at  the  cabin  of  David  Glea- 
son,  February  5,  1S50,  with  David  Glea- 
son,  Elnathan  Lewis,  and  their  wives,  Ad- 
dison Gleason  and  Lavinia  Brown  as  mem- 
bers. The  church  held  its  meetings  in  the 
school-house  until  about  1>68,  when  the  or- 
ganization was  finally  abandoned.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  has  ati  appoint- 
ment here  now. 

About  1859,  the  Lutheran  church  was 
organized  and  erected  a  parsonage  on  sec- 
tion 27,  to  which  was  s*ibsequently  added 
the  present  church  building.  Salem  Evan- 
gelical church  was  organized  about  1857, 
with  Buckhardt  and  Hoag,  Pfeiffer  and 
Hofi'man  as  leading  members.  In  1877 
they  built  a  new  place  of  worship  on  sec- 
tion 22,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,400. 

The  "  Church  of  God,"  is  a  recent  organ- 
ization which  has  a  place  of  worship  on  the 
northern  Hue  of  the  township. 


CHAPTEE    XXII.* 


HIGHLAND  TOWNSHIP— TOPOGRAPHICAL  CHARACTERISTICS— PRAIRIE  BANDITS— LAWLESS 
LAW— SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  TOWNSHIP— THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


HIGHLAND  Township,  occupying  the 
southwestern  corner  of  the  county, 
is  what  its  name  implies,  high  land — the 
highest,  perhaps,  in  the  "  little  kingdom  of 
Grundy."  The  general  slope  of  the  sur- 
face, similar  to  most  of  the  southern  part 
of  the  county,  is  to  the  northeast.  Johnny 
Iliin  and  Murray  Sluice  cross  the  township 
diagonally  in  nearly  parallel  directions, 
passing  out  of  the  township  near  the  north- 
east corner.  The  AVau pecan  crosses  the 
northwest  corner  and  the  Mazon  the  south- 
east, in  the  same  general  direction.  The 
general  elevation  of  the  land  makes  it  in 
this  respect,  especially  in  the  southern  part, 
among  tiie  most  desirable  for  farming  pur- 
poses. Along  the  streams,  the  land  is  of  a 
decidedly  rolling  and  almost  broken  char- 
acter. With  the  exception  of  several  thou- 
sand acres  belonging  to  Wm.  Scully,  an 
Irish  Lord,  the  farms  are  generally'  small, 
and  the  acreage  of  the  township  better 
divided  up  than  elsewhere  in  the  county. 

The  earliest  people  who  took  possession 
of  Highland  were  some  nameless  roughs, 
generally  supposed  to  be  connected  with  a 
class  of  thieves  and  highwaymen,  who  were 
known  as  Prairie  Bandits.  This  part  of 
the  State  became  infested  with  these  des- 
peradoes about  1836  or  '7,  and  while  they 
scrupled  at  the  commission  of  no  form  of 

*  By  J.  H.  Battle. 


crime,  they  were  especially  annoying  in 
their  principal  business  of  horse  stealing. 
The  principal  scene  of  their  operations  was 
on  the  Fox  River,  but  no  locality  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  State,  where  good  horses 
could  be  had  for  tiie  stealing,  was  exempt 
from  these  marauders.  Their  plan  was  to 
take  the  lighter  horses  of  this  region  to  Indi- 
ana and  sell  them,  making  the  return  trip 
with  heavy  draft  horses,  which  were  dis- 
posed of  in  Iowa  and  Michigan  for  work  in 
the  pineries.  For  a  time  tiiese  depreda- 
tions were  carried  on  with  impunity.  The 
population,  scattered  at  considerable  dis- 
tances apart,  was  principally  confined  to 
the  edge  of  the  timber,  leaving  the  prairie 
a  broad  highway  for  these  bandits  to  pass 
from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  country 
undiscovered.  The  early  settlers  did  not 
submit  to  this  state  of  affairs  without  some 
effort  to  bring  these  persons  to  justice  and 
to  recover  their  property,  but  singly,  the 
pioneers  proved  but  poor  trappers  of  this 
game.  The  bandits  were  known  to  be  des- 
perate characters  and  adepts  in  the  use  of 
weapons  and  in  traveling  the  open  prairie, 
and  it  often  happened  that  when  a  party 
got  close  upon  the  thieves, discretion  seemed 
the  better  part  of  valor,  and  the  chase  was 
given  up.  Their  success  emboldened  these 
robbers,  and  the  early  stock  and  land  buy- 
ers seldom  traveled  alone,  and  never  un- 
armed. 


S60 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


A  good  horse  caused  many  persons  to  be 
■waylaid  and  killed,  and  a  large  amount  of 
money  in  the  possession  of  an  nn])rotected 
traveler,  almost  inevitably  bronglit  him  to 
grief.  Burglary  soon  followed  tiieir  suc- 
cess on  the  road.  Fanners  became  more 
cautious  and  evaded  these  foot  pads.  In 
this  case  tiie  cabin  was  entered  and  the 
monev  taken  while  the  femily  were  kept 
discreetly  quiet  by  a  threatening  pistol.  The 
open  handed  hospitality  of  a  new  country 
made  the  settlers  an  easy  prey  to  those  who 
lacked  even  the  traditional  respect  of  the 
Bedouin  freebooter.  It  was  impossible  to 
discriminate  between  the  worthy  stxansrer 
and  the  bandit  of  tlie  prairie,  and  tiie  stran- 
ger taken  in  was  more  likely  to  prove  a 
robber  than  an  angel  in  disguise.  Civil 
autliority  seemed  hopelessly  incapable  of 
remedying  the  evil.  Occasionally  a  despera- 
do would  be  apprehended.  Legal  quibbles 
Would  follow  and  the  rascal  get  free,  or  jus- 
tice be  delayed  until  a  jail  delivery  would 
set  him  loose  to  prey  upon  the  public 
again.  This  occurred  with  such  monoto- 
nous regularity  and  unvarying  success, 
that  the  scattered  pioneers  lost  confidence 
in  each  other  and  anarchy  seemed  about  to 
be  ushered  in.  This  general  distrust  gave 
rise  to  many  unfounded  rumors,  and  may 
have  been  'the  origin  of  the  general  belief 
in'regard  to  the  first  inhabitants  of  High- 
land. But  these  people  were  known  to  be 
rough,  boisterous  persons,  who  did  nothing 
toward  making  a  permanent  home,  and 
enough  had  been  stolen  in  the  county  to 
raise   suspicion. 

Of  course  such  a  state  of  things  could 
not  long  continue.  Deep  mutterings  of 
vengeance,  portentious  of  a  storm  of  wrath, 
were  heard,  and  vigilant  societies  came  into 


existence  at  several  localities.  One  of  these 
societies,  formed  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State,  was  cajitained  by  a  man  named 
Campbell.  He  was  a  Canadian,  and  a  man 
of  great  energy  and  decision  of  character. 
The  bandits  were  alarmed,  and  resolved  to 
depose  him.  One  Sunday  afternoon,  two 
men  by  the  name  of  Driscoll,  called  at 
Campbell's  gate  and  inquired  of  his  daugh- 
ter for  lier  father;  Campbell  came  to  the 
gate,  when,  without  saying  a  word,  the 
visitors  shot  him  through  the  heart,  and 
coolly  rode  off.  The  next  day  the  people 
assembled  en  masse,  took  three  of  theDris- 
coUs,  tried  them  by  a  jury  of  their  own, 
found  two  of  them  guilty,  gave  them  an 
hour  to  prepare  for  death  and  shot  them. 
They  then  resolved  to  serve  every  thief  they 
caught,  in  the  same  way.*  The  effect  of 
this  summary  reprisal  was  salutary  in  its 
eftect.  The  gang  that  had  infes'^ed  this 
part  of  the  State  were  struck  with  terror, 
and  left  for  a  less  determined  community, 
and  this  region  was  happily  relieved  of  the 
incubus  which  had  rested  heavily  upon  it. 
This  was  about  1S3G  or  '7.  Grundy  Coun- 
ty, as  an  organization,  was  unknown,  and 
the  community  but  barely  established,  did 
not  take  an  active  part  in  these  movements, 
though  sympathizing  with  and  profiting  by 
them.  But  no  communities  found  diffi- 
culty in  organizing  for  its  own  defense 
when  occasion  demanded.  Two  fellows 
were  suspected  of  horse-stealing,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county.  They  were 
observed  to  stay  at  their  father's  house  at 
day  time,  and  to  be  abroad  at  night,  and 
occasionally  to  be  gone  for  several  weeks 
without  any  ostensible  business.  A  com- 
mittee advised  them  to   leave  and   not  re- 

*  History  of  La  Salle  County — B.ildwin. 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


361 


turn,  but  disregarding  this  ■warning  tliey 
were  visited  and  severely  whipped,  and  the 
lather  ordered  to  move  out  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, which  was  a  short  distance  south  of 
the  present  line  of  the  county.  Other  or- 
ganizations were  known  as  "Claim  Asso- 
ciations,"  which  did  not  have  so  good  a 
reason  for  their  existence.  These  were 
combinations  by  settlers  to  resist  the  en- 
croachments of  speculators,  though  their 
power  was  exerted  against  any.  interloper 
or  new-comer.  Certain  lands  were  bought 
and  located  near  other  sections,  which  the 
settler  intended,  as  he  got  tlie  means,  to 
take  up.  A  new-comer  was  informed  that 
certain  sections  were  open  to  him,  and  that 
others  had  been  assigned  to  those  already 
on  the  grounds.  Tlie  new-comer  some- 
times saw  fit  to  disregard  this  intimation, 
made  his  own  choice  and  began  his  im- 
provements. In  one  such  case  a  large  pile 
of  rails,  whicli  had  been  prepared  at  a  con- 
siderable expense  of  time  and  labor,  and 
drawn  to  the  place  where  the  fence  was  to 
be  built,  was  found  entirely  burned,  and  a 
few  days  later,  the  wagon  left  loaded  with 
rails,  was  found  consumed  with  its  load. 
Such  incidents  were  not  frequent,  but  oc- 
curred here  and  there,  and  served  to  illus- 
trate the  tendency  of  very  good  citizens 
when  the  established  restraints  of  society 
are  somewhat  relaxed. 

A  more  recent  exhibition  of  the  crude  ad- 
ministration of  justice  occurred  about  1SC7, 
in  an  adjoining  township.  Two  men  were 
paying  attentions  to  a  woman;  one  was 
afterward  found  shot  dead,  lying  in  the  road 
near  his  team.  Suspicion  was  directed 
toward  the  rival  of  the  dead  man,  and  he 
subsequently  acknowledged  to  the  grand 
jury  that  he  had  hired  his  brother  to  shoot 


the    unfortunate    victim    for  fifty  dollars. 

The  murderer  was  a])prehended  and 
brought  to  trial,  but  the  witness  before  the 
grand  jury  took  refuge  behind  the  plea 
that  his  evidence  would  criminate  himself, 
and  the  prisoner  was  discharged,  though 
there  was  no  doubt  entertained  of  his  euilt. 
The  two  conspirators  returned  to  theirhoraes 
and  conducted  themselves  in  such  a  way  as 
to  inflame  the  general  feeling  against  them, 
until  tlie  public  sentiment  crystallized  into 
a  "  vigilance  committee"  and  an  order  to 
leave  the  country.  The  one  who  did  the 
shooting  fled,  but  his  brother  gave  himself 
to  the  sheriff  for  protection.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  some  two  or  three  hundred  men 
assembled  at  Morris,  forced  the  jail,  and 
hung  the  man  to  a  tree  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river. 

The  first  pei-manent  settlement  was  made 
in  Highland  by  James  Martin  in  1845  or '6. 
He  came  from  Indiana  and  located  his  land 
in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  township, 
lie  was  soon  followed  by  his  brothers-in-law, 
John  and  William  Scott,  who  settled  near 
hira.  But  little  more  is  known  of  these 
]3ersons,  as  they  stayed  only  a  short  time 
here.  James  Funk  was  the  third  settler, 
and  "William  Pierce  came  soon  afterward, 
taking  up  land  in  the  northern  corner. 
About  1851  Alvin  and  Cushman  Small, 
John  Empie,  and  a  Mr.  Kline  came  into 
the  northeastern  section  of  the  township. 
In  this  year  also  came  Paddy  Lamb,  an 
Irishman,  from  New  York.  He  made  a 
claim  on  section  17,  and  returned  to  his 
home  in  the  East.  In  1855  he  came  back 
and  settled.  "While  at  his  old  home,  his 
project  of  turning  farmer  in  Illinois  was 
freely  discussed  among  his  associates  and 
fellow  countrymen,  and  quite   a   number 


362 


HISTORY  OF  GRUNDY  COUNTY. 


were  induced  to  emigrate  to  this  tovvnship. 
A  family  by  the  name  of  Wier,  in  Vienna 
Township,  had  an  extensive  acquaintance 
with  their  countrymen,  and  it  was  largely 
through  their  influence  that  the  settlement 
of  Highland  took  its  exclusive  character. 
John  Weldon,  a  resident  of  Vienna,  also 
was  an  influential  factor  in  the  Highland 
settlement.  New-comers  were  referred  to 
him  for  advice  as  to  choosing  lands,  and  he 
soon  became  known  to  the  Highland  people 
as  "  Daddy  Weldon,"  a  title  of  respect 
which  still  clings  to  him.  With  such  a  be- 
ginning, the  tendency  was  to  build  up  a 
community  which  was  almost  exclusively 
Irish.  The  settlement  was  a  comparatively 
late  one,  there  being  but  fifteen  votes  in 
1856.  Of  these  it  is  said  fourteen  were  cast 
against,  and  only  one  for,  Buchanan  for  Pres- 
ident.   Paddy  Lamb  was  the  single-handed 


champion  of  the  successful  candidate,  and  it 
is  said,  his  was  the  first  Irish  or  Democratic 
vote  cast  in  the  township.  It  may  be  said 
that  the  first  case  of  "  bulldozing"  occurred 
in  the  township  on  this  occasion.  The  ma- 
jority desired  to  make  the  ballot  unani- 
mous, and  indulged  in  a  good  deal  of  good- 
natured  effort  to  convert  Lamb  to  the 
opposition,  but  he  would  have  none  of  it, 
and  still  glories  in  the  firmness  of  his  con- 
victions. 

There  is  neither  village  nor  post-office  in 
the  township.  A  somewhat  pretentious  but 
considerably  neglected  town-house  marks 
the  "center,"  and  a  Catholic  place  of  wor- 
ship, in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  4, 
attracts  the  devout  of  this  township.  The 
latter  building  was  erected  in  1868,  at  a 
cost  of  about  $2,400. 


PART  II 


Biographical  Sketches, 


MOREIS  OITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


PERRY  A.  ARMSTRONG,  Morris.  The 
publishers  have  requested  us  to  write  a  sketch 
of  our  life — a  difficult  and  delicate  thing  to  do. 
We  are  like  the  bo^^  who  said  he  was  not  used 
to  having  his  teeth  pulled  and  was  afraid  it 
would  hurt.  We  have  written  many  obituaries 
(not  our  own),  but  have  never  written  a  biog- 
raphy and  are  afraid  it  will  hurt.  But  we 
promised  to  do  it,  and  therefore  make  the 
«ffort.  As  all  things  must  have  a  beginning 
and  should  have  an  ending,  we  shall  endeavor 
to  begin  with  the  beginning  whether  we  suc- 
ceed in  ending  or  not.  We  meet  with  difficulty, 
however,  at  the  start,  because  we  were  born  at 
a  tender  age,  a  long  time  ago,  and  a  long  ways 
off.  We  had  no  scratch-back  and  pencil  to 
make  memoranda,  and  were  too  much  engaged 
in  admiring  the  wonderful  things  of  this  won- 
derful world  to  give  special  attention  to  our 
birth,  hence,  we  are  remitted  to  the  family  tra- 
dition for  the  date,  place  and  surrounding  cir- 
cumstances of  our  birth.  Relying  upon  that 
family  tradition — and  what  well-regulated  fam- 
ily would  be  without  a  tradition,  as  they  are  a 
very  handy  thing  in  a  family.  We  were  born 
on  the  ides  of  April,  1823,  at  the  homestead  of 
Joseph  and  Elsie  Armstrong,  on  the  East  Fork 
of  Licking,  in  McCain  Township,  Licking  Co., 
Ohio.  Julius  Ciesar  we  believe  was  born  on 
the  same  day,  A.  C,  98.  The  difference  be- 
tween us  was  but  1921   years.      He    became 


famous  from  the  expression  "  Et  tu,  Brute," 
whilst  we  have  our  fame  yet  to  win,  hence  we 
have  something  to  do.  Our  advent  to  this 
mundane  sphere  was  not  hailed  with  demon- 
strations of  delight  as  we  have  been  informed. 
(Personallj-,  as  we  said  before,  we  have  no  dis- 
tinct recollections  on  the  subject,  because  we 
were  only  a  hoy  when  they  were  looking  for  a 
girl.)  They  made  two  more  efforts — two  more 
boys.  It  was  too  discouraging — they  quit. 
We  are  told  that  we  came  to  this  world  with 
an  empty  stomach,  wry  face  and  crabbed  dis- 
position. To  tiie  first  count  we  plead  guilty, 
and  admit  tliat  we  have  labored  assiduously  to 
fill  that  self-same  empty  stomach  with  indiffer- 
ent success,  lo!  these  fifty-nine  years.  To  the 
second  count,  we  enter  a  special  plea  of  con- 
fession and  avoidance,  ailmitting  that  it  is  true, 
but  allege  that  they  pinched  us.  We  alwaj's 
make  a  wry  face  when  pinched.  To  the  third 
count,  we  would  enter  a  plea  of  not  guiltj-  were 
we  not  afraid  they  will  call  our  wife  as  a  wit- 
ness against  us.  If  they  should  do  that,  we 
are  a  gone  coon,  so  we  have  concluded  to  enter 
a  plea  of  guilty,  and  throw  ourself  on  the 
mercy  of  the  court.  Before  coming  to  this 
conclusion,  we  tried  to  remember  whether  we 
had  not  been  called  a  little  angel  or  cherub 
some  time  in  our  life,  but  failed,  and  consoled 
ourself  with  the  reflection  that  the  good  die 
young,  or,  in  other  words,  angels  are  short-lived 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


and  ephemeral  and  we're  glad  that  we  never 
tried  to  be  one.  We  are  told  that  thumb-suck- 
ing was  our  special  delight.  No  wonder  we 
never  got  on  in  the  world;  this  early  habit 
stuck  to  us  like  a  brother,  and  has  kept  us  poor 
all  our  lite.  We  have  also  been  informed  that 
we  took  our  gruel  and  catnip  like  an  old  soldier 
at  the  business,  and  were  intimately  acquainted 
with  wind  colic,  and  have  been  windy  ever 
since,  that  we  were  an  adept  at  that  other 
youthful  accomplishment — drooling.  That  our 
hair  was  white,  ej'es  hazel  and  face  green  look- 
ing. The  former  stuck  to  us  till  in  our  teens,  and 
"  tow-head  "  was  our  pet  name;  the  latter  com- 
menced to  sprout  when  about  twenty,  and  has 
sprouted  ever  since.  Our  complexion  was  fair_ 
but  for  a  multitude  of  freckles,  wliich  grew 
into  speckles  like  unto  a  turkey's  egg.  The 
Seventh  Son,  common  report  said  we  were  the 
doctor;  Dame  Nature  had  endowed  us  with  the 
healing  art  by  the  "  laying  on  of  hands."  We 
always  thought  Common  Report  was  a  common 
liar,  so  we  took  no  stock  in  the  doctor  theory, 
but  others  did,  and  came  from  far  and  near  for 
the  removal  of  warts,  wens  and  other  excres- 
ences  which  rumor  said  would  flee  at  our  ap- 
proach. We  approached,  but  the}'  didn't  flee; 
they  stayed.  The  days  of  miracles  had  passed, 
and  we  declined  to  revive  them;  hence  we 
worked  no  miracles.  We  attended  school  at  a 
proper  age  and  earned  manj-  laurels  as  a 
good  fighter — few  as  a  good  scholar. 

In  1831,  our  mother  and  brother  determined 
to  go  West.  This  was  before  G-reeley's  advice, 
"  Young  man,  go  West,"  was  made  public.  One 
brother  had  alreadj-  gone  West,  another  had 
crossed  the  '•  silent  river,'  leaving  seven  still  at 
the  old  homestead.  We  could  not  make  up 
our  mind  to  be  left  like  poor  Joe  all  alone,  so 
we  concluded  to  "  move  on  "  with  the  rest  of 
the  famil}-.  In  arriving  at  this  decision,  we 
were  not  aided  by  a  desire  to  rival  BuSalo  Bill 
in  slaying  butfalo,  or  Donald  McKay  as  an  In- 
dian-killer, as  we  had  not  then  read  their  ex- 


ploits. Strange  as  it  is  true,  we  had  never  read  a 
dime  novel  and  were  entirely  free  of  sentimen- 
talism.  '•  The  household  gods  "  being  stowed 
to  the  best  advantage  in  the  capacious  wagon- 
box  of  a  prairie  schooner,  with  four  horses  for 
motor-power,  we  folded  our  tent,  and  •'  like  the 
Arab,  silently  stole  away,"  following  the  Star  of 
Empire  westward  ho!  What  between  mud  and 
mire,  rain,  hail  and  sleet,  our  four  weeks' journey 
overland  were  tedious,  yet  we  enjo^'ed  it  well, 
from  the  fact  that  our  cousin,  who  was  a  few 
months  our  junior,  accompanied  us,  and  we  took 
solid  pleasure  in  trouncing  him  several  times 
per  day  just  for  fun.  Occasionall3-,  however, 
he  turned  the  tables,  and  trounced  us.  This 
was  less  agreeable.  We  reached  our  land  of 
promise — Sand  Prairie,  near  Lacon,  111.,  April 
28,  1831.  Stopping  the  first  night  with  a  pa- 
ternal uncle.  Gen.  John  Strawn,  we  got  into  a 
bit  of  an  argument  ere  we  had  been  there  fif- 
teen minutes.  A  controversy  arose  between 
our  new-found  cousin  Enoch  and  myself  as  to 
which  was  the  best  wrestler.  Although  9  P. 
M.,  and  quite  dark,  we  proceeded  at  once  to  try 
conclusions,  which  resulted  in  a  fight,  and  we 
were  banished  early  the  following  morning  to 
the  shanty  on  our  brother's  claim  on  the  prairie. 
A  good  fighter  was  not  then  appreciated. 

The  famil}'  did  not  take  to  sandj-  land  worth 
a  continental,  so  in  July  of  that  year  stakes 
were  again  pulled,  and  we  migrated  north  to 
La  Salle  County,  and  located  some  seven  miles 
southwest  of  Ottawa.  Here  we  took  the  ague, 
or  the  ague  took  us,  and  shook  us  lively  like  for 
six  coaseeutive  weeks,  despite  of  all  the  bone- 
set  and  waughoo  teas  we  could  swallow.  Qui- 
nine was  a  luxury  not  to  be  had,  if,  indeed,  it 
had  yet  been  discovered.  On  the  day  we  had 
our  first  shake,  we  ate  heartily  of  mutton  and 
worty  squash — our  last  meal  of  that  kind  of 
fodder.  We  acquired  a  distaste,  j-ea,  horror, 
for  them,  and  have  never  eaten  sheep  or  squash 
since.  The  darned  ague  shook  itself  weak,  and 
finally  abandoned  our  poor,  emaciated   anat- 


MKHUIS  CITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


5 


om}',  and  has  givou  us  a  wide  berth  ever  since. 
True,  it  has  eoine  loiiiul  oeoasioually  to  let  us 
know  it  still  lived,  liut  has  never  tackled  us  in  t 
real  earnest.  Tliere  was  no  salt  to  be  had  in 
that  vicinity  that  fall,  hence  the  prospect  for 
meat  was  like  the  boy's  <rroaiid  hoij.  We  had 
to  have  salt  or  no  meat.  Chicago.  KJi)  miles 
away,  was  the  nearest  point  where  it  could  be 
obt.iined.  We  had  no  correspondents  there 
from  whom  to  order  it  by  telegraph  or  tele- 
phone, nor  had  either  of  them  been  invented. 
We  had  no  railroail,  canal  or  stage  line,  nor 
freighter's  line,  and  lastly,  we  had  no  roads  but 
Indian  trails.  Salt  must  be  had  and  we  deter-  | 
mined  to  have  it.  So,  taking  an  older  brother,  ) 
William  K.  (or  he  taking  us),  we  yoked  up  two 
voke  of  oxen  and  hitched  them  to  a  sled  on 
which  was  placed  the  schooner-shaped  wagon 
box,  with  old  Watcii.  the  faithful  tlog  for  com- 
pan3'  and  guard,  we  started  for  Chicago  De- 
cember 23,  1831,  and  reached  there  in  four  [ 
days.  We  were  much  surprised  at  Chicago. 
Instead  of  being  a  respectal)le  village,  there 
were  but  two  white  families  there  (Kinzie  and 
Miller).  The  soldiers  had  been  ordered  from 
Fort  Dearborn,  so  the  place  seemed  deserted. 
We  got  our  salt  and  returned  home  to  rejoice 
the  hearts  of  all  our  neighbors,  all  of  whom 
were,  like  us,  without  salt,  and  must  have  it. 
After  all  this,  one  of  our  neighbors,  with  whom 
some  of  our  older  brothers  had  difficulty  about 
claims  on  the  Government  laud,  had  our  mother 
arrested  for  selling  salt  without  license.  But 
as  110  law  could  be  found  in  the  statute  "  agin 
it."  she  was  honoral)ly  discharged.  Having 
procured  salt,  the  wild  hogs — with  which  the 
river  bottom  was  well  supplied — had  to  suffer. 
How  these  bogs  came  there,  and  in  such  large 
quantities,  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell,  but  we 
found  them  there  and  were  glad  of  the  fiud. 
Sod  corn  we  had  by  purchase  of  a  small  field  : 
of  it  from  T.  J.  Covell,  for  whom  Covell  Creek 
was  named.  Too  small  to  use  the  ax  i 
or  maul    to  advantage,    to    us    was   assigned  ! 


the  pounding  of  corn  in  a  wooden  mortar 
during  the  winter  of  1831-32.  The  finest  of 
the  '■  mash ''  was  sieved  through  the  sieve 
and  made  into  corn-dodgers.  The  rest  was 
boiled  for  hominy  or  samp.  Tlius  we  fared 
sumptuously  on  hog  and  hominy.  For  "  Sab- 
baday  "  we  ground  a  little  wheat  (of  which 
we  had  a  two-bushel  bagful)  in  a  coffee-mill, 
and  bolted  it  through  a  jaconet  cape  of  our 
mother's,  and  made  ■'  slapjacks."  They  were 
bully.  In  Maj',  1832,  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians 
got  on  a  rampage,  and  did  some  indiscriminate 
scalping  of  women  aud  children,  not  far  distant 
from  our  home,  hence  we  emigrated  to  a  fort  in 
Putnam  County,  and  remained  until  the  Indi- 
ans were  tamed.  We  did  not  volunteer  to  as- 
sist in  their  taming.  We  let  our  older  brothers. 
Wash  and  Bill,  take  our  place  in  that  gentle 
amusement.  In  the  winter  of  1832-33,  we 
attended,  as  we  believe,  the  first  school  for 
"  pale-faced  "  children  ever  opened  in  La  Salle 
County.  The  teacher  was  a  Miss  Farnam  from 
away  down  East.  This  school  was  taught  in  a 
log  schoolhouse,  14x16  feet,  some  four  miles 
southwest  of  Ottawa,  which  we  believe  was  the 
first  schoolhouse  built  in  La  Salle  County.  In 
the  summer  of  183o,  we  tried  to  sell  goods  at 
Hidalgo,  on  the  Waupecan,  near  the  road  cross- 
ing, three  miles  southwest  of  Morris.  Hidalgo 
was  then  tlie  leading  village  of  the  county.  It 
boasted  a  saw-mill,  blacksmith-shop  and  dry 
goods  store,  all  belonging  to  G.  W.  Armstrong. 
But  the  Waupecan  went  dry  more  than  half 
the  year,  hence  the  mill  proved  a  failure,  and 
Hidalgo  was  deserted.  In  that  winter,  we  were 
at  school  in  Ohio.  In  1838,  we  clerked  for 
George  W.,  and  tried  to  keep  his  books  at 
Utica,  111.,  where  he  had  a  contract  on  the  canal, 
and  in  the  winter  of  1838-39  we  attended 
school  four  miles  soutliwestof  Utica,  and  had  to 
cross  the  Illinois  and  Big  Vermillion  Rivers  to 
get  there.  Gen.  William  H.  Jj.  Wallace,  who 
fell  at  Shiloh,  was  our  classmate  at  this  old  log 
schoolhouse  on  the   bluff.     This  was  the  best 


6 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


school  we  ever  attended,  especially  in  the  study 
of  arithmetic.  In  1841,  we  taught  our  first 
school  at  HoUenbeck's  Grove,  in  Kendall 
Count}'.  Hon.  George  M.  HoUenbeck,  James 
L.  Haymond  and  others  now  living  were  among 
our  pupils.  In  April,  184li,  wo  came  to  Morris 
on  foot  and  alone — as  the  girl  went  to  get  mar- 
ried— big  with  expectations.  We  were  to  keep 
books  for  the  Emperor,  Bill  Armstrong,  for  our 
board,  and  literally  chaw  old  Blackstone.  We 
failed,  on  account  of  typhoid  fever,  and  left  him 
in  August  for  our  mother's  farm  in  La  Salle 
County.  .  We  then  entered  Granville  Academj' 
and  prepared  to  enter  Illinois  College  in  Sep- 
tember, 1844.  But  trying  to  carry  the  studies 
of  freshman  and  sophomore  together,  we  broke 
down  in  health  and  returned  home  in  July, 
1845,  and  opened  a  select  school  in  Mechanic's 
Hall,  in  Ottawa,  which  we  sold  out  to  Mr.  Hamp- 
den, and  returned  to  Morris  in  October  of  that 
year,  and  have  remained  here  ever  since. 

Immediately  on  our  return,  we  opened  a  gen- 
eral store  in  the  southwest  room  of  the  Grundy 
Hotel,  then  standing,  but  was  burnt  down 
in  1851  and  the  Hopkins  House  erected  on  the 
spot.  We  then  built  what  is  the  main  part  of 
Dr.  Hand's  residence,  in  1846,  for  a  store  and 
post  office.  There  were  two  other  small  stocks 
of  goods  here,  which  we  purchased  and  united 
with  our  other  stock.  In  the  early  part  of  that 
3ear,  we  were  appointed  Postmaster  of  Morris, 
under  Polk's  administration,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  C.  H.  Gould,  under  Taylor's  admin-  j 
istration.  December  22,  1846,  we  married 
Miss  Mary  J.  Borbidge,  of  Pittsburgh,  Penn.,  j 
a  highly-accomplished  and  elegant  lady,  who 
died  of  consumption  in  1862,  leaving  three 
sons — Charles  D.,  Klwood  and  William  E. — 
all  of  whom  survive  and  are  married.  In  the 
Mexican  war,  we  raised  a  company,  and  were 
elected  Captain,  but  the  quota  being  full  be- 
fore our  report  reached  the  Governor,  hence 
our  company  was  not  received,  and  we  did  not 
go  a-soldiering.     Owing  to  a  too   free  use  of 


our  name  on  other  people's  paper  and  official 
bonds,  we  were  forced  to  the  wall  financially  in 
1849,  and  were  elected  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
but  did  not  like  the  business.  We  had  lots  to 
do,  but  never  had  a  heart  for  badgering  and 
brow-beating.  In  the  spring  of  1850,  we  were 
elected  Supervisor  of  Morris.  In  the  winter 
of  18.51-52,  we  went  to  Springfield  to  get  relief 
on  a  Collector's  bond,  and  succeeded.  While 
there,  we  got  a  position  in  the  State  Auditor's 
ofllce,  and  selected  the  lands  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad,  and  under  the  dictation  of 
Gov.  Bissell  and  Robert  Rantoul,  Jr.,  we  drew 
the  charter  of  that  road,  forever  securing  to 
the  State  7  per  cent  of  the  gross  earnings  of 
said  railroad.  We  also  drew  the  charter  of 
the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island  Railroad,  and  when 
its  construction  was  begun,  in  the  spring  of 
1852,  we  secured  the  position  of  Assistant 
Engineer,  and  ran  the  transit  line  from  Joliet 
to  Ottawa,  and  the  bench  levels  over  the  same 
line,  and  also  the  level  from  Tiskilwa  to  Gene- 
sco.  Receiving  the  offer  of  better  wages  on 
the  survey  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  & 
Quiucj'  Railroad,  we  resigned  our  position  on 
the  Rock  Island  Railroad  and  accepted  tlie 
other,  and  reported  to  Capt.  Whittle  at  Gales- 
burg  for  duty.  We  run  experimental  levels 
on  that  road  until  we  found  they  had  no 
money  in  their  treasury,  when  we  quit  and 
came  home.  We  then  entered  the  store  of 
Judge  Hopkins  as  general  manager  and  book- 
keeper, where  we  remained  until  the  spring  of 
185.3,  when  we  called  the  attention  of  Judge 
Hynds  (County  Judge)  to  the  necessity  of 
selecting  the  swamp  lands  of  the  county  under 
the  act  of  Congress  of  September  28,  1850, 
and  was  appointed  to  survey  and  select  the 
swamp  lands  of  the  county.  Under  this  ap- 
pointment, we  surve}ed  and  selected  the 
swamp  lands  at  the  salary  of  S3  per  day,  "  to 
be  in  full  for  all  expenses  of  whatsoever  kind.  ' 
sa3-s  the  law.  Our  team  and  driver  cost  $2 
per  day,  while  the  law  allowed   but  .*1.     We 


MORRIS  CITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


did  the  work  and  never  asked  for  extra  pay. 
We  tlieii  prepared  and  procured  its  passage  b}- 
the  Legislature  a  special  law  authorizing  the 
sale  of  these  swamp  lauds  without  draining 
theui,  and,  being  appointed  to  make  sale,  we 
sold  them  in  1865  for  the  sum  of  $23,724.92, 
and  collected  from  General  Government  for 
cash  sales  made  between  the  passage  of  the 
act  September  28,  1850,  and  time  of  selection 
in  1853,  $1,700,  all  of  which  was  paid  into  the 
county  treasury,  making  a  total  of  $25,421.92 
realized  from  the  so-called  swamp  lands  of  the 
county,  with  a  claim  on  the  General  Govern- 
ment for  some  thirteen  tiiousand  acres 
of  land  entered  by  individuals  by  land 
warrants  after  the  act  of  1 850,  and  before  their 
selection  in  185S.  These  swamp  lands  were 
selected  in  the  wettest  season  we  have  had  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  hence  the  selections 
and  confirmations  were  very  large.  We  were 
the  first  Supervisor  of  the  town  of  Morris,  and 
again  held  that  oflice  in  1853,  when  we  were 
elected  County  Clerk.  Our  parents  were  Dem- 
ocratic, and  we  followed  their  prejudice  politi- 
calh'  and  became  the  same,  casting  our  first 
vote  for  Polk,  in  184:4  ;  Cass,  in  1848  ;  Pierce, 
in  1852  ;  Buchanan,  in  185C  ;  Douglas,  in 
1860  ;  McClellau,  in  1S64,  and  was  on  the 
electoral  ticket  for  Seymour  in  1868  ;  Greelej'- 
ized  in  1872  ;  for  Tildeu,  in  1876,  and  Han- 
cock, in  1880.  We  were  re-elected  County 
Clerk  in  1857,  although  Buchanan  received  but 
600  votes  to  Fremont's  900  in  1856.  When 
Fort  Sumter,  was  attacked  by  the  Confeder- 
ates in  April,  1861,  we  made  the  first  war 
speech  of  the  county,  and,  as  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  we  introduced 
the  first  resolutions  denouncing  secession  and 
in  favor  of  coercion.  We  were  offered  the 
Colonelcy  of  the  Sixty-fifth  Illinois  Regiment 
by  Gov.  Yates,  but,  owing  to  the  very  delicate 
health  of  our  better  half,  we  were  compelled  to 
stay  at  home.  In  the  fall  of  1854,  we  were 
elected  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 


Illinois,  L  O.  0.  F.,  and  in  1857,  Grand  Repre- 
sentative to  tiie  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
United  States  for  two  years.     In  the  fall  of 

1861,  we  were  elected  without  opposition  a 
delegate  from  La  Salle,  Livingston  and  Grun- 
dy to  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of 

1862.  In  1863,  we  were  elected  to  the  State 
Legislature  from  Grundy  antl  Will  without  op- 
position, and,  in  1872,  from  Gundy,  Kendall 
and  De  Kalb  without  opposition,  and  were 
placed  on  the  Judiciary,  Railroad  and  Judicial 
Department  Committees.  At  this  session,  the 
statutes  were  revised,  in  which  we  took  an 
active  part.  We  were  the  author  of  several 
important  laws  now  in  force,  among  which  are 
the  jury  law,  county  court  law  and  escheat 
law,  besides  materially-  amending  the  criminal 
code  and  the  road  and  bridge  law.  Admitted 
to  practice  law  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illi- 
nois February  3,  1865,  and  by  the  United 
States  Court  June  3,  1868,  we  entered  into  a 
law  partnership  with  B.  Olin  (now  Judge  of 
the  County  Court  of  Will  County)  in  1865, 
which  lasted  five  years.  On  the  25th  of  Aug- 
ust, 1803,  we  married  our  second  wife,  Malina 
J.  Eldredge,  at  Piano,  111.  From  this  connec- 
tion, we  have  two  sons — Frank,  aged  sixteen, 
Perry,  aged  eight  years.  In  1876,  we  were 
appointed  blaster  in  Chancery,  and,  in  1877, 
Trustee  of  the  Illinois  Charitable  Eye  and  Ear 
Infirmary,  which  position  we  still  hold.  In 
1870,  we  were  elected  to  the  School  Board,  and 
served  scveji  years.  During  that  time,  the 
present  fine  stone  Iniilding  was  erected.  We 
took  an  active  part  in  building  this  school- 
house  as  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Education  and 
agent  to  negotiate  the  school  bonds.  We  have 
spent  much  time  and  considerable  money  in 
developing  the  geology  of  Grundy  Count}', 
and  as  the  result  we  have  a  fine  collection, 
especially  in  fossil  botany.  We  deposited  for 
safe  keeping  a  carload  of  fossil  trees,  or  their 
impressions  upon  the  siiale  overl^'ing  the  coal, 
in  the  new  State   House  at  Springfield  some 


8 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


eight  )-ears  as;o,  while  our  home  cabinet  at  the 
Academy  of  Seieiicos  in  Morris  is  large  and 
valuable.  Tirinsr  of  the  hard  labor  required 
in  collecting  geological  specimens,  we  have 
more  recently  directed  our  investigation  to 
Indian  history,  legends,  traditions,  customs, 
habits  and  social  relations,  occasionally  scrib- 
bling poetry— a  habit  we  contracted  (when  we 
went  to  see  our  girl)  in  our  youth,  the  greater 
portion  of  which  has  been  published  in  the 
local  papers  here  and  at  Ottawa.  Our  last 
effort,  entitled. 

A  child's  IXyl-IRV  AND  MOTHER'S  REPLY. 

(Suggfsted  l>y  ihe  queilion  of  our  little  son  Perry  when  some 
five  >'..ar8  of  age,  to  hin  mother,  "  What  is  henven,  mother?") 

cnii.D. 
Tell  me,  mother,  what  is  heaven  ? 

A  myslerious  retreat, 
Where  our  sius  will  be  forgiven, 

And  the  angels  we  shall  meet  ? 

MOTHER. 

Yes,  my  child,  it  is  the  dwelling 
Of  our  Savior  and  the  bless' d, 
"  Where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling. 
And  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

CHILD. 

Is  its  bea\ity  in  the  clothing 

Of  the  brilliant  colored  sky? 
And  beyond  that  is  there  nothing 

Of  more  awful  majesty? 

MOTHER. 

No.  my  child,  that  beauteous  clothing 
Are  but  curtains  round  the  throne 

Of  our  Father,  everdiving. 

Of  the  Godhead— Three  in  Ore. 

CHILD. 

Is  the  sun  in  glory  shining, 

Mighty  monarch  of  the  day? 
Or  our  Father  kindly  smiling 

On  His  people  hereaway  ? 

MOTHER. 

He's  the  agent  sent  from  heaven 
To  bring  light  and  life  to  earth  ; 

To  inaugurate  creation. 
And  give  vegetation  birth. 


CHILD. 

And  the  moon,  whose  silent  gleaming 

Silvers  every  house  and  tree — 
Is't  tlie  Savior's  visage  beaming 

Fondly  on  mortality? 

MOTHER. 

No.  my  child,  'tis  but  the  emblem 

Of  His  precious  love  and  care 
For  the  faithful  little  children 

Of  His  vineyard  everywhere. 

CHILD. 

And  the  stars,  which  silent  creeping, 
Spring  each  night  to  glorious  birth. 

Are  they  angels'  eyes  a-peeping 
At  the  dwellers  of  the  earth? 

MOTHER. 

Oh.  no,  my  child,  each  shining  star 

The  heavenly  skies  unfurl. 
Though  distant  from  this  world  afar. 

Is  another  living  world. 

CHILD. 

Then  wdiere  is  heaven,  mother  dear? 

Where  is  this  heaven  of  love, 
If  not  within  the  starry  sphere. 

Nor  in  the  skies  above? 

MOTHER. 

Heaven,  ray  child,  is  everywhere; 

On  land  and  sea.  field  and  grove; 
Pervades  creation,  fills  the  air — 

Heaven,  indeed,  is  only  love. 

— P.  A.  Armstrong. 

S.  P.  AVERY,  attorney,  Morris,  was  born  in 
Kendall  County.  111..  Jauuary  13,  1850;  son  of 
S.  K.  Avery,  a  native  of  Oneida  County.  X.  Y., 
born  in  ISIO,  a  fanner  by  occupation;  he  was 
born,  raised  and  lived  on  the  same  farm  in  New 
York  till  18-17,  then  came  to  Illinois  that  fall, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1 848,  purchased  a  farm  in 
Kendall  County,  where  he  lived  till  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  December  15,  1880. 
He  was  a  prominent  nurseryman  and  fruit- 
grower, during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  Illi- 
nois. His  wife,  Asenath  (Wilder)  Avery,  was 
born  at  Verona,  N.  Y.,  December  16,  1814, 
and   married   S.  K.   Avery,  January  20.  1836. 


MORRIS  CITY    AND  TOWNSHIP. 


9 


They  moved  to  Kendall  County,  111.,  in  1847, 
where  Mrs.  Avery  died  Xoveraber  26,  1874. 
They  raised  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are 
now  living,  five  sons,  of  which  subject  is  the 
fourth,  and  one  daughter.  Subject  was  edu- 
cated at  the  common  schools  of  Kendall  Coun- 
ty, and  at  Fowler  Institute  at  Newark;  he  read 
hiw  two  years  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  with  Jesse 
Shepard,  then  one  and  a  half  years  in  Chicago 
with  A.  W.  Windett.  Mr.  Avery  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  June,  1876,  came  to 
Morris  September  13,  1876,  and  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession;  there  lie  has  con- 
tinued since.  Mr.  Avery  was  married,  in  Ladd- 
onia,  Mo.,  March  10, 1882,  to  Kate  Wilder,  born 
October  20,  1856,  daughter  of  Judge  B.  H. 
Wilder,  of  Audrain  County,  Mo.  Mrs.  Avery 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  Subject 
was  with  Judge  C.  Grant,  Register  in  Bank- 
ruptcy, from  December,  1877,  to  January,  1881, 
when  Judge  Grant  died;  from  that  time,  sub- 
ject has  been  Acting  Register.  Mr.  Avery  is  a 
Republican. 

GEORGE  BAUM,  clothier,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Germany  January  20,  1828;  son  of  George 
Baura,  who  was  born  and  raised  in  Germany, 
and  also  died  there.  Subject  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1853,  landing  in  New  York 
City  on  the  16th  of  August.  He  was  educated 
in  tlie  common  schools  of  Germany,  and  when 
twentj--one  years  of  age  was  put  into  the  regu- 
lar arm}-,  by  a  law  of  that  country,  which  com- 
pelled all  able-bodied  young  men,  to  serve  six 
years.  Our  subject,  by  good  deportment  while 
in  the  service,  was  enabled  to  procure  a  recom- 
mendation from  the  principal  orticers  over  him, 
which  gave  him  an  honorable  release  two  years 
prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which 
he  had  enlisted.  From  the  date  of  his  landing 
in  the  United  States  in  1853  to  1856,  he  oc- 
cupied his  time  principally  in  laboring  as  a 
farm  hand  in  the  States  of  Connecticut  and 
New  Jersey,  having  had  but  a  meager  supply 
of  means  when   he   landed.      After   reaching 


Morris  on  the  4th  of  April,  1856,  he  began  as 
before  in  laboring  at  any  kind  of  work  that 
presented  itself,  by  which  he  could  earn  fair 
wages,  and  continued  in  this  way  some  seven 
or  eight  years.  He  and  his  brother  Henry 
then  began  in  the  saloon  business,  which  he 
followed  until  1877.  September  1  of  that 
year,  he  began  the  clothing  business  on  his  own 
responsibility,  and  at  present  is  thus  engaged, 
and  doing  a  satisfactory  business.  He  has 
been  Alderman  in  Morris  for  seven  years,  and 
has  been  Director  for  several  years  for  the 
Cemetei-y  Association.  Mr.  Baum  was  married, 
in  Germany,  in  June,  1853,  just  before  starting 
for  this  country,  to  Elizabeth  Keiser.  They 
have  raised  three  children  to  maturitj'  and  l<jst 
two  sons,  one  dying  in  infancy  and  the  other 
in  his  thirteenth  year.  Those  living  are  one 
son,  Henry,  and  two  daughters,  viz.,  Eliza  (wife 
of  John  Schobert)  and  Annie.  Mr.  Baum  and 
wife  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and 
he  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  Mr.  Baum 
owns  a  handsome  and  commodious  two-story 
brick  residence  in  Morris,  good  store-room,  a 
tenement  house,  and  some  vacant  lots;  he  is  a 
Democrat. 

HENRY  BAUM,  dry  goods  and  millinery, 
Morris,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  April  4, 1855, 
son  of  George  Baum,  whose  sketch  appears  in 
another  part  of  this  work.  There  were  three 
sons,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  eldest,  and 
the  only  one  living,  and  two  daughters.  Henry 
was  educated  principally  at  the  public  schools 
of  Morris,  and  took  a  commercial  course  at 
Bryant  &  Stratton's  College  of  Chicago,  grad- 
uating in  that  course  in  the  spring  of  1872. 
He  began  business  by  clerking  in  tlie  dry  goods 
establishment  of  L.  F.  Beach  &  Co.,  of  Morris, 
remaining  there  nearlj'  two  years,  then  in  part- 
nership with  Mr.  Schobert  opened  a  similar 
store  in  1874,  the  firm  name  being  Baum  & 
Schobert.  This  firm  continued  together  till 
1881,  at  which  time  they  divided,  and  since 
each  of  them  has  run  a  separate  store.     Mr. 


10 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Henry  Baiim  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order  at  ttiis  place,  has  taken  all  the  degrees  of 
lodge  and  chapter,  and  will  likel}-  go  through 
the  commander}-  at  an  early  date.  Subject  has 
one  of  the  finest  stores  in  the  city,  and  does  a 
good  business.  He  owns  a  block  of  tenement 
houses  near  the  High  School  building  in  Mor- 
ris, and  a  couple  of  vacant  lots  on  Main 
street ;  he  is  also  interested  in  several  mines 
in  Colorado,  prominent  among  them  is  the 
one  owned  by  the  Grundy  Mining  Com- 
pany. 

HENRY  BAUM,  Sa.,  saloon,  Morris,  was 
born  in  Lauchroedeu,  Saxe- Weimar,  Germany, 
October  26, 1834.  He  was  raised  and  educated 
in  his  native  country,  receiving  special  training 
in  music.  He  served  three  years  as  apprentice 
in  general  masonry.  Came  to  the  United  States 
in  the  fall  of  1857,  by  way  of  New  Orleans. 
Settled  in  Morris,  where  he  engaged  at  his 
trade,  combined  with  music-teaching,  for  eight- 
een months.  In  1859,  he  went  to  Louisville, 
Ky.,  and  gave  musical  instruction,  working  at 
his  trade,  meantime,  for  one  year.  Afterward, 
made  a  specialty  of  music,  going  sout.h  with  a 
troupe,  and  located  in  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  until 
the  breaking-out  of  the  war  in  1861,  when  he 
returned  to  Morris,  and  enlisted  in  the  Thirty- 
fourth  Illinois  Volunteers  as  a  member  of  the 
regiment  band.  Served  until  the  band  was 
discharged  in  1862.  Since  his  discharge,  he 
has  been  engaged  in  keeping  a  saloon,  located 
on  Washington  street.  He  was  married,  Janu- 
ary 14, 1864,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Zeermann.  She 
is  a  native'of  Frickenfelt,  Bavarian  Rheinfels, 
Germany,  born  May  16,  1844.  They  have  two 
children  buried  and  two  living — Loui.se,  l)orn 
iu  Morris  December  9,  1864,  died  January  31, 
1873  ;  Henry  B.,  born  January  27,  1865,  died 
September  13,  1873  ;  Willie  L.,  born  May  11, 
1866  ;  and  Birdie,  born  November  23,  1874. 
Subject  is  a  member  of  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  a  Re- 
publican. Residence  on  corner  of  Washington 
and  Cedar  streets,  Morris,  111. 


HENRY  BURRELL,  miner,  Morris,  is  the 
oldest  of  three  sons  of  Archie  Burrell,  of  Scot- 
land, and  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  Sep- 
tember 30,  1843.  When  he  was  nine  jears  old, 
his  parents  removed  to  the  United  States,  and 
located  in  Chicago,  where  his  father  died  of 
cholera  in  1853.  In  the  fall  of  1854,  his 
mother  and  the  three  sons  came  to  Morris, 
Grundy  Co.,  111.  Here  the  subject  and 
brothers  were  employed  variously  for  some 
years  by  their  uncle,  Alexander  Telfer,  a  coal 
merchant.  As  soon  as  old  enough,  they  began 
digging  in  the  mines  for  support  for  themselves 
and  mother.  At  this  time  (1866),  our  subject 
formed  a  partnership  with  others,  under  the 
firm  name  of  H.  Burrell  &  Co.  He  is  now 
alone  in  the  coal  trade.  The  mines  are  one 
and  one-iialf  miles  northeast  of  Morris,  between 
the  railroad  and  the  canal.  He  is  also  asso- 
ciated with  A.  W.  Telfer  in  brick-making.  The 
Burrell  heirs  have  a  tract  of  317  acres  of  land, 
which  the  subject  is  farming.  He  was  married. 
May  31,  1870,  to  Miss  Maggie  West,  then  of 
Morris.  She  was  born  in  Scotland  June  17, 
1851.  They  have  a  family  of  four  children- 
two  sons  and  two  daughters — Mary  E.,  born 
May  19,  1871  ;  Lizzie  T.,  April  4, 1874  ;  Henry 
A.,  September  19,  1877,  and  William  O., 
J  August  29,  1880.  Mr.  Burrell  is  a  member  of 
the  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.  and  of  the  L  0.  0.  F.; 
politics,  Repulilican. 

ALEXANDER  BURRELL,  collier,  Morris, 
was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  January  14, 
1850.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  the  United 
States  in  1852,  and  settled  in  Chicago.  There 
his  father,  Archie  Burrell,  died  in  1853.  In 
1854,  his  mother,  Eliza  Burrell,  and  family, 
consisting  of  three  sons,  removed  to  Morris, 
Grundy  County,  where  the}'  have  since  lived. 
Suijject  was  married,  April  8,  1879,  to  Miss 
Abbie  Kiersted,  daughter  of  George  H.  Kier- 
sted,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Grundy  County. 
They  have  two  children — George,  born  Janu- 
ary 2,  1880,  and  Alexander,  born  February  26, 


MORRIS  CITY  AXD  TOWNSHIP. 


11 


1881.  Jlr.  Burrell  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Gould,  Buchanan  &  Burrell,  coal-miners.  They 
have  two  shafts,  situated  near  the  Chit-ago  & 
Rock  Island  Railroad,  within  the  city  limits  ; 
office  on  Libert}'  street.  Mr.  Burrell  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

JOHN  BROWN,  druggist,  Morris,  was  born 
in  England  September  1,  1825,  son  of  Will- 
iam Brown,  who  was  born  in  England  about 
1785.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  English  Arm}' 
the  greater  portion  of  his  life,  and  died  in  1864. 
His  wife  was  Margaret  (Blease)  Brown.  The 
parents  had  eight  children  bora  to  them  and 
raised  six  to  maturity — three  sons,  of  which 
subject  is  the  third,  and  three  daughters.  Sub- 
ject emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1851, 
and  settled  in  this  county,  where  he  has  lived 
since.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  England,  where  he  began  life  in  the  drug 
business.  When  he  first  came  to  Illinois,  he 
engaged  in  farming  for  about  fifteen  years,  and 
then  engaged  again  in  the  drug  business,  and 
has  followed  it  since.  Mr.  Brown  has  been 
Supervisor  for  Au  Sable  Township,  and  School 
Director  for  Morris,  besides  filling  other  minor 
offices  not  necessar}'  to  mention.  He  bought 
the  hotel  known  as  the  Hopkins  House,  in 
Morris,  in  1875,  and  ran  the  hotel  business 
there,  in  connection  with  his  other  affairs,  for 
about  five  j'ears.  He  then  sold  the  hotel,  and 
gave  his  entire  attention  to  his  present  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Brown  was  married,  in  England,  in 
1850,  to  Ann  (Brown)  Brown..  She  was  horn 
in  1826.  They  have  nine  children,  four  sons 
and  five  daughters.  Subject  owns  a  comforta- 
ble residence  in  Morris,  and  a  good  store  build- 
ing ;  carries  a  large  stock  and  has  a  very  satis- 
factory trade.     He  is  a  Republican. 

GEORGE  F.  BROWN,  grain  dealer,  Morris, 
•was  born  June  G,  1828.  in  Madison  County, 
N.  y.  In  the  year  1830,  his  father  removed  to 
the  State  of  Ohio,  where  he  lived  eleven  years. 
In  1841,  he  again  moved,  and  lived  two  years 
in  Wisconsin.     In  1843,  he  located  in  Chicago, 


where  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business 
for  eleven  years.  He  then,  in  1854,  went  to 
Freeport,  where  he  is  still  engaged  in  business. 
George  F.  was  educated  principally  at  Norwalk, 
Ohio,  and  Chicago,  111.  In  April,  1855,  he 
came  to  Morris,  Grundy  Co.,  111.,  where  he  has 
since  done  an  extensive  business  in  grain  and 
lumber.  On  the  15th  day  of  October,  1855. 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Heald,  of  Free- 
port,  111.  She  was  born  in  Darien,  N.  Y.,  on 
the  1st  day  of  April,  1832,  and  came  to  Illinois 
in  1853.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Their  family  consists  of  six  children, 
only  two  of  whom  are  living — Anna  H.,  Emma, 
George  P.,  Everett  R.,  Isabella  G.  and  Georgie. 
Mr.  Brown  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  has 
held  several  responsible  offices  in  the  city  and 
count}-. 

E.  L.  BARTLETT,  musician,  Morris,  was 
born  in  New  York  September  19,  1821.  When 
he  was  twelve  years  old,  his  father  moved  to 
Western  New  York,  where  he  worked  a  farm 
three  years.  Our  subject  entered  Hamilton 
College  in  1839,  from  where  he  graduated  in 
1843.  He  was  married  October  26,  1843,  to 
Miss  Rachel  A  Conklin,  daughter  of  C.  J. 
Conklin,  now  living  with  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Bartlett,  in  Morris.  In  July,  1844,  they  set- 
tled in  Lisbon,  Kendall  County,  where  Mr. 
Bartlett  was  for  fis'e  years  Principal  of  the 
Long  Grove  Academy,  after  which  he  taught 
one  year  in  Oswego,  Kendall  County  ;  he  was 
also  called  to  thePrincipalshipof  the  Plainfleld 
Academy,  of  Will  County,  just  then  erected,  at 
which  place  he  taught  three  years.  Mr.  Bart- 
lett looks  with  pride  upon  many  of  his  former 
pupils,  now  filling  very  honorable  positions. 
In  1854.  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Saratoga 
Township,  upon  which  he  lived  ten  3'ears.  At 
this  period  of  his  history,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany G,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-six  Illinois 
Volunteers,  as  Musician,  in  Hcntzleman's  West- 
ern Division  Band,  serving  till  the  close  of  the 
war.     Returning  home,  he  sold  his   farm  and 


12 


BIOGKAPHICAL: 


settled  in  Morris,  where  lie  has  since  lived. 
He  owns  a  store  building  on  Washington  street, 
where  for  some  years  he  conducted  a  music 
store.  Their  family  numbers  ten  children — 
Napoleon  B.,  born  in  1846,  killed  November 
11,  1864,  at  the  battle  of  Duvall's  Bluff  ;  Fran- 
cis E.,  born  in  1848,  is  a  merchant  in  Morris  ; 
Leroy,  born  in  1850,  is  a  merchant  in  Chicago  ; 
Arabella,  born  in  1852,  and  died  December  28, 
1874  ;  Jessie,  born  in  1854,  married  to  William 
J.  Davis,  of  Chicago  ;  Josephine,  born  in  1856  ; 
Lincoln,  born  in  1859  ;  Sherman,  died  in  in- 
fancy ;  and  Stella,  l)orn  in  1869.  Mr.  Bartlett 
has  attained  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  musi- 
cian, liaving  traveled  over  Illinois  and  Iowa 
with  a  concert  company  composed  of  his  own 
family. 

JOHN  BUCK,  coal  and  tile,  Morris,  was 
born  in  Cork,  Ireland,  February  1, 1827.  When 
he  was  three  years  old,  his  parents  moved  to 
Canada,  where  he  was  raised  and  educated. 
He  came  to  Illinois  in  1849,  and  to  Grundy 
Connty  in  1850,  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  of  about  nineteen  acres  in  the  northwest 
part  of  the  citj'  of  Morris,  on  which  lie  now 
lives,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  drain-tile  ; 
he  also  operates  a  coal  bank  on  the  same  site. 
He  was  married,  December  3,  ISul,  to  Miss  Isa- 
bella McMinn,  of  Pennsylvania.  She  was  born 
November  20,  1832,  and  died  December  29, 
1862.  Our  subject  was  again  married,  March 
16,  1865,  to  Miss  Susanna  Hutchins,  of  Mor- 
ris. She  was  born  in  Canada  September  24, 
1843.  They  have  seven  children,  one  of  whom 
is  the  result  of  the  first  marriage — John  T., 
born  December  22,  1862.  The  children  of  the 
second  marriage  are  George  H..  born  January 
6,  1866  ;  Herbert  E.,  born  March  10,  1867  ; 
William  F.,  born  November  10, 1869  ;  Richard 
R.,  born  April  29,  1873  ;  Mary  E.,  born  Novem- 
ber 16,  1874  ;  and  Martha,  born  January  9, 
1882.  The  famil}-  residence  is  on  Lincoln 
street.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buck  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Morris. 


OTIS  BAKER,  livery,  Morris,  was  born  in 
Orleans  County,  N.  Y.,  June  11,  1834,  and  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  of  New  York. 
He  was  married,  June  2,  1855,  to  Miss  Sarah 
D.  Gregory,  who  was  born  in  New  York  Janu- 
ary 20,  1835.  In  the  fall  of  1856,  they  came 
to  Grundy  County,  III,  and  settled  in  Morris, 
but  soon  after  bought  an  eiglity-acre  farm, 
four  miles  north  of  Morris,  where  the3'  lived 
until  1860,  when  the}'  sold  their  farm  and 
bought  another  in  the  same  township  (Sara- 
toga), where  they  remained  ten  3-ears.  In  1876, 
our  subject  moved  to  the  town  of  Morris  and 
engaged  for  two  or  three  years  in  the  dairy 
business,  since  which  time  he  has  kept  a  farm- 
ers' feed  j-ard.  The  family  consists  of  two 
I  daughters — Minnie  G.,  born  February  20,1857; 
married,  December  1,  1881,  to  Charles  W.  Pot- 
ter, of  New  York;  and  Hattie  M.,  born  March 
24,  1868.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baker  and  their  oldest 
daughter  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
Church.  Mr.  Baker  is  a  Republican,  and  has 
been  repeatedly  elected  to  offices  of  trust  in 
the  community,  in  which  he  has  lived.  His 
mother,  Laura  Baker,  is  a  native  of  Bristol, 
Vt.,  born  March  16,  1799,  and  is  now  living 
with  her  daughter,  in  Milwaukee,  Wis.;  his 
father,  Otis  Baker,  was  born  in  Massachusetts 
November  10,  1795,  and  died  in  Orleans  Coun- 
ty, N.  Y.,  September  23,  1870. 

L.  F.  BEACH,  dealer  in  dry  goods,  boots 
and  shoes,  etc.,  Morris,  was  born  in  North  Dans- 
ville.  New  York  July  9,  1841;  son  of  Aaron  W- 
Beach,  who  was  also  a  native  of  New  York, 
born  in  December,  1797,  was  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation, and  now  in  (1882),  lives  in  Chicago 
in  his  eighty-fifth  3'ear.  His  wife.  Mar}'  A. 
(Baker)  Beach,  was  also  of  New  York,  born  in 
1802,  and  died  in  Chicago,  in  June,  1882.  The 
parents  raised  five  children;  three  sons,  of 
whom  the  subject  is  the  youngest,  and  two 
daughters.  Mr.  Beach  was  educated  in  Steuben 
County,  N.  Y.,  and  began  life  as  a  farmer  in 
his  native    State.     He  came   to  this   State  iu 


MOllRIS  CITY   AND  TOWXSIIIP. 


13 


1869,  having  merchandized  four  years  before 
he  came;  he  settled  in  Morris  when  he  first 
came  to  the  Stale,  and  l)eg:in  morcliandising, 
which  he  still  follows.  Mr.  Beach  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  order,  and  has  taken  all  the  de- 
greies  from  E.  A.  to  Knight  Templar;  he  was 
School  Treasurer  for  this  township  for  two 
years,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil. He  was  married,  in  Erie,  Penn.,  in  Feb- 
ruary. 1870,  to  Amelia  A.  Hennessey,  who  was 
born  July  11,  1816.  They  have  four  children 
— three  sons,  viz.,  Layton  Fayette,  Joseph  Al- 
len Hunter  and  James  Blaney;  one  daughter, 
Maud  Amelia.  Mrs.  Beach  is  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  Subject  has  built  up  a 
good  trade,  carries  a  large  stoclc.  and  besides 
runs  a  store  of  general  merchandise  at  Council 
Grove.  Kan.;  he  is  a  Democrat. 

L.  W.  CLATPOOL,  whose  portrait  appears 
in  this  work,  is  a  descendant  of  an  old  English 
family. 

About  1645,  Sir  James  Claypo»l,  of  P^ugland, 
married  a  daughter  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Tiiis 
is  the  earliest  record  of  the  family  obtainable. 
Some  ^^ears  later,  two  brothers  of  the  same  fam- 
ily emigrated  from  England  to  America,  and 
settled  in  Virginia.  One  subsequently  left  for 
Philadelphia,  and  joined  his  fortunes  with  Will- 
iam Penn,  and  he  or  his  descendant.  James  C. 
Claypool,  was  a  signing  witness  to  Penn's  char- 
ter in  1082.  The  other  brother  remained  in 
Virginia,  whore  his  son,  William  Claypool, 
was  born  about  1690,  and  lived  to  the  ex- 
traordinary age  of  one  hundred  and  two 
years  William  Claypool  was  the  father  of 
three  sons — George,  John  and  James,  the 
latter  born  about  1730,  who  died  leaving 
three  sons — Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  The 
first,  born  April  21,  1762,  died  in  May,  1845. 
He  had  six  sons  and  five  daughters.  Of  these 
sons,  Jacob  was  born  August  28,  1788,  in 
Randolph  County,  Va.,  and  died  August 
17,  1876.  His  son,  Abraham  C,  moved  from 
Virginia  in   1799,  and    took  up  his  abode  in 


the   Northwest    Territory,  where    Chillieothe, 
Ohio,  now  is. 

The  son  of  Abraham  C.  and  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketcii.  Jacob  C.  married  Xancy 
Ballard,  a  lady  of  Quaker  parentage  from  North 
Carolina,  and  had  two  sons — Perry  A.,  born  in 
Brown  County,  Oiiio,  June  5,  1815,  and  died  in 
Morris,  111.,  October  15,  1846;  and  L.  W.,  born 
in  the  same  place  June  4,  1819. 

Mr.  L.  W.  Claypool  spent  his  early  years  in 
a  new  settlement,  going  with  his  parents  to  In- 
dianapolis, where  the  ague  assailed  them  with 
such  vigor  as  to  drive  thcra  back  to  Ohio.  In 
March  of  1834,  he  set  out  with  his  father  to 
explore  the  canal  lands  of  Illinois  for  a  new 
home.  He  was  eager  to  get  an  education,  and. 
with  the  meager  fiicilitios  afforded  in  frontier 
settlements,  he  managed  to  master  the  multi- 
plication table  and  the  elements  of  writing,  and 
he  still  has  in  his  possession  a  rudely-con- 
structed diar}'  with  the  incidents  of  this  jour- 
ney noted  down  in  his  boyish  chirography.  The 
stor}-  of  this  trip  and  the  sulisequent  removal 
of  the  family  to  Wanponsee  Township,  in 
Grundy  County,  111.,  has  been  told  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  His  life  here  was  one  of  great  ac- 
tivity, but  he  managed  in  the  meantime  to  get 
quite  a  knowledge  of  arithmetic  by  improving 
daj'S  too  wet  or  cold  to  work  out  of  doors,  and 
he  exhibits  with  some  pride  a  curious  record  of 
the  days  or  half  days  which  he  devoted  to  the 
study  of  the  elements  of  mathematics.  At  the 
first  election  held  in  Grundy  County,  on  May 
24.  1841.  Mr.  Claypool  was  elected  County  Re- 
corder, a  position  he  held  until  1847,  in  the 
meanwhile  being  appointed  the  first  Postmaster 
in  Morris.  In  1848,  he  was  appointed  by  the 
Canal  Trustees  Assistant  .Vgent  of  the  canal 
lands,  having  in  charge  the  lands  situated  in  La 
Salle  and  Grundy  Counties.  His  duties  called 
him  to  assist  in  laying  out  that  part  of  Chicago 
in  and  around  Bridgeport,  and  continued  until 
the  last  of  the  land  was  closed  out  in  1860. 
Mr.    Claypool   has  always  taken  a  prominent 


14 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


place  in  tlie  commuuitv  in  which  he  has  lived 
so  long.  He  was  for  years  the  Supervisor  of 
Wauponsee  Township,  and  is  now  acting  in  this 
capacit}'  for  Morris  Village. 

November  15,  18-19,  he  contracted  marriage 
with  Caroline  B.,  daughter  of  John  Palmer,  of 
Ottawa,  a  pioneer  of  La  Salle  County,  who 
came  overland  from  Warren  County,  N.  Y.,  in 
June,  1834.  Mrs.  Claypool  was  born  March 
12,  1831,  before  the  family  left  New  York.  Two 
sons  of  the  family  born  of  this  union  are  living 
— H.  C,  born  March  31,  1852,  and  L.  W.,  Jr., 
bom  October  13,  1866. 

0.  N.  C IRTER,  County  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  Morris. 

JAMES  CUNNEA,  banker,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Ireland  January  6,  1810,  and  is  a  son  of 
Patrick  and  Isabella  (Brown)  Cunnea.  Patrick 
Cunnea  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1783,  was  a 
farmer  and  merchant  by  occupation,  merchan- 
dized largely,  and  died  in  Ireland  in  1840,  hav- 
ing been  sick  but  six  days;  his  wife  died  the 
same  year.  The  parents  had  sixteen  children 
born  to  them,  twelve  of  whom  were  raised  to 
maturity — six  sons,  of  whom  subject  is  the  old- 
est, and  six  daughters.  Our  subject  received  a 
limited  education  in  the  common  schools  in  Ire- 
laud.  He  began  for  himself  by  keeping  store 
and  farming,  which  he  continued  about  six 
years,  and  then,  in  1846,  times  getting  a  little 
hard  there,  he  said  to  his  wife,  "We  will  go  to 
America,"  and  at  once  sold  out  his  effects  and 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  stopping  about 
two  years  in  New  York;  then  he  came  to  Il- 
linois (1848),  and,  purchasing  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  Will  County,  began  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  which  he  followed  in  connection  with 
his  sons  till  about  1866;  from  there  he  came  to 
Morris,  and  opened  a  loan  office  for  a  few  years, 
and,  in  1872,  purchased  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Seneca,  and  removed  the  same  to 
Morris,  clianging  the  name  to  First  National 
Bank  of  Morris.  From  that  time  to  the  pres- 
ent, he  and  his  sons  have  run  a  general   bank- 


ing business  here.  The  officers  of  the  bank  are 
as  follows :  James  Cunnea  (subject).  President 
and  Director;  John  Cunnea,  Cashier  and  Di- 
rector; John  McCambridge,  Director;  George 
A.  Cunnea,  Director;  James  Cunnea,  Jr.,  Di- 
rector. Subject  and  sons  also  own  considerable 
land  in  this  and  other  Slates,  besides  other  valu- 
able property.  Subject  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 
He  was  married  in  Ireland,  March  4,  1834,  to 
Ann  Glackin,  a  daughter  of  Dennis  and  Cath- 
arine (Mcllugh)  Glackin;  his  wife  was  born  in 
March,  1817.  They  had  twelve  children  bora 
to  them;  eight  raised  to  maturity,  one  of  whom, 
Thomas,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years. 
Those  living  are  three  sons — John,  James  and 
George  A.,  and  four  daughters,  viz.,  Isabella, 
Maria  (now  the  wife  of  John  McCambridge), 
Catharine  and  Anna.  .^Ir.  Cunnea  and  wife  and 
all  the  family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  James  Cunnea,  Jr.,  was  married  in 
1876,  to  Estella  Smith,  daughter  of  Patrick 
Smith,  of  Cleveland.  Ohio. 

JOHN  CUNNEA,  banker  and  cashier,  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Ireland,  July  22,  1840  ;  is  a 
son  of  James  Cunnea,  whose  biography  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  history.  Our  subject  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1846  ;  stopped  two  years 
in  New  York  City,  then  came  to  Illinois,  and 
soon  afterward  settled  in  Will  County,  at  what 
is  now  called  Braldwood.  There  he  attended 
school,  and  afterward  completed  his  education 
at  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Business  College  in 
Chicago  Mr.  Cunnea  purchased  a  considerable 
tract  of  land  at  Braidwood,  and  remained  there 
engaged  in  farming  for  seventeen  years.  He 
came  to  Morris  in  May,  1866,  and  about  a  year 
afterward,  in  connection  with  his  brothers, 
opened  a  loan  office,  which  they  continued  till 
August,  1872,  when  the}-  purchased  of  D.  D. 
Spencer  his  banking  business  at  Seneca.  All 
the  appurtenances  of  the  bank  they  removed  to 
Morris,  where  they  still  carry  on  a  general 
banking  business.  The  bank  is  known  as  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Morris,  the  proprietors 


MORRIS  CITY   AND  TOWNSHIP. 


15 


being  James  Cunnea  &  Sons.  September  1, 
1875,  our  subject  was  married  to  Jennie 
A.  Hoge,  daugliter  of  Samuel  and  Matilda 
(Holderman)  Hoge.  This  union  has  resulted 
in  two  children — Samuel  James  and  Charitj- 
Isabella.  Mr.  Cunnea  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  Catholic  Church.     He  is  a  Democrat. 

DAVID  M.  COOK,  grocer,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Perry  County,  Penn.,  January  13,  1837.  His 
father,  James  Cook,  died  in  Pennsylvania  when 
David  was  nine  years  of  age,  and  his  mother 
moved  with  her  family  to  Miami  County,  Ohio. 
Here  his  mother  and  one  brother  died.  The 
three  remaining  brothers  came  to  Warren  Coun- 
ty, 111,,  in  the  spring  of  1855.  In  the  fall  of 
1856,  they  moved  to  Morris,  Grundj-  County, 
where  he  and  his  lirother.  Joiin  W.,  established 
a  restaurant  and  provision  store  on  Washing- 
ton street.  Our  subject  was  married,  November 
2,  1860,  to  Miss  Jane  Claj'pool,  daughter  of 
Perr}'  A.  Claypool  ;  she  was  born  in  Grundy 
County,  March  7,  1842.  The  family  consists 
of  four  children,  two  of  whom  are  living,  viz., 
Nellie  M.,  born  March  25,  1864  ;  Samuel  D., 
December  4, 1870  ;  William  M.,  born  December 
23,  1875,  died  July  23,  1880  ;  and  John  P., 
born  April  5,  1877,  died  March  18,  1880.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cook  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Morris.  Mr.  Cook  is  now  proprietor 
of  a  grocery  and  provision  store  on  Libert^' 
street,  in  a  building  erected  by  him  in  1861. 
He  is  a  Republican. 

WILLIAM  R.  CODY,  furniture  dealer,  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  Decem- 
ber 1,  1825,  and  received  his  education  in  his 
native  State.  He  came  to  Illinois  when  eight- 
een years  old,  and  settled  in  Lisl)on,  Kendall 
County,  where  he  lived  for  six  years,  teaching 
school  in  various  places  in  the  county.  He  was 
first  married  to  Miss  Martha  Hobson,  of  Naper- 
ville.  111.;  October  10,  1854  ;  she  died  June  28, 
1855.  and  is  buried  in  her  native  town.  Septem- 
ber 10,  1856,  Mr.  Cody  was  again  married,  tiiis 
time  to  Miss  Sarah  M.  Conant,  a  native  of  New 


York,  born  December  17, 1835.  They  have  had 
six  children,  two  of  whom  are  dead — Caroline, 
born  August  24.  1857,  died  October  5,  1857  ; 
Nellie  F..  born  December  21,  1858,  married  to 
N.  C.  Davis,  of  Morris  ;  Susan  E  ,  May  21 
1861,  married  to  E.  H.  Quigley,  of  Morris  ;  Ed- 
die, July  24,  1843,  died  November  5,  1870  ; 
Annie,  born  May  7,  1867  ;  and  Grace,  Septem- 
ber 12,  1876.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cody  are  members 
of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Morris.  He  is  now  en- 
gaged in  the  furniture  business,  in  partnershi[» 
ship  with-  N.  C.  Davis  ;  place  of  business  Nos. 
94  and  96  Liberty  street. 

WILLIAM  H.  CURTIS,  retired,  Morris.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  Rutland. 
Vt.,  born  December  24,  1817,  son  of  Thad 
deus  and  Charlotte  (Kimball)  Curtis,  who  came 
to  Grundy  County,  1848.  His  father  died  in 
Grundy  County,  September  3,  1857,  in  his 
sixty-sixth  3'car.  The  mother  died  in  Grundy 
County,  Januarj'  9,  lSli2,  in  her  seventy-fifth 
year.  Subject  came  to  Grund}'  County  in 
1846,  and  bought  land  in  Vienna  Township, 
where  he  made  his  home  until  coming  to  Mor 
ris,  Januarj",  1880.  Raised  and  educated  in 
Vermont.  Married  June  12,  1860,  to  Mrs. 
Jane  A.  Hollenbeck,  widow  of  Abraham  Hol- 
lenbeck.  She  is  a  native  of  Dutchess  County. 
N.  Y.,  February  13, 1817,  and  came  to  Grundy 
County  about  1850.  Mr.  Curtis  is  now  retired 
and  is  living  in  a  beautiful  residence  on  corner 
of  Benton  and  Spruce  streets.  Besides  his 
large  landed  interest  in  Vienna  Township,  of 
this  county,  he  owns  a  farm  of  1 1 2  acres  in  Sec- 
tion 25,  of  Brooktield  Township,  La  Salle 
County.  "Wolves!"  said  Mr.  Curtis,  "I  can 
tell  you  a  big  one,  but  nobody  will  believe  i1." 
"Let  us  have  the  benefit  of  the  story,"  said  the 
interviewer.  "  I  was  aroused  one  morning  to 
find  a  wolf  with  a  chicken.  I  had  no  dog  of 
my  own,  but  Dr.  Antis'  dog  happened  to  be 
under  my  shant}-.  He  gave  chase,  and  was 
soon  joined  by  William  Hinchman's  dog.  In 
order  to  encourasfc  the  dogs,  I  got  on  a  horse. 


1« 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


not  stopping  to  put  on  a  bridle,  and  followed 
after.  The^'  overhauled  him  on  a  pond  which 
had  a  considerable  thicivuess  of  ice,  but  they 
were  not  equal  to  the  wolf  not  being  used  to 
his  method  of  defense.  Thinking  to  help  the 
dogs,  I  got  off  my  horse  and  caught  the  wolf 
by  the  tail.  No  sooner  had  I  done  so  than  the 
dogs  left  me  to  engage  the  wolf  while  they  in- 
dulged in  a  fight  with  each  other.  In  this 
dilemma  I  conceived  the  idea  of  killing  my 
game  b3-  swinging  it  ovor-handed  and  bring- 
ing its  head  in  contact  with  the  ice.  This 
proved  a  failure,  for  the  first  impression  broke 
ihe  ice,  letung  us  into  three  feet  of  water.  Xow 
my  only  chance  was  to  drown  him,  and  after 
sever,il  attempts,  coupled  with  the  pitchfork  in 
the  hands  of  a  boy,  the  wolf  was  numbered 
with  the  slain." 

JOHN  B.  DAVIDSON,  broker,  Morris,  was 
born  in  Beaver  County,  Penn.,  Jauuarv  28, 
1815,  and  spent  his  boyhood  in  Eastern  Ohio. 
He  resided  about  twentj'  }'ears  in  the  towns  of 
Middleton,  Poland  and  Lowellville,  fifteen  years 
of  which  time  he  was  engaged  successfully  in 
the  dr}-  goods  trade,  and  was  five  years  Post- 
master of  Lowellville.  In  1845,  he  married 
Miss  Kate  Butler,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Julia  Al- 
t'ord,  of  the  city  of  .^lorris  ;  she  died  April  13, 
1858.  Before  his  arrival  here  in  1854,  Mr. 
Davidson  had  invested  exteusivel}'  in  city  real 
estate  and  farming  lauds  of  the  surrounding 
tountr}-.  The  first  year,  he  engaged  in  clerical 
work  until  he  could  arrange  to  go  into  business. 
lu  1855,  he,  in  connection  with  Walker  and 
Alford,  established  the  first  boot  and  shoe 
house  in  Morris  ;  he  soon  after  bought  the  in- 
terest of  Mr.  Walker.  This  store  was  located 
where  Goold's  drug  store  now  is,  and  in  1858 
Mr.  Davidson  and  his  partner  sold  to  Edwards 
&  Galloway.  Mr.  Davidson  was  elected  Alder- 
man of  the  Second  Ward  in  1857.  and  in  1860 
was  elected  Circuit  Clerk,  which  office  he  held 
tmtil  1868,  declining  another  term.  He  was 
married  again.  May  28,  1861,  to  a  daughter  of 


the  Rev.  Reuben  Frame,  at  the  time  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Morris.  Our  sub- 
ject is  now  engaged  as  a  banker  and  broker, 
being  among  the  leading  capitalists  of  the 
county.  He  is  a  Director  and  stockholder  in 
the  Morris  Bridge  Company,  the  Grundy  Coun- 
ty Bank,  and  the  Morris  Gas  Company,  and  is 
justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  city's  leading 
benefactors.     He  is  a  Republican. 

PHINEAS  DAVIS,  retired  farmer,  P.  O. 
Morris.  Mr.  Davis  was  born  in  Livingston 
County,  N.  Y.,  January  24,  1827.  He  came  to 
Illinois  in  1847,  and  settled  in  Kendall  County, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  and  lived  for  twen- 
ty-seven years.  In  March,  1874,  he  moved  to 
Morris,  Grundy  County,  and  bought  a  beautiful 
location  on  the  corner  of  Liberty  and  High 
streets.  He  was  married,  January  22,  1848, 
to  Miss  Maria  L.  Phipps,  of  New  Jersey. 
She  was  born  in  1822,  and  died  January  29, 
1879.  The  family  consists  of  two  sons — James 
L.,  born  March  28,  1849,  married  to  Elizabeth 
J.  Boj-er  ;  and  Uriah  C,  born  November  15, 
1851,  married  to  Miss  Nellie  Cody.  Our  sub- 
ject was  married  the  second  time,  Februar3-  24, 
1881,  to  Sallie  C,  Frasee,  widow  of  Barnard 
Frasee.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Morris. 

OLE  ERICKSON,  dry  goods,  boots  and 
shoes,  Morris,  is  a  native  of  Norwaj' ;  was  born 
October  6,  1850,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1866.  He  is  a  son  of  Erik  Erickson,  of 
Norway,  born  in  1803  :  the  latter  came  to  the 
United  States  July  20,  1880,  and  settled  in 
Minnesota  as  a  farmer,  that  being  his  occupa- 
tion ;  he  still  resides  there.  His  wife.  Marit 
(Svarthaugen)  Erickson.  was  born  in  Norway 
in  1812,  and  died  there  November  29,  1879. 
They  were  the  parents  of  three  children,  one 
son,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  two 
daughters.  Subject  was  eJucated  at  the  com- 
mon schools  in  Norwaj-  ;  was  raised  on  the 
farm,  and  worked  at  that  pursuit  a  short  time 
after  starting  for  himself,  but  soon  went  into  a 


MOmUS  CITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


17 


store.  When  he  first  came  to  the  Unites  States 
in  1866.  he  l)egan  as  clerk  at  Chicago  in  a  gro- 
er\-  store,  where  he  continued  some  three  j'ears  ; 
from  there  he  came  to  Morris,  May  17,  1869, 
and  started  a  drj'  goods  business  with  a  part- 
ner. This  he  continued  for  three  years,  when 
he  sold  out,  and  again  engaged  as  clerk,  which 
he  followed  about  eight  years.  On  the  12th  of 
November,  1880,  in  partnership  with  W.  B. 
Hull,  he  opened  a  full  store  of  dry  goods,  boots 
and  shoes,  and  they  are  now  doing  a  lively 
business.  Mr.  Erickson  was  married  in  Mor- 
ris, September  10,  1871,  to  Mary  M.,  daughter 
of  William  Frey,  of  this  place  ;  she  was  born 
November  23,  1851.  They  have  two  children, 
one  daughter,  Anna  M.,  born  November  1, 1872 ; 
and  one  son,  Albert  E.,  born  March  19,  1875. 
Subject  is  a  Lutheran,  and  his  wife  a  Methodist. 
Mr.  Erickson  has  been  Town  and  City  Collector 
for  two  years.     He  is  a  Republican. 

DR.  S.  T.  FERGUSON,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  March  7,  1845,  and  came 
to  Grundy  County  in  1854 ;  son  of  Daniel 
Ferguson,  who  was  also  a  native  of  New  York  ; 
of  Scotch  parentage,  born  about  the  year  1800  ; 
was  a  blacksmith  by  occupation,  and  died  of 
cholera  in  1854.  Immediately  after  his  death, 
his  wife,  Parmelia  Fowler,  also  a  native  of  New 
York,  born  in  1802,  came  to  Grundy  Count3-  with 
her  children,  and  died  in  Morris  in  1875.  The 
parents  raised  five  children — two  sons — of  whom 
our  subject  is  the  younger,  and  three  daugh- 
ters. Mr.  Ferguson  was  educated  at  the  com- 
mon schools  at  Morris,  afterward  taking  a  medi- 
cal course  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  and  Chicago, 
Hi.,  graduating  at  the  last-named  place  in  the 
class  of  1865.  He  began  business  for  himself 
as  clerk  in  a  drug  store  in  Morris,  which  he 
followed  about  seven  years  ;  thence  to  Ann 
Arbor,  where  he  attended  the  medical  school 
one  term,  and  then  to  Seneca,  in  La  Salle  County, 
and  practiced  medicine  about  one  year  ;  next 
he  went  into  the  army,  where  he  was  Surgeon 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-eighth  Illinois 


Infantry  for  four  months.  He  was  then  ap- 
pointed United  States  Surgeon,  and  sent  to  To- 
peka,  Kan.,  where  he  remained  about  a  year, 
including  what  time  was  spent  at  Lawrence. 
From  Topeka,  he  came  back  to  Morris,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business  ;  next  went  to  Mi- 
nooka,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Dr. 
William  P.  Pierce  in  a  general  practice,  where 
he  remained  about  thirteen  years  ;  from  there, 
subject  again  returned  to  Morris,  and  resumed 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  has  had  now 
nearl3-  twent}-  years  practice.  While  at  Mi- 
nooka.  Dr.  Ferguson  spent  two  winters  at  Chi- 
cago studj'ing  g^-nccology,  which  he  now  makes 
a  specialt3'  of.  Dr.  Ferguson  was  married  at 
Seneca,  August  2,  1863,  to  Emma,  daughter  of 
Joseph  R.  Obdycke,  of  Grundj'  County.  She 
died  April  15, 1881.  The  Doctor  is  a  Mason,  and 
has  taken  all  the  degrees,  from  E.  A.  to  Knight 
Templar.  He  is  a  Past  Master  of  Minooka  Lodge, 
No.  528,  and  has  filled  different  olHces  in  the 
Chapter  and  Commandery.  Subject  owns  some 
farm  lands  in  this  and  Kendall  Counties.  He 
is  a  Republican. 

CHARLES  D.  FERGUSON,  Sheriff,  Morris, 
was  born  near  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  May  31,  1839, 
and  is  a  son  of  Daniel  Ferguson,  who  was  also 
a  native  of  New  York,  born  in  1809,  a  black- 
smith by  occupation,  who  came  to  Grundj' 
Countj-,  III.,  in  1854,  and  purchased  a  tract  of 
land,  but  was  taken  with  cholera  and  returned 
to  New  York,  and  died  in  1854,  onl}-  living 
about  twenty -four  hours  after  I'caching  home. 
His  wife,  Amelia  (Fowler)  Ferguson,  was  born 
in  New  York  in  1804,  and  came  to  Illinois  in 
1854,  shortlj'  after  her  husband's  death,  bring- 
ing her  family,  and  settling  in  Morris,  where 
she  died  in  1874.  The  parents  raised  two  sons 
— subject  is  the  oldest — and  three  daughters. 
Subject  was  educated  in  New  York ;  began 
business  as  a  blacksmith,  which  he  followed 
about  twentj--five  years.  In  the  fall  of  1880, 
he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  Grundy  Country,  an 
office  he  now  holds.     He  has  had  charge  of  the 


18 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


steam  fire  engine  for  eleven  years — from  1869 
to  1880.  Mr.  Ferguson  married  first  in  Geneseo, 
N.  Y.,  April  9,  1861,  to  Louisa  Hall,  daughter 
of  John  Hall  of  that  place.  She  died  Novem- 
ber 24, 1861.  His  second  marriage  was  in  this 
county,  March  25, 1865,  to  Elizabeth  A.  Ent,  born 
March  25,  1844,  at  Stockton.  Hunterdon  Co., 
N.  J.,  and  is  an  onlj'  daughter  of  Asa  Ent,  of 
New  Jersey.  Tlie  children  are  as  follows : 
Fred  C.  born  March  31,  1866  ;  Harry  M.,  born 
September  19,  1870,  and  Eugene  Ray,  born 
January  24,  1874. 

JOSEPH  FESSLER,  saloon,  Morris,  is  a 
native  of  Germany,  born  December  16,  1850. 
When  our  subject  was'two  years  old,  his  mother 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and  settled  in 
Chicago,  his  father  having  died  in  Germany  in 
1851.  In  1861,  Mr.  Fessler  went  to  Minooka, 
Grundy  County,  and  lived  there  with  his  uncle 
(John  Schroedor)  until  the  fall  of  1866,  when 
Mr.  Schroeder  was  elected  Sherift'of  the  county, 
and  moved  to  Morris,  where  Mr.  Fessler  has 
since  lived.  He  was  Assistant  Warden  at  the 
time  of  the  lynching  of  Alonzo  Tibbits  in  1868. 
December  8,  1872,  he  married  Miss  Eva 
Becker,  of  Morris.  She  was  bora  in  Indiana 
November  25, 1852.  They  have  three  children 
— Carrie  L.,  born  February  14,  1875  ;  Bertha 
M.,  July  5,  1878,  and  Ernest  J.,  May  4.  1880. 
Subject  engaged  in  the  saloon  business  in  1873, 
witii  Charles  Wagner,  which  he  continued  until 
April,  1875,  when  he  purchased  the  interest  of 
Mr.  Wagner,  and  has  since  conducted  the  busi- 
ness alone.  His  saloon  is  located  on  Libert}- 
street ;  his  residence  on  Jefferson  street.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 

HIRAM  C.  GOOLD,  druggist,  Morris,  III., 
was  born  in  Orleans  County,  N.  Y.,  October  23, 
1821,  but  moved  to  Ontario  County,  N.  Y.,  at 
three  years  of  age,  where  he  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  during  his  earl}-  childhood.  His 
education  was  completed  at  the  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, at  Lima,  N.  Y.  When  twenty  years  of 
age,  he  began  teaching,  which  occupation  he 


followed  several  years.  Came  to  Illinois  in 
1845,  and  located  in  Putnam  County,  where  he 
taught  one  year  in  the  Granville  Academy. 
Went  to  Michigan  and  taught  two  years,  and 
then  came  to  Morris,  Grundy  County,  in  1848. 
Was  in  a  dry  goods  store  two  years  as  clerk. 
Then  went  to  California  by  the  overland  route, 
being  100  days  on  the  road.  Was  engaged  in 
Northern  California  in  mining  three  years. 
Then  returned  to  fMorris  and  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  business,  and  where  he  eventually 
went  into  the  drug  business.  Was  elected 
County  Superintendent  of  Schools  in  1852,  and 
filled  the  office  three  consecutive  terms  or  ten 
years,  the  duties  of  wiiich  office  he  filled  credit- 
ably to  himself  and  to  the  full  satisfaction  of 
the  people.  He  was  married,  at  Morris,  in  the 
fall  of  1853.  to  Clementine  L.  Baker,  born  in 
Genesee  County,  N.  Y.,  in  1824.  They  have 
one  son,  Hiram  B.,  who  is  his  father's  assistant 
in  the  drug  business.  Mr.  Goold  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  Church  since 
seventeen  years  of  age.  Has  always  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  temperance  movements  of 
the  county,  and  was  one  of  the  charter  mem- 
bers of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  of  Morris,  or- 
ganized in  1848.  Has  been  a  life-long  worker 
in  the  Sunday  school,  and  since  his  residence 
in  Morris  has  been  identified  with  the  Sunday 
schools  of  that  place,  the  principal  part  of  the 
time  as  Superintendent  of  the  Congregational 
school. 

JACOB  M.  GRIGGS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  April  12, 
1829.  He  came  to  the  site  of  Morris  in  1837, 
with  his  father,  who  built  the  second  house  in 
the  place,  in  1838.  The  father  died  in  Morris 
in  April,  1849.  Our  subject  attended  the  first 
school  ever  organized  in  Morris.  He  was  mar- 
ried. January  13,  1862,  to  Miss  Emma  Coch- 
ran, daughter  of  Samuel  Cochran,  of  Morris, 
born  February  28,  1840.  The  family  consists 
of  seven  children,  viz.,  Sigel  A.,  born  January 
25,  1863  ;  Henry  B.,  February  5,  1866  ;  Helen 


MORRIS  CITY   AND  TOWNSHIP. 


19 


J.,  March  1,  1868  ;  Minnie  M.,  November  14, 
1871  ;  Birdie  W.,  September  10,  1875  ;  Archie 
R.,  June  2,  1877  ;  Gracie  G.,  November  6, 
1879.  Mr.  Griggs  has  about  seventy-five  acres 
of  farm  land  in  Section  9  of  Morris  Township, 
and  one  hundred  acres  in  Section  IG  of  Sara- 
toga Township,  valued  at  $60  per  acre.  He  is 
associated  in  the  brick  and  tile  business  with 
Messrs.  Martin  and  Steep,  the  firm  known  as 
Griggs,  Martin  &  Steep.  Mr.  Griggs  is  a  per- 
sistent temperance  worker  and  a  Republican. 

MILES  GORDON,  joiner,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Franklin  County,  Me.,  January  22,  1820. 
He  came  to  Morris  in  1843,  and  has  been  a 
leading  contractor  in  his  line  of  business  dur- 
ing all  the  jears  of  his  residence  here.  In 
August,  1844.  our  subject  was  married  to  Miss 
Betsey  Judkins,  of  Maine  ;  this  union  has 
been  blessed  with  five  children. 

DR.  A.  F.  HAND,  Morris.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  may  be  classed  among  the 
earl}'  settlers  of  Grund}'  County,  having  come 
to  Morris  in  the  spring  of  1847,  and  re. 
sided  here  ever  since.  He  was  born  in  1816 
in  the  town  of  Shoreham,  Vt,  on  the  eastern' 
shore  of  Lake  Champlain,  directl}'  opposite 
Fort  Tieonderoga,  and  within  a  stone's  throw 
of  where  Ethan  Allen  embarked  to  cross  the 
lake  in  that  famous  surprise  of  his  on  the 
British  forces.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  left 
the  home  of  his  parents  and  came  West,  stop- 
ping for  a  short  time  at  Logansport,  Ind.,  at 
the  residence  of  his  half-brother,  Rev.  Martin 
Post.  He  next  found  his  wa^'  to  Jacksonville, 
111.,  and  two  years  later,  entered  the  Freshman 
class  as  a  student  in  Illinois  College,  gradu- 
ating in  the  scientific  course  of  that  institution 
four  years  afterward.  We  next  find  our  sub- 
ject at  Louisville,  JIo.,  where  lie  taught  school 
two  3'ears,  and  returning  to  Jacksonville  again, 
entered  the  medical  department  of  Illinois 
College,  and  three  years  later  obtained  his 
diploma  as  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  now  be- 
gan the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  spent 


two  years  with  the  distinguished  Dr.  Charles 
Chandler,  of  Chandlerville,  111.  In  the  spring 
of  1847,  through  the  influence  of  Hon.  Perry 
Armstrong,  subject  was  induced  to  come  to 
Morris,  where  he  has  since  resided  and  prac- 
ticed medicine.  Now,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  with 
a  moderate  competence  in  store,  he  has  de- 
clared his  intention  of  retiring  from  the  active 
pursuit  of  his  profession,  and  enjoying  the 
fruit  of  his  labors.  Dr.  Hand  was  married 
May  1,  1850,  in  Morris,  to  Sarah  E.  Clark,  born 
March  17,  1827,  in  Philadelphia,  a  daughter  of 
Job  Clark,  a  boot  and  shoe  merchant  of  Mil- 
ford,  Conn.  They  have  three  children — Edu- 
ella  Clark,  Truman  A.  and  Oliver  H.  Dr. 
Hand  is  a  United  States  Surgeon  for  examining 
pensioners.     He  is  a  Republican  in  polities. 

C.  H.  HANSEN,  boots  and  shoes,  hats  and 
caps,  Morris,  was  born  in  Denmark  April  1, 
1851,  son  of  Hans  Christen.  Subject  em- 
igrated to  this  couutiy  in  the  spring  of  1868 
and  traveled  for  two  or  three  years  through 
Southern  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  Illi- 
nois, Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  finally  settled  in 
Chicago.  He  began  business  there  in  1870,  in 
partnership  with  his  brother,  and  in  1873 
came  to  Morris  and  opened  a  store,  which  the 
brothers  have  continued  since.  In  1875,  our 
subject  took  a  trip  to  Europe,  and  spent  six 
months,  traveling  through  Germany,  Denmark. 
Sweden  and  England.  In  the  spring  of  1877. 
he  went  to  the  Black  Hills,  and  spent  about 
three  years,  running  a  mine  and  store.  After- 
ward, was  in  Montana  and  Wyoming  Territo- 
ries. He  came  back  to  Morris  in  the  fall  of 
1880,  and  after  taking  a  business  trip  back  to 
the  Territories  in  the  spring  of  1881,  again  re- 
turned to  Morris,  where  he  has  since  remained. 
He  was  married  in  Canada,  Januaiy  25,  1882, 
to  Susan  E.  Mason,  who  was  born  in  Canada  in 
1861.  Subject  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  ;  has  a  good  stock  of  goods  and  a  sat- 
isfactory trade.  R.  H.  Hansen,  brother  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Denmark  March  5,  1848, 


20 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


and  came  to  this  country  in  1867.  After  trav- 
eling for  some  time,  he  finall}-  settler!  and 
spent  one  summer  in  Minnesota.  From  there, 
he  came  to  Cook  County,  III.,  where  he  was  on 
a  farm  for  some  time.  He  next  engaged  as 
clerk  at  Chicago  in  a  boot  and  shoe  store, 
where  he  remained  till  1870,  and  then  started 
a  store  in  that  oitj^  for  himself.  This  he  con- 
ducted for  six  years,  and  in  1874,  opened  a 
branch  store  in  Morris.  In  187(5,  he  gave  up 
the  store  entirely  in  Chicago  and  came  to  this 
place.     He  is  non-partisan  in  politics. 

WILLIAM  T.  HOPKINS,  attorney,  Morris, 
was  born  in  Maine  October  5,  1819,  son  of 
David  Hopkins,  also  a  native  of  Maine,  born 
in  1779  ;  he  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
died  in  Maine  in  1860  ;  his  wife,  Esther 
(Trask)  Hopkins,  was  born  in  Maine  in  1781, 
and  died  in  1872,  at  the  old  homestead  in 
Maine.  Tlie  parents  raised  fourteen  children 
— nine  sons,  of  which  subject  is  the  sixth,  and 
five  daughters.  Subject  was  educated  in  the 
State  of  Maine,  and  read  law  at  Bangor,  that 
State.  Was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Morris,  111., 
in  1850,  and  at  once  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  which  he  still  continues.  Mr.  Hop- 
kins was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in 
Morris  from  1853  to  1855.  He  has  been 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  for  one 
term ;  was  elected  Judge  of  the  G-rundy 
County  Court  in  1861,  and  served  one  term  ; 
in  1864,  he  was  elected  Kepresentative  to  the 
Legislature  from  this  countj'  for  two  years  ;  he 
was  also  one  of  the  Electors  the  same  j'ear  on 
the  Republican  ticket,  which  cast  the  vote  of 
this  State  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  President. 
In  1865  and  ^866,  Mr.  Hopkins  was  one  of  the 
general  agents  of  the  Internal  Revenue  De- 
partment of  the  United  States.  Was  iu  the 
three-months  service  in  the  late  war,  and  raised 
a  company,  of  which  he  was  Captain.  In 
1863-64—65,  he  was  President  of  the  Sanitary 
and  Christian  Commission  for  this  district. 
Subject   was   married   in   Maine,   in   1846,  to 


Clara  H.,  daughter  of  Simon  Prescott ;  she 
was  born  September  20,  1824.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hopkins  having  no  children  of  their  own, 
raised  two  nieces — Hannah  Hopkins,  who  is 
now  the  wife  of  Allen  P.  Mallory,  and  Nora  J. 
Abbott,  wlio  is  now  an  invalid  at  her  adopted 
home  with  her  uncle.  Mr.  Hopkins  is  a 
Mason  ;  has  filled  most  of  the  offices  in  Lodge 
and  Chapter,  and  is  at  present  (1882)  Master 
of  the  Lodge  at  Morris.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  first  convention  that  formed  the  Republican 
party  in  this  State.  Self  and  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  Church.  Subject  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  President  Lincoln  from 
1850  to  the  time  of  his  death,  and  was  at  the 
convention  at  Chicago  that  nominated  Mr.  Lin- 
coln for  the  Presidency.  Mr.  .-Hopkins  is  still 
a  Republican. 

D.  C.  HUSTON,  restaurant  and  photogra- 
pher, Morris,  was  born  in  Grundy  County,  III., 
July  13, 1850.  Son  of  Charles  and  Jane  (Enos) 
Huston,  natives  of  New  York  State,  he  born 
about  the  3'ear  1809.  His  parents  raised  five 
children — two  daughters,  one  of  whom  died  in 
her  teens,  and  three  sous,  of  whom  our  sub- 
ject was  the  second.  He  commenced  his  edu- 
cation in  the  country  schools,  and  finished  it  in 
the  State  Normal  Institute  at  Bloomington,  111. 
His  first  work  was  farming,  but  after  finishing 
his  schooling  he  began  clerking  in  a  dr}-  goods 
establisinuent  at  Gardner.  This  occupation  he 
continued  in  different  places  until  in  1874. 
After  clerking  again  in  Gardner  for  a  few 
months,  he  began  traveling  for  the  Sherwood 
School  Furniture  Company,  with  which  firm  he 
continued  for  about  two  and  one-half  years, 
when  he  began  the  photograph  business,  which 
he  still  follows.  February  18,  1882,  he  opened 
a  restaurant,  which  he  still  carries  on.  April 
8,  1879,  in  Ottawa,  111.,  Mr.  Huston  married 
Annie  C.  Kiersted,  born  May  3,  1854,  daughter 
of  George  Kiersted  (deceased),  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  this  county.  This  marriage  has  re- 
sulted in  one  child — Mabel   C,  born   Maj*  9, 


MOIIUIS  CITY    AXl)   'i\)\VNSIIU'. 


21 


1881.  Mr.  Huston  is  a  member  of  tbe  Masonic 
fraternity  ;  lias  taken  the  degrees  of  tlie  Lfxlge 
and  Chapter  ;  he  is  a  Republican. 

H.  H.  IIOLTZM  AX,  stationery  and  news  de- 
pot, Morris,  was  born  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia November  3,  1837,  son  of  James  H.  and 
Sophia  (Sliell)  Holtzman,  both  natives  of  the 
District  of  Columbia.  He,  born  December  7,  ■ 
1815,  was  a  moi'chant,  and  died  November  12, 
1868;  she,  born  May  22,  181(5,  died  May  28, 
1868  ;  tlie3'  had  five  sons,  of  which  our  subject 
was  the  oldest,  and  six  daughters.  Mr.  Holtz- 
man was  educated  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and,  with  iiis  fath(n-  and  the  family,  came  to 
Morris  in  1855,  wliore  our  subject  engaged 
in  the  same  business  lie  follows  at  present,  ex- 
cept that  it  was  on  a  very  limited  scale,  lie 
has  increased  his  business  from  year  to  year 
until  he  now  has  a  large  and  commodious  store- 
room well  tilled  with  goods  and  controls  a  good 
trade.  He  is  no  partisan  in  politics  ;  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  Order,  and  has  taken  all 
the  degrees  from  E.  A.  to  K.  T.  Mr.  Holtz- 
man was  married,  in  this  county,  Ma}-  9,  18G9, 
to  Lucy  Hollands,  born  March  10,  1847.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Jane  (Smith)  Hol- 
lands, both  born  the  same  year,  1813.  She  died 
January  27, 1881.  He  still  lives  in  this  county. 
Mrs.  Holtzman  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

SAMUEL  HOLDKRMAN,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Mari<m,  Marion  Co.,  Ohio,  October  0,  1828 
His  parents  were  among  the  first  settlers  of 
Grundy  County,  settling  in  Holderman's  Grove, 
then  La  Salle  County,  in  1831.  Tlic  following 
year  (1832),  they  were  compelled  to  flee  to  the 
settlement  where  Pekin  now  stands  for  secur- 
ity from  the  Indians,  then  on  the  war-path.  In 
Jul}-,  1852,  our  subject  was  married  to  Miss 
Martha  H.  Coke,  daughter  of  Charles  H.  Coke, 
of  Grundy  County.  She  was  born  in  England 
September  15,  1830,  and  died  in  Felix  Town- 
ship, Grundy  County,  on  the  2f>th  of  April, 
1866.     The  result  of  this  union   was  six  chil- 


dren— Charles  H.,  born  January  19.  1854,  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Elizabeth  Peacock,  of  Morris ; 
Mary  E.,  born  May  22,  1855.  died  December 
25,  1877  ;  Charlotte  M.,  born  January  19, 1857, 
married  T.  Furgeson  in  April,  1880  ;  William 
E.,  born  December  22,  1858  ;  Caroline  M.,  Octo- 
ber 22,  1860,  and  Orville  S.,  December  5, 
1863.  During  the  life  of  his  first  wife,  Mr. 
Holdcrman  lived  on  a  tarm  in  Felix  Township, 
Grundy  County.  In  Januar\-,  1872,  ho  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Elizabeth  King,  widow  of  Alondas 
King,  and  sister  of  his  former  wife.  Mr.  Hol- 
dermau  has,  by  his  enterprise,  assisted  largely 
in  giving  character  to  the  business  of  his  county. 
He  is  now  engaged,  in  connection  with  his  two 
sons,  Charles  and  William,  in  the  stock  business 
in  Wyoming  and  Utah.  He  also  has  an  inter- 
est in  three  gold  and  silver  mines  in  Southern 
Utah.  With  these,  his  son-inlaw,  Furgeson,  is 
connected.  Mr.  Holdermau  spends  the  greater 
portion  of  his  time  in  the  West,  where  his  bus- 
iness interests  call  him.  His  residence  is  on 
Fremont  avenue,  Monis.  His  politics  are 
Republican. 

W.  D.  HITCHCOCK,  County  Clerk,  Morris, 
born  in  Champlain,  Clinton  Co.,  N.  Y.,  August 
16,  1857  ;  son  of  H.  1>.  Hitchcock,  born  at  s:ime 
place  in  1827.  The  father  came  to  Morris  in 
November,  1867,  and  was  Deputy  Clerk  four 
years.  In  1877,  was  electpd  Clerk,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  till  tlie  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  April  7,  1880.  His  wife,  Mary 
J.  (Cutting)  Hitchcock,  was  a  native  of  West- 
port,  Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.,  born  in  1833.  She  now 
lives  with  her  sou  (subject)  in  Morris.  The 
parents  raised  three  children— one  son  (subject), 
and  two  daughters.  Our  subject  was  educated 
at  the  High  School  at  Morris,  and  began  life  in 
the  dry  goods  business  as  salesman,  which  he 
followed  some  six  years.     From  there,  he  came 

'  into  the  Clerk's  office  as  Deputy  under  his 
father,  and  after  his  father's  death  he  was  elected 
to  fill  the  unexpired  term.     Republican  in  poli- 

:  tics  ;  belongs  to  the  Masonic  order. 


22 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


FRANCIS  HALL,  saloon,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Ciaclcmannan,  Scotland,  August  16,  1830. 
He  was  raised  and  educated  in  Scotland,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  in  June,  1855  ;  set- 
tled in  Penns3lvania  for  about  one  3'ear,  then 
in  September,  1856,  he  came  to  Morris,  Grundj' 
Co.,  111.,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  en- 
gaged in  the  coal  trade  for  several  j'ears  until 
1868.  In  1861,  he  sunk  the  first  shaft  made  on 
the  Conklin  road.  Since  1868,  he  has  been 
proprietor  of  the  saloon,  corner  of  Washington 
and  Wauponsee  streets  ;  residence  on  Washing- 
ton street.  He  was  married,  Februa'r\-  3,  1862, 
to  Miss  Margaret  Rankin,  of  De  Kalb  Countj-, 
111.  Mrs.  (Rankin)  Hall  was  born  January  24, 
1841.  The}-  have  a  family  of  nine  children, 
four  of  whom  are  dead.  They  are  Thomas  Hall, 
born  December  17,  1862  ;  Margaret  J.,  born 
April  5,  1865,  and  died  July  31,  1866  ;  Chris- 
tina M.,  born  June  26,  1867,  and  died  October 
17,  1868;  Francis,  born  September  11,  1869; 
Jennie,  born  February  19,  1872  and  died  Octo- 
ber 22,  1875  ;  Lillio,  born  August  3,  1874,  and 
died  September  30, 1875  ;  JJdward,  born  August 
13,  1876;  Jessie,  born  May  27,  1879;  Isabel, 
born  June  18,  1882, 

JOHN  K.  HARRISON,  mechanic,  Morris,  is 
a  native  of  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  born  July  7, 
1828,  and  raised  in  Montgomery  County,  N.  Y. 
He  learned  the  carpenter  trade  under  his  father, 
serving  five  j'ears,  and  afterward  served  a  two- 
year's  apprenticeship  as  millwright.  He  was 
married,  December  31,  1847,  to  Miss  Phila 
Jones,  of  New  York.  She  was  born  March  2, 
1830,  Mr,  Harrison  came  to  Morris  in  1852, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  mostlj- 
at  his  trade.  August  7,  1862,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  C,  Seventj'-sixth  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry,  to  which  regiment  he  belonged 
till  1864,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Sixty-fourth  U.  S.  C.  I.,  acting  as  Commis- 
sary Sergeant.  He  continued  in  this  regi- 
ment until  January  1,  1866,  when  he  was 
discharged.     During  his  entire  service,  he  was 


emploj-ed  in  the  Quartermaster  and  Commissary 
Department.  After  the  war,  he  came  home, 
and  remained  about  eighteen  mouths,  when  he 
went  South,  and  engaged  in  raising  cotton  in 
its  season,  and  working  at  his  trade  in  the  win- 
ter. The  family  consists  of  eight  children — 
only  three  living.  They  are  William  Henry, 
born  in  1854:  Thomas  Jefferson,  born  in  1858, 
and  Ida  Isabel,  born  September  23,  1862. 
Those  deceased  are  Adelphy  A.,  born  in  1847  : 
Mary,  born  in  1849  ;  both  died  in  New  York  in 
December,  1857  ;  John  J.,  born  in  1863,  died 
in  Grundy  County  in  1863  ;  Josephine,  born  in 
1852,  died  in  Grundy  County  in  1853,  and 
Eugene  M.,  born  in  1867,  and  died  in  Mississippi 
in  1875.  Mrs.  Harrison  is  a  Methodist;  Mr. 
Harrison  is  a  Democrat. 

RICHARD  HUGHES,  saloon,  Morris,  is  a 
native  of  Count}-  .Alayo,  Ireland;  was  born  in 
June,  1835.  His  parents  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1846,  and  settled  in  Ports- 
mouth, Va.,  where  our  subject  was  principally 
educated.  He  served  an  apprenticeship  of 
three  years  at  the  trade  of  confectioner.  About 
1855,  he  came  to  Morris,  Grundy  Co.,  111.,  and 
engaged  in  farming  until  the  breaking-out  of 
the  war.  In  July,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pau\-  C,  Seventy-sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infan- 
try. He  was  appointed  Second  Lieutenant  at 
the  organization  of  the  company  ;  was  pro- 
moted to  the  post  of  First  Lieutenant  in 
1864,  and  was  mustered  in  as  Captain  of  Com- 
pany C  in  1865,  at  Blakely,  Ala.  He  partici- 
pated in  about  twentj--seven  engagements,  in- 
cluding the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  siege  of  Blakelj-, 
Jackson  Cross-Roads,  etc.  He  had  six  broth- 
ers also  in  the  war,  all  younger  than  himself; 
one  of  them  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh; 
three  of  them,  including  himself,  were  wounded 
at  Blakely,  Ala.,  subject  receiving  two  wounds. 
Since  the  war,  he  has  been  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  Morris;  is  now  associated  with  Mr. 
J.  O.  Levette,  on  Washington  street  ;  his  resi- 
dence is  on  the  corner  of  Division   and  North 


MORRIS  CITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


28 


streets,  Morris.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I. 
0.  O.  F. 

EBENEZER  HYDE,  retired  merchant, 
Morris,  was  born  Februar3'  21,  1811,  in  Berk- 
shire County,  Mass.,  where  he  was  raised  and 
educated,  and  where  he  lived  until  1852,  with 
the  exception  of  two  3'ears  spent  in  Conneeti- 
ont.  During  the  years  1852-53,  he  was  in 
Aurora,  III.,  in  the  lumber  trade.     Tlie    \-ear 

1854,  he  spent  in   Chicago.     In   the  spring  of 

1855,  he  moved  to  Morris,  Grundy  County, 
where  he  has  since  resided,  and  for  eighteen 
3"ears  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  from 
which  he  has  now  retired.  He  owns  a  farm  ten 
miles  south  of  Morris,  which  he  rents;  his  resi- 
dence is  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Calhoun 
streets.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Louisa  Bulkley,  widow 
of  A.  P.  Bulkley,  resides  with  subject ;  A.  P- 
Bulklej'  was  born  October  15,  1812  ;  died  Au- 
gust 15, 1872.  They  have  one  daugiitor — Mary 
L.  (Bulkley)  Gore  born  March  29,  1858,  mar- 
ried to  William  H.  Gore  February  2,  1882. 
William  H.  Gore  was  born  in  Saratoga  Town- 
ship, Grundj-  County,  Juh'  12,  1851.  Is  now 
engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  Chicago.  Mr. 
Ebenezer  Hyde,  our  subject,  is  a  Republican. 

PHILLIP  HART,  grocer,  Jlorris.  is  a  native 
of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  born  December 
17,  1827  ;  received  a  common  scliool  education 
in  Gerraan\'  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1846;  worked  in  New  York  City  at  the  barber 
business  for  about  six  years.  In  1850,  he  re- 
moved to  Buffalo,  where  he  kept  hotel  until 
1853.  In  1854,  he  settled  in  Morris,  Grundy 
Countj-,  where  he  has  engaged  in  various  kinds 
of  business,  principally  as  proprietor  of  the 
American  House,  and  afterwai'din  the  grocery 
business,  in  which  he  is  now  engaged,  in  Hart's 
Block,  Liberty  street.  He  was  married,  in  May, 
1848,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Goering,  of  Germany  ; 
she  was  born  March  7,  1826.  They  have  had 
six  children — Catharine,  born  February  12, 
1851;  and  Lena,  born  September  11, 1854;  botii 
died  in  infancy;  JIary,  born  February  16,  1801, 


died  Januarj'  16,  1863;  Eliza,  born  September 
16,  1857,  married.  May  31,  1881,  to  Frederick 
Harmening  ;  George,  born  December  22,  1858, 
married  to  Miss  Mollie  Ilynds;  and  William, 
born  July  10,  1867. 

JOHN  IIxVRT,  meclianic,  Morris,  was  born 
on  the  17th  of  March,  1838,  in  Elizabeth, 
Peuu.  His  parents,  James  and  Rebecca  Hart, 
came  to  Grundy  County,  his  father  in  1839  and 
his  mother,  with  the  family,  in  1840.  His  father 
died  in  Morris  on  the  1st  of  Januarj-,  1844. 
His  mother,  Rebecca  (Simpson)  Hart,  was  born 
in  Irolauil  in  1803  ;  died  in  Morris  November 
8,  1846.  John,  being  left  an  orphan  at  the  age 
of  nine  years,  early  acquired  habits  of  indus- 
try. At  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  began  the'tra<le 
of  blacksmithina;,  under  Jlartin  Hines,  serving 
as  an  apprentice  three  years,  since  which  time 
he  has  worked  at  his  trade  in  Morris,  with  the 
exception  of  three  years,  from  1859  to  1862, 
spent  in  Sacramento,  Cal.  He  is  now  located 
on  Canal  street,  between  Fulton  and  Calhoun 
streets,  where  he  has  run  a  shop  for  the  past 
fifteen  j'ears.  He  was  married,  on  the  6th  of 
March,  1859,  to  Miss  Ellen  Ward,  a  native  of 
Ireland.  Thev  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church  of  Morris.  Mr.  Hart  is  among  the 
very  first  inhabitants  of  Morris,  and  attended 
the  first  school  ever  conducted  in  tlie  town.  In 
politics,  he  is  strictly  independent.  Residence 
on  the  corner  of  Fremont  avenue  and  Oak 
street. 

JAMES  HORRIE,  carriage-maker,  Morris, 
was  born  in  the  Orkney  Islands,  Scotland,  Sep- 
tember 27,  18-7,  and  was  raised  and  educated 
in  the  home  of  his  nativity,  where  he  served  an 
apprenticeship  of  four  years  at  the  blacksmith 
trade,  which  he  still  follows.  He  came  from  liis 
native  place  to  Grundy  County,  III,  and  settled 
in  Morris  in  1848.  August  20,  1850,  lie  mar- 
ried Miss  Catharine  Anderson,  of  Scotland. 
She  was  born  February  26,  1828.  The  family 
consists  of  eight  children — Jane,  born  June  16, 
1851,  married  to  William  Handwerk  Januarj' 


24 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


11,  1876;  James  A.,  boni  July  10,  1853,  mar- 
ried Lo  Bliss  Nina  Holly  November  24,  1875; 
Robert  C.,  born  November  7.  1855,  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Baird  November  7,  1877;  Joseph 
W.,  born  February  13,  1858;  Catharine  A., 
born  April  5,  1800;  William  J.,  born  January 
15,  1863;  John  C,  born  January  23,  1865,  and 
Minnie,  born  September  17,  1807.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Horrie  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Morris.  He  is  a  Republican,  and 
served  as  Alderman  one  term.  Residence  on 
Main  street;  carriage  manufactory  on  Canal 
street. 

C.  F.  IIARMENING,  tailor,  Morris,  was  born 
in  Germany  May  17,  1854,  and  was  there  edu- 
cated; he  is  the  son  of  Frod  Harmoning,  who 
was  also  born  in  Germany.  Our  sulijcct  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  December  16, 1871, 
and  stopi)ed  in  New  York  City  for  two  years, 
where  he  followed  the  tailoring  business;  from 
there  he  wont  to  Rock  Island,  111.,  where  he 
continued  his  business  about  two  years;  thence 
to  Geneseo,  where  he  remained  about  three 
yeai-s;  then  to  Morris,  in  October,  1878,  where 
he  has  been  ever  since,  and  where  he  controls 
a  good  trade.  Mr.  Harmening  was  married  in 
Morris,  May  31,  1881,  to  Eliza,  daughter  of 
Phil  Hart,  of  this  place;  she  was  born  in  De- 
cember, 1857.  Mr.  Harmening  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church;  he  is  a 
Democrat. 

LEANDER  IRONS,  hardware  merchant, 
Morris,  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  April  4, 
1840;  son  of  James  Irons,  a  native  of  that 
State,  born  in  1793.  and  is  now  living  (1882)  in 
the  town  of  Mazon,  in  this  couutj-.  His  wife, 
Phebe  (Steere)  Irons,  was  a  native  of  the  same 
State;  was  born  about  1800,  and  died  in  1850. 
Subject  came  to  this  State  in  the  summer  of 
1801,  and  was  educated  at  the  common  schools 
of  Rhode  Island;  was  apprenticed  to  a  jeweler 
for  five  years,  which  time  he  served  ont.  When 
he  first  came  to  this  county  in  1801,  he  taught 
school  one  term  south  of  Morris.  After  return- 


ing from  the  army,  he  began  in  the  express 
office,  where  he  remained  nearly  a  .year;  then 
began  clerking  in  the  hardware  establishment 
of  B.  C.  Church  &  Co.,  at  Morris;  remained 
there  till  Church  sold  out  to  John  Gross,  the 
firm  name  changing  to  Geisen  &  Gross,  subject 
remaining  with  them  a  short  time;  from  there 
subject  and  Mr.  Church,  his  former  employer, 
purchased  the  stock  of  H.  C.  Pettey's  hardware 
store,  and  began  for  himself.  This  firm 
changed  its  name  several  times  afterward,  but 
our  subject  was  a  member  of  each  new  firm. 
At  the  last  change,  Mr.  Riddle  bought  out  J.  H. 
Pettit.  the  firm  name  now  being  Irons  &  Riddle. 
They  have  a  verj'  satisfactory  trade.  Subject 
has  been  Citj-  Treasurer  one  term.  Alderman 
two  years,  Chief  of  Fire  Department  one  terra. 
Mr.  Irons  enlisted  in  the  Federal  army  in  July, 

1802,  in  Company  C,  Seveut3'-sixth  Illinois  In- 
fantrj-;  was  disabled  the  following  November  at 
Boliver,  Tenn.,  and   was  discharged  in  April, 

1803,  at  St.  Louis;  he  enlisted  as  a  private,  and 
was  Quartermaster  Sergeant  of  the  reirinient 
when  discharged.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  order,  and  has  taken  all  the  de- 
grees from  E.  A.  to  Knigiit  Templar.  Has 
filled  the  Blaster's  place  of  his  lodge,  and  has 
been  H.  P.  of  his  Chapter  for  the  past  six  years; 
also  fills  prominent  offices  in  the  Commandery. 
He  was  married  iu  Morris,  June  6,  1800,  to 
Mary  Stauberry,  daughter  of  Eugene  Stanberry, 
of  this  place.  The}'  have  two  children — Byron 
L.  and  Willie  T.     Mr.  Irons  is  a  Republican. 

WILLIAM  A.  JORDAN,  Postmaster  and 
dealer  in  agricultural  implements,  Morris,  was 
born  at  Hudson,  Columl)ia  Co.,  N.  Y.,  July  17, 
1829,  son  of  Allen  Jordan,  a  prominent  lawyer 
of  that  place,  who  was  born  Februarv  3,  1798. 
He  came  to  Illinois  witli  liis  family  in  May, 
1847,  and  settled  at  Plainfield,  Will  County; 
from  there  came  to  Kendall  County,  and,  after 
spending  quite  a  number  of  years  in  that 
county,  he  again  returned  to  Will  Count}-, 
where  he  now  resides.     His  first  wife,  Catharine 


MORRIS  CITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


25 


Dayton,  who  was  the  mother  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Rhode  Island  about  1808,  and  died 
in  February,  1834,  at  Hudson,  N.  Y.  There 
were  but  two  children  b}'  the  first  wife — sub- 
ject and  one  sister;  she  was  born  in  1831,  and 
died  in  1838.  Subject  was  educated  at  the 
Hudson  Academy.  He  began  life  as  a  farmer 
in  Kendall  Count3-,  111.,  in  1848,  continuing  in 
this  till  about  1865;  then  sold  his  farm  and  en- 
gaged in  the  agricultural  implement  business 
at  Minooka,  Grundy  County,  where  he  carried  on 
a  very  large  trade  in  this  line  for  quite  a  num- 
ber of  years.  He  came  from  Minooka  to  Mor- 
ris in  the  fall  of  1870,  and  resumed  the 
agricultural  business,  and  is  running  the  lead- 
ing business  in  that  line  at  this  place,  known  as 
the  Grundj-  County  Agricultural  Warehouse. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
for  several  years.  Was  appointed  Postmaster 
at  Morris  January  19,  1882,  by  President 
Arthur,  a  position  he  now  fills  very  acceptably. 
He  is  Republican  in  politics.  Is  a  member  of 
the  jNIasonic  fraternit}-.  He  was  married,  No- 
vember 1,  1853,  at  Ottawa,  La  Salle  Co.,  111.,  to 
Annie  E.  Wing,  daughter  of  Capt.  Clifton  Wing, 
of  Sandwich,  Mass.  She  was  born  January  26, 
1834.  They  have  had  seveu  children  born  to 
them,  only  four  of  whom  are  living — two  sons 
— Clifton  and  Frank,  and  two  daughters — Kate 
and  Annie.. 

ALVAH  R.  JORDAN,  lawyer,  Morris,  is  a 
native  of  Kennebunk,  Me.,  and  was  born  De- 
cember 13,  1844.  He  received  a  classical  edu- 
cation in  Schenectadj',  N.  Y.  In  1861,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  G,  Thirty-siith  Illinois 
Infantry,  and  served  about  six  months,  when 
he  was  discharged  in  consequence  of  injuries 
received  at  Raleigh,  Mo.  Soon  after  recover- 
ing, he  again  enlisted,  this  time  in  Companj'  I, 
of  Sixty-ninth  Illinois  Infantry,  holding  the 
commission  of  Second  Lieutenant,  and  serving 
the  full  term  of  its  enlistment..  He  began  the 
practice  of  law  at  Morris  in  1869,  and  has 
succeeded  in   building  up  an  enviable  reputa- 


tion in  his  profession.  He  is  a  standard 
Republican,  and  has  served  his  county  in  the 
capacity  of  State's  Attorney  for  nine  continu- 
ous years.  He  was  married,  June  18,  1869,  to 
Miss  Sarah  D.  Parmelee,  daughter  of  Charles 
R.  Parmelee,  of  Grundy  County.  She  was 
born  in  Du  Page  County,  111.,  March  20,  1845. 

E.  F.  JOHNSTON,  restaurant,  Morris,  is  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  August  28,  1830, 
son  of  James  Johnston,  who  was  one  of  the 
old  settlers  of  Western  l^ennsylvania ;  he  was 
born  in  1803  ;  was  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
and  died  in  Pennsylvania  in  1876.  His  wife, 
Elizabeth  (Rigb})  Johnston,  a  Quakeress,  was 
born  in  1806,  and  died  about  1S65.  The  par- 
ents raised  seven  children — five  sons,  of  whom 
subject  is  the  eldest,  and  two  daughters.  Sub- 
ject was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  began  in  the  nail-cutting 
business,  which  he  followed  about  three  j'ears, 
when  he  was  forced  to  leave  it  on  account  of 
failing  health.  He  then  learned  the  mason's 
trade,  which  he  followed  twelve  years.  He 
came  to  Morris  in  1855.  Mr.  Johnston  did 
the  mason  work  of  many  of  the  best  buildings 
of  Morris,  including  the  court  house.  He 
began  in  the  restaurant  business  in  1860, 
which  he  has  followed  to  the  present  time. 
He  has  a  good  trade,  and  runs  the  leading 
house  of  its  kind  in  the  city.  He  was  married 
in  this  place,  December  31,  1857,  to  Jennie  M. 
Wallace,  born  in  Ohio  February  27,  1837, 
daughter  of  William  Wallace,  of  Scotch  de- 
scent, born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1812 ;  he  is 
now  living  in  Texas.  Alethea  Gund}-,  his  wife, 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1815,  and  died 
there  iu  1850.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnston  are  the 
parents  of  two  children — Ettie  F.  and  Carrie 
M.  Mr.  Johnston  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0. 
0.  F.,  and  a  Republican. 

GEORGE  M.  JONES,  furniture  and  under- 
taking, Morris,  born  at  Morris  November  25, 
1846,  son  of  J.  B.  Jones  (who  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  about  1816)  and  Mary  (Tyrrell) 


26 


BIOGRAPHICAL : 


Jones,  a  native  of  Canada.  J.  B.  Jones  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  this  place.  He 
raised  two  sons,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the 
older,  and  one  daughter.  Subject  was  prin- 
cipally educated  at  Morris,  finishing,  however, 
at  Aurora  Seininarj-.  G-raduated  in  the  class 
of  1868.  Subject  spent  his  bo3'hood  days  la 
the  store  which  he  now  occupies,  with  his 
father,  who  was  then  proprietor.  After  arriv- 
ing at  the  age  of  maturity,  he,  in  connection 
with  J.  W.  Lawrence,  l)ought  his  father  out  in 
1877,  and  from  tliat  time  they  have  carried  on 
the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Jones  & 
Lawrence.  Mr.  Jones  has  been  Town  and 
City  Collector  two  3-ears,  and  Alderman  four 
years.  He  was  married  in  this  city,  October 
29,  1872,  to  Sophia  Hazleton.  She  was  born 
in  Milwaukee  June  17,  1853,  and  is  a  daughter 
of  C.  P.  Hazleton,  now  of  Morris.  Subject 
has  two  children,  both  girls,  viz.,  Mamie  and 
Bertie,  iin:  Jones  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  0. 
F.  and  a  Democrat. 

T.  J.  KELLY,  liquors,  grocerj-,  etc.,  Morris, 
born  in  Morris  May  8,  1856  ;  son  of  Patrick 
Kelly,  wiio  was  born  in  Ireland  ;  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  and  settled  in  this  town, 
where  he  died.  There  were  three  children  — 
one  son  (subject),  and  two  daugliters.  Subject 
was  educated  at  the  public  schools  of  Morris. 
Started  for  himself  in  1873,  as  grocerj'  clerk  for 
N.  K.  Keller,  and  was  with  him  seven  }'ears. 
In  1880,  he  engaged  to  N.  Hanna,  as  clerk  in 
the  same  store,  in  which  he  now  sells  goods ; 
was  with  him  two  j-ears.  On  the  4th  of  April, 
1881,  he,  in  partnership  with  Thomas  P.  Rey- 
nolds,  opened  a  grocery  store  on  Liberty  street, 
where  they  continued  till  October  5,  1881,  at 
that  date  moving  to  tiie  corner  of  Washington 
and  Fulton  streets,  where  the^'  now  have  a 
flourishing  trade.  Mr.  Kelly  was  married,  at 
Eureka,  111.,  August  U,  1880,  to  Annie  O'Hara, 
daughter  of  John  O'Hara.  She  was  born  in 
August,  1863.  They  have  one  child — a  daugh- 
ter— Mary  Theresa.     Mr.  Kell3^  is  non-partisan 


in  politics.     He  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

LEWIS  P.  LOTT,  retired  merchant,  Morris, 
was  born  in  1813,  in  Covert,  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y.  ; 
is  a  son  of  Zephaniah  and  Permilla  (Phelps) 
Lott.  He  was  born  in  Pennsjivania  in  1775  ; 
pursued  farming  for  sixty  years  on  the  same 
farm  in  Covert,  N.  Y.,  and  died  July  5,  1855. 
She  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1780  ;  died  at 
Covert,  N.  Y.,  April  13, 1863.  The  parents  had 
thirteen  children,  eleven  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity.  Our  subject  attended  the  common 
schools  of  New  York  until  thirteen  years  of 
age,  and  then  went  to  Canandaigua  where  he 
learned  the  printer's  trade.  He  worked  as  a 
journej'man  at  Cleveland  for  about  two  years, 
and  then,  forming  a  partnership  with  a  friend, 
commenced  a  general  book  business,  which  he 
continued  at  Cleveland  for  twelve  or  fifteen 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Kirtland,  Ohio, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  busi- 
ness for  two  and  a  half  years  ;  then  for  two  or 
three  years  in  the  general  merchandising  busi- 
ness at  Warren,  Ohio.  He  next  went  to  Racine, 
Wis.,  where  he  again  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  for  several  years  ;  and,  in  March,  18-18, 
moved  to  this  place,  where  he  still  resides.  Mr. 
Lott  was  married,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  February 
22,  184-1.  to  Delia  Lloyd  Clark,  born  in  Phila- 
delphia September  29,  1821,  a  daughter  of  Job 
and  Sarah  Humphrey  (Chilcott)  Clark.  He 
was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1737,  and  died  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  1839.  She  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1787,  and  died  in  Ohio  in  1849. 
This  union  resulted  in  four  children,  two  of 
whom  died  in  infancy  ;  one  son,  Frank  Clark, 
died  in  his  fourteenth  j-ear.  The  eldest  son, 
Edward  L.,  only  survives.  Mr.  Lott  owns  200 
acres  of  improved  land,  besides  good  town  pro- 
perty. He  was  Deputy  Clerk  for  eight  years, 
and  has  been  Supervisor,  Alderman,  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Schools,  School  Treasurer  ; 
for  a  number  of  years  Chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  and  Justice  of  the  Peace  ;  Mas- 


MORRIS  CITY   AND  TOWNSHIP. 


27 


ter  of  the  Masonic  Lodge,  and  H.  P.  of  his 
Chapter.  Is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  in 
which  he  has  passed  tiiroiigh  the  different  olflce.s. 
Mrs.  Lott  is  a  Baptist ;  Mr.  Lott  is  a  Repub- 
lican. 

aEORGE  W.  LANE,  retired  grain  dealer, 
Morris,  was  born  in  Maine  April  19,  1817,  son 
of  Joshua  Lane,  born  in  New  Hampshire,  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1788,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  a 
good  classical  scholar,  a  zealous  member  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  and  died  December  15,  1859, 
in  Morris.  Parents  raised  two  children,  one 
son,  our  subject,  and  one  daughter.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  the  State  of 
Maine  finishing  at  Kent's  Hill  Seminary,  in 
Kennebec  County.     He  was  raised  on  the  farm. 

CHARLES  C.  MARTIN,  molder,  Morris, 
was  born  October  19,  1848,  in  Fayette  County, 
Penu.,  and  is  a  son  of  J.  B.  and  Sarah  (Hamil- 
ton) Martin,  the  latter  of  whom  died  in  the 
spring  of  1859,  in  Pennsylvania.  In  the  spring 
of  1861,  the  father  of  our  subject  removed  to 
Morris,  Grund}'  Couuty,  and  engaged  in  brick- 
making  ;  he  now  resides  in  Ottawa,  111.  Our 
subject  received  the  greater  part  of  his  school- 
ing in  Morris.  In  1864,  when  less  than  sixteen 
years  of  age,  he  enlisted  in  Company  H,  One 
Hundred  and  Thirty-eighth  Regular  Illinois 
Volunteers,  in  which  he  served  several  mouths. 
He  is  now  engaged  with  Messrs.  Griggs  and 
Steep  in  the  manufacture  of  draiu-tile  and 
brick,  the  firm  being  known  as  Griggs,  Martin 
&  Steep.  May  5,  1869,  Mr.  Martin  married 
Miss  Lydia  A.  Hart,  a  native  of  Belmont 
County,  Ohio,  Ijorn  January  23,  1848.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  and  Rachel  (Thomas) 
Hart  ;  he  was  born  June  17,  1817,  died  Janu- 
ary 26,  1882  ;  she  was  born  August  28,  1813 
and  is  now  living  in  Odell,  Livingston  Co.,  111. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  have  five  children — Leon- 
idas  A.,  born  December  19,  1870  ;  Lillie  May, 
August  2,  1872;  Charles  Wilford,  April  U, 
1875;  Grace  M.,  December  19,  1877;  and 
James  Garfield,  born  May  29,  1880.  Mrs.  iMar- 


tin  is   a  member  of  the  Methodist  EpiscopaJ 
Church  ;  Mr.  Martin  Ijelongs  to  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 

T.  R.  MINKLER,  agricultural  implements, 
Morris,  was  born  in  New  York  January  12, 
1832 ;  son  of  Peter  Minkler,  born  in  New 
York  in  178S.  Tlie  latter  moved  to  Illinois, 
in  1833,  with  his  fiimilj-,  and  settled  in  Specie 
Grove,  Kendall  County,  where  he  took  a  claim 
of  between  two  hundred  and  three  hundred 
acres  ;  there  he  lived  till  just  before  the  war. 
He  then  sold  out  and  moved  to  Ogle  County, 
where  he  again  bought  land,  settled  on  it,  and 
lived  there  till  the  time  of  his  deatli,  which 
occurred  in  1881,  in  his  ninetj'-third  year. 
There  were  eight  children,  five  boys,  of  whom 
our  subject  is  the  youngest,  and  three  girls. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  at  the 
common  schools  of  Kendall  Count}',  and  spent 
his  eai'ly  life  on  the  farm,  which  occupation  he 
continued  till  1860,  since  that  time  he  has  been 
engaged  in  the  agricultural  implement  busi- 
ness, in  Morris.  For  twenty-one  years  he  act- 
ed as  salesman  in  this  Ijusiness,  and  in  the  fail 
of  1881  opened  an  implement  warehouse  for 
himself,  where  he  does  a  satisfactory  business. 
August  the  9th,  1863,  our  subject,  while  out 
on  a  hunting  expedition  with  some  friends 
from  Chicago,  accidentally  let  his  gun  go  off, 
fearfully  fracturing  his  right  arm  between  the 
elbow  and  shoulder,  rendering  it  necessary  to 
have  the  same  amputated  near  the  shoulder, 
which  was  very  successfully  done.  Mr.  Mink- 
ler was  married  first  in  Saratoga.  Grundy  Coun- 
ty, in  1853,  to  Sarah  A.  Conklin,  daughter  of 
C.  G.  Conklin  ;  she  died  in  1856.  He  was 
married  the  second  time  to  Elizabeth  Conklin, 
a  sister  of  his  first  wife  ;  she  died  in  1874.  He 
has  one  sou  by  his  first  wife — Henry — and  five 
children  by  the  second  wife,  viz.,  one  son  Horace, 
and  four  daughters — Larissa,  Carrie,  Hattie 
and  Louise.  Mr.  Minkler  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics. 

N.   McBRIDE,    insurance    and    surveying, 
money  loaner,  etc.,  Morris,  was  born  in  Florence, 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Pennsylvania,  June  13,  1824  ;  son  of  James 
MoBrkle,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  July 
20,  1790  ;  the  latter  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion, and  died  in  1857.  His  wife,  Jane  (Wick) 
McBride,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  June, 
1800,  and  died  in  1859.  The  parents  raised 
six  cliildren,  three  sons,  of  whom  our  subject  is 
the  oldest,  and  three  daughters,  one  of  whom 
is  now  dead.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
educated  at  Mercer,  Penn.,  at  Mercer  College, 
and  began  life  as  a  surveyor,  also  engaged  in 
engineering  and  general  speculating  business. 
He  came  to  Illinois  in  1855,  and  settled  in  Mor- 
ris ;  has  been  in  the  insurance  business  twenty- 
seven  years,  Police  Magistrate  twenty  years, 
and  was  County  Surveyor  ten  years.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1881,  our  subject  purchased,  in  company 
with  several  prominent  men  of  Chicago,  Mor- 
ris and  other  places,  what  is  known  as  the 
Keystone  Mine,  style  of  the  firm  being  "  Key- 
stone Consolidated  Mining  Co."  This  mine  is 
located  in  Summit  County,  Colo.,  and  promises 
to  be  very  rich.  Mr.  McBride  was  first  mar- 
ried in  Ohio,  to  Lydia  Davidson,  April  29, 
1846  ;  she  died  in  1870,  in  Morris.  His  second 
marriage  was  May  2,  1877,  to  A.  F.  English,  of 
Chicago,  daughter  of  Jacob  English,  of  Lj'com- 
ing  Count}',  Penn.  Our  subject  had  bj-  his  first 
wife  five  children,  four  of  whom  are  now  living, 
three  sons— J.  W.,  T.  C.  and  N.  E.,  the  last  two 
live  in  Chicago,  and  the  first  in  Colorado,  and 
one  daughter,  Maggie,  wife  of  H.  A.  Cagwin,  of 
Gardner,  tiiis  county.  Mr.  McBride  owns  a 
residence  in  West  Side  Morris.  He  has  been  a 
pension  and  claim  attorney,  and  has  given  to 
ex-soldiers  $4,000  or  $5,000,  in  reduction  of 
of  fees.  He  is  a  candidate  for  County  Judge, 
and  a  Republican. 

DAVID  NICKEL,  iron  molder,  Morris,  was 
born  in  Mercer  County,  Penn.,  August  28 
1851.  His  parents  removed  to  MtT  Carroll, 
Carroll  Co.,  111.,  when  he  was  two  years  old. 
Here  the}-  remained  one  year,  then  moved  to 
Sabula.  Iowa,  and  engaged  in  milling  for  five 


years.  In  1859,  the  father  went  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Stephen's  Point,  Wis.,  where  he  worked 
at  his  trade  (iron  molder).  Here  our  subject 
received  his  education.  At  the  age  of  fifteen, 
he  began  the  trade  of  iron  molder,  serving  an 
apprenticeship  of  three  j'ears,  from  which  time 
he  followed  this  work  as  journeyman  until 
1880.  He  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the 
Sherwood  School  Furniture  Company  (now  the 
Ohio  Butt  Company)  since  1874.     In  August, 

1880,  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  fore- 
man of    the    foundry   department.     In    May, 

1881,  he  was  given  the  position  of  Assistant 
Superintendent,  and  in  August,  1881,  pro- 
moted to  General  Superintendent  of  the  entire 
establishment,  which  position  he  now  hoHs. 
December  27,  1876,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Julia  McFarlane,  daughter  of  William  McFar- 
lane,  of  Ohio.  She  was  born  in  Ohio  March  6, 
1851,  and  is  a  member  of  tlie  Presbyterian 
Church.  Mr.  Nickel  is  a  Republican.  His 
parents  are  still  living,  and  are  among  the  hon- 
ored members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Morris. 

N.  J.  NELSON,  grain  merchant,  Morris,  was 
born  in  Skaanevig,  Norway,  on  June  24,  1849. 
In  the  summer  of  1858,  his  parents  emigrated 
to  Canada,  and  in  the  same  year  came  to 
Grundy  County,  111.,  and  settled  on  the  farm 
on  which  they  lived  for  seven  years,  during 
which  time,  our  subject  received  a  common- 
school  education.  In  1869,  he  came  to  Morris, 
where  he  worked  at  clerical  work  and  book- 
keeping until  1872,  when  he  and  0.  J.  Nelson 
purchased  the  stock  of  Undum  &  Co.,  Liberty 
street,  where  they  conducted  business  until  the 
fall  of  1875,  when  they  closed  out.  Since 
1875,  he  and  his  brother  0.  J.  have  engaged  in 
the  grain  trade.  They  have  an  elevator  on 
Canal  street,  and,  in  connection  with  Mr.  M.  N. 
Hull,  have  an  elevator  near  the  railroad  depot. 
In  October,  1879,  Mr.  Nelson  was  married  to 
Bliss  Linda  Osman,  of  Grundj'  Countj',  111. 
She  was  born  December  2,  1856,  and  died  in 


MOinilS  CITY   AND   TOWNSHIP. 


Morris  January  9,  1881.  Joseph  Nelson, 
father  of  N.  J.  Nelson,  was  born  in  Norway  in 
181'),  and  died  in  Kendall  Connty,  III.,  July 
22,  1879.  Anne  Nelson,  the  mother,  was  born 
in  Norway-  in  1822,  and  is  now  living  in  Ken- 
<lall  County,  on  the  old  homestead.  Besides 
N.  J.,  there  are  sis  children,  two  older  and  four 
youMLjcr  than  himself 

JOSEPH  H.  PETTIT,  Deputy  Circuit  Clerk, 
Morris,  was  born  in  Hunterdon  County,  N.  J., 
February  6,  1842  ;  son  of  Mahlon  Pettit,  also 
a  native  of  that  State,  born  in  1803;  was  a 
farmer  bj-  occupation,  and  died  in  1849.  His 
wife.  Amanda  (Higgins)  Pettit,  was  born  in  the 
same  Slate  in  1812,  and  is  now  living,  adjoin- 
ing her  son,  in  Morris.  The  parents  raised  but 
one  child,  our  sulijeet,  who  was  ^educated  in 
the  common  schools  of  New  Jersej';  and  came 
here  April  19,  1856,  with  his  mother.  He 
began  business  as  clerk  in  a  general  store, 
where  he  continued  for  about  fourteen  years. 
He  was  Cashier  of  the  Grundy  County  Na- 
tional Bank  nearly  two  years  ;  was  in  the 
hardware  business  here  four  3-ears  ;  was  ap- 
pointed Circuit  Clerk  to  fill  a  vacancy  for 
about  one  year,  and  since  that  has  acted  in  the 
capacity  of  Deputy  Clerk.  He  enlisted  in  the 
Federal  army  in  1861,  and  served  three  months. 
Was  Quartermaster's  clerk  at  Gen.  Sherman's 
headquarters  for  eight  months.  Mr.  Pettit 
married  in  this  town,  January  30,  1873,  to 
Myra  S.  Massey,  born  in  La  Salle  County  June 
1,  1845,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Nancy  B.  (Dow)  Massey.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pettit 
have  two  children — one  daughter,  Muriel,  and 
one  son,  Raymond  J.  Mr.  Pettit  and  wife 
attend  the  Congregational  Church.  Subject 
was  City  Clerk  two  jears  in  Morris,  and  was 
one  of  the  corporators  of  the  Library  Associa- 
tion of  this  place.  He  is  a  Mason  and  a 
Knight  Templar ;  also  a  member  of  the  Re- 
pulilican  party. 

MARSHALL  B.  PIKE,  retired  farmer,  P.  0. 
Morris,  was    born   in   Maine  March  25,   1834. 


He  was  raised  and  educated  in  Maine,  coming 
to  Morris  when  twenty-three  years  old  (1857). 
He  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  of  cultivated  land 
in  Saratoga  Township.  He  has  ri'tirod  from 
active  labor,  and  is  now  living  on  the  old  home 
property  of  Mrs.  Pike's  parents,  John  and 
Hannah  Porter;  this  property  is  situated  on 
Main  street,  between  Price  and  Pine.  Our 
subject  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  Porter 
March  4,  1858.  She  was  born  in  Chester 
Connty,  Penn.,  Slarch  15,  1829,  and  came  to 
Grundy  County  in  1849.  The  family  consists 
of  four  children — Lillie  E.,  born  March  13, 
1859,  died  May  1,  18G2:  Edward  W.,  born 
June  21,  1863;  John  P.,  born  September  26, 
1866;  and  Clift'ord  L.,  born  April  11,  1873. 
Joshua  Pike,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was 
born  near  Portland,  Me.,  February  1,  1809, 
and  came  to  Grundy  County  in  1857.  He  is 
now  living  on  his  farm  in  Saratoga  Township. 
Caroline  (Barker)  Pike,  mother  of  M.  B.,  was 
born  in  Portland,  Me.,  in  June,  1812;  and 
died  May  2,  1875,  in  Saratoga  Township.  John 
Porter,  father  of  Mrs.  Pike,  was  born  June  2, 
1794,  in  Morris,  and  died  September  14,  1850. 
Her  mother,  Hannah  Porter,  was  born  January 
18.  1793,  died  in  Morris  September  8,  1866. 
Ml',  and  Mrs.  Pike  are  members  of  the  M.  E. 
Church.  Mrs.  Pike  owns  the  lots  upon  which 
is  situated  the  Goold  Block.  Mr.  Pike  has 
three  residence  houses  on  Washington  street. 
east  of  the  court  house,  and  owns  the  entire 
eastern  frontaga  of  court  house  square,  besides 
several  lots  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
city. 

J.  H.  PATTISON,  County  Treasurer,  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Ohio  August  22,  1840;  son  of 
William  Pattisou,  also  a  native  of  Ohio,  born 
in  1805;  was  a  farmer  by  occupation;  came  to 
this  State  in  1842.  and  died  in  this  county 
March  14,  1882.  His  wife,  Martha  (Halsted) 
Pattison,  was  born  in  Ohio,  about  1815,  and 
died  in  this  county  about  1850.  There  were 
ten  children,  five  sons  and   five  daughters,  the 


30 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


subject  is  the  third  son.  He  was  educated  at 
the  common  schools  in  the  county.  His  ad- 
vantages in  this  direction  were  ver}-  limited. 
He  began  life  as  a  farmer,  and  has  followed 
that  occupation  the  principal  part  of  his  time. 
In  the  fall  of  1877,  he  was  elected  County 
Treasurer,  and  took  possession  of  the  office  in 
December  of  that  year;  he  was  re-elected  in 
1879,  and  still  holds  the  office.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  December,  18(57,  in  this  count}-,  to  Jen- 
nie Struble;  she  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in 
1840,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Elias  Struble.  Sub- 
ject has  three  children,  viz.,  Alice,  Marj-  and 
Hettie.  Mr.  I'attisbn  owns  a  small  farm  in 
Wauponsee  Township;  he  is  a  Republican. 

M.  S.  PRINDLK,  bookkeeper  and  City  Clerk, 
born  in  La  Fa\-ette,  Ind.,  January  15,  1846,  son 
of  William  Prindle,  who  moved  here  in  1848, 
and  built  the  first  hotel  in  Morris,  known  as 
the  Franklin  House,  which  burned  in  1854. 
Mr.  Prindle  then  built  what  is  now  called  the 
Rock  Island  &  Pacific  Hotel;  ran  that  several 
years,  and  in  18G3  retired  from  the  business 
and  never  afterward  engaged  in  active  busi- 
ness. He  died  June  20.  1875.  His  wife,  Abi- 
gail (Scranton)  Prindle,  was  born  in  Connecticut 
June  20,  1812,  and  is  now  living  with  her  son, 
our  subject,  in  Morris.  The  parents  had  six 
children,  three  sons,  of  whom  subject  is  the 
youngest,  and  three  daughters.  Subject  was 
educated  at  the  high  school  in  Morris.  He  be- 
gan his  business  life  as  a  book-keeper,  which 
he  has  followed  since.  He  worked  for  John 
Barr  for  about  seven  years,  and  about  five 
years  for  MeEwen&  Bros.;  was  appointed  two 
consecutive  terms  as  City  Clerk,  and  was  then 
elected  a  third  term  for  some  other  office.  Be- 
ing a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  elected  to  this 
office  in  a  city  that  has  a  Republican  majority. 
speaks  well  for  his  popularity.  Mr.  Prindle 
was  married  in  tliis  city,  July  10,  1870,  to 
Electa  A.  Lindsay;  she  was  born  January  1, 
1846,  in  Wilmington.  Ind.,  and  is  a  daughter 
of  William  D.  Lindsay,  of  Wilmington.     They 


have  two  children,  one  son — George  E.,  and 
one  daughter,  Gracie  Maj'.  Subject  is  a  mem- 
ber of  both  Masonic  and  I.  0.  O.  F.  orders  and 
is  now  filling  his  second  term  as  Noble  Grand 
in  latter  order. 

WILLIAM  A.  PARKER,  book-keeper,  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  the  State  of  New  York  April 
3,  1851.  His  parents  came  West  when  he  was 
about  one  year  old,  and  settled  in  La  Salle 
County,  111.,  where  his  father  engaged  in  farm- 
ing for  three  j-cars,  at  which  time  he  engaged 
in  mercantile  business.  In  1860,  they  removed 
to  De  Kalb  County,  where  they  remained  until 
1871.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated 
at  Sandwich,  De  Kalb  Co..  111.  Leaving  school 
at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  taught  school  for 
three  years,  after  which  he  occupied  himself  in 
various  employments  until  1874,  at  which  time 
he  was  employed  by  the  Sherwood  School  Fur- 
niture Company  (now  the  Ohio  Butt  Company) 
of  Morris.  He  occupies  the  position  of  fore- 
man of  the  warehouse  department,  which  com- 
prehends tiie  office  work  of  the  entire  establish- 
ment. Bis  father,  Andrew  Parker,  was  born 
August  10,  1822,  in  New  York,  and  died  in 
Kansas  in  1879.  The  mother,  Harriet  M.  Par- 
ker, was  born  in  New  York  September  22, 
1824,  and  is  now  living  with  her  son,  our  sub- 
ject. Besides  William,  there  are  two  children  — 
Helen  L.,  born  in  New  York  November  3,  1844, 
married  to  S.  C.  Lincoln,  of  Sandwich,  De  Kalb 
Count}-  (he  is  distantly  related  to  Abraham 
Lincoln)  ;  and  Harriet  E.,  born  in  Illinois  No- 
vember 5,  1860,  and  is  living  with  her  mother 
and  brother  William.  The  entire  family  are 
members  of  the  Regular  Baptist  Church.  Mr. 
Parker  is  a  Republican. 

E.  H.  QUIGLEY,  railroad  agent,  Mor- 
ris. E.  H.  Quigley  was  born  in  Crawford 
County,  Penn.  He  received  a  common  school 
education  in  his  native  State  and  in  Morris, 
after  which  he  took  a  course  in  the  business 
college  of  Davenport,  Iowa.  Came  to  Grundj' 
County   at   the   age  of  thirteen.     His  father, 


MORRIS  CITY   AND  TOWXSHIP. 


31 


Henry  Quiglej-,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
December,  1814,  and  died  in  Pennsylvania 
June  3,  1866.  Matilda  Quigley,  mother  of 
subject,  was  born  in  January,  182(5,  and  is  now 
living  with  her  sou,  ¥\.  H.  Quigley.  Mr.  Quig- 
ley was  married,  May  21,  1879,  to  Miss  Lizzie 
S.  Cody,  daughter  of  William  R.  Cody,  whose 
biography  appears  in  this  work ;  she  was  born 
in  Grundy  County  May  21,  18G1.  They  have 
had  two  children — Freddy  W.,  born  March  10, 
1880,  died  August  6,  1881,  and  Harry  H.,  born 
September  10,  1881.  Mr.  Quigley  has  been  in 
the  employ  of  the  Rock  Island  &  Pacilic  Rail- 
road Company  for  ten  years,  as  operator,  ticket 
agent,  and  is  now  station  agent.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

JAMES  N.  READING,  lawyer,  Morris, 
whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work,  was  horn 
at  the  homestead  of  his  maternal  grandfather, 
Dr.  John  F.  Grandin,  at  Hamden,  N.  J.,  where 
his  son,  John  Grandin,  now  resides.  He  was 
named  after  his  grandmother  Grandin's  father, 
Dr.  James  Newell,  whose  wife  was  a  Lawrence, 
and  sister  of  the  father  of  Commodore  Law- 
rence. James  N.  Reading  is  the  son  and  eldest 
child  of  Joseph  Reading,  who  was  the  young- 
est child  and  only  son  of  John  (3),  he  being 
the  eldest  of  John  (2),  who  was  the  eldest  son 
of  Gov.  John  Reading.  He  commenced  his 
academic  course  at  Flemington,  under  Charles 
Bartles,  Esq.,  who  then  had  charge  of  the 
academy.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the 
Princeton  Academy,  then  entered  Nassau  Hall 
in  1827,  and  graduated  in  1829,  taking  the  fifth 
honor  in  a  class  of  twenty -six  ;  studied  law 
with  Samuel  L.  Southard  in  Trenton  ;  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1 832,  and  became  a  coun- 
selor at  law  in  1836.  He  married,  February 
10,  1835,  Sarah  C.  A.  Soutiiard,  a  niece  of  the 
Governor.  From  1832  to  1850,  he  practiced 
law  in  Flemington,  fifteen  of  which  years  he 
was  Prosecuting  Attorney  for  Hunterdon 
County.  During  his  residence  in  Hunterdon 
Count}-,  he  took  considerable  interest  and  (juite 


an  active  part  in  the  military  affairs.  His  first 
appointment  was  to  the  otHce  of  Brigade  In- 
spector ;  resigning  that  after  two  years'  serv- 
ice, he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  Third 
Regiment  of  the  Hunterdon  Brigade,  which, 
with  the  office  of  State's  Attorney,  he  held  un- 
til he  moved  to  the  West.  In  1850,  he  removed 
to  Jefferson  County,  Mo.,  and  for  two  years  was 
President  of  a  lead  mining  compan}'.  He  re- 
turned to  New  Jersey,  settled  up  his  private 
business,  and  in  the  fall  of  1858  moved  to 
^lorris,  Grundy  Co.,  III.,  which  has  since  been 
his  place  of  residence,  with  the  exception  of 
the  years  1859-1861,  when  he  resided  in  Chi- 
cago and  practiced  law,  in  copartnership  with 
Mr.  (afterward  Judge)  Wallace.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  of  Illinois 
in  the  fall  of  1856,  and  filled  the  position  until 
the  fall  of  1858,  when  he  officiated  as  Clerk  of 
the  Circuit  Court,  filling  a  vacancy.  In  June, 
1861,  his  partner  having  joined  the  Union 
army  as  a  Major  of  the  cavalry  branch  of  the 
service,  Mr.  Reading  closed  his  law  office  in 
Chicago,  and  returned  to  Morris.  During  the 
war,  he  was  Deputy  United  States  Marshal  for 
Grundy  County,  and  also  United  States  Com- 
missioner, at  the  same  time  continuing  his  legal 
business.  In  1865,  he  was  elected  County 
Judge,  which  position  he  held  for  three  suc- 
cessive terms — -twelve  \ears — and  then  declined 
a  re-election.  He  is  an  indefatigable  worker, 
having,  in  addition  to  his  legal  practice  and 
official  duties,  been  largelj'  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  business  ever  since  his  removal  to  Illi- 
nois.    He  is  an  able  lawyer  and  jurist. 

GEORGE  RIDDLE,  hardware  merchant, 
Morris,  was  born  in  Blair  County,  Penn.,  March 
7,  1833,  son  of  John  and  Jane  (McKillip)  Rid- 
dle, natives  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  farmer 
b}'  occupation,  and  died  in  his  native  State  ; 
she  died  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1856.  They  raised 
six  children,  four  sons,  of  whom  our  subject  is 
the  second,  and  two  daughters.  Our  subject 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  I'enn- 


33 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


sj'lvania,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  began  clerk- 
ing in  a  dry  goods  store,  in  New  Castle,  wliere 
he  remained  three  j-ears.  After  spending  three 
years  more  in  Mercer  County,  Penn.,  he  came 
to  Illinois  in  1855,  and  began  tlie  foundry  bus- 
iness, building  the  first  foundry  of  this  place. 
He  carried  on  this  business  two  years,  and  then 
went  into  the  coal  business  for  three  years,  af- 
ter which  he  pursued  farming  until  187(3,  when 
he  opened  a  hardware  store  in  partnership 
with  5Ir.  Irons;  this  firm  still  continues,  and 
does  a  good  business.  Mr.  Riddle  was  married 
in  Morris,  November  4,  1856,  to  Amelia  Fer- 
guson, daughter  of  Daniel  Ferguson,  spoken  of 
in  another  part  of  this  work.  Our  subject  has 
been  School  Treasurer  for  fourteen  years,  in 
Mazon  Township  ;  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  in  which  he  has  taken  all  the  degrees 
from  Entered  Apprentice  to  Knight  Templar, 
and  is  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  order 
at  Morris.  He  is  President  of  the  Forest  City 
Mining  Company,  in  Summit  County,  Colo., 
considered  one  of  the  richest  mines  in  that 
State  ;  he  is  also  Superintendent  ofthe  Grundy 
County  Mining  Compan}-  ;  President  of  the 
Morris  Cutlery-  Company,  and  a  member  of  the 
Republican  party. 

DR.  E^IANUEL  RTDGWAY,  physician  and 
druggist,  Morris,  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  Ijorn 
October  22,  1831;  son  of  Joshua  Ridgway, 
also  of  Ohio,  where  he  was  occupied  in  farm- 
ing until  he  came  to  Illinois  in  1834,  and  set- 
tled in  Grundy  County,  about  six  miles  north* 
east  of  Morris;  he  died  in  Channahon,  Will 
County,  in  1839.  His  wife,  Sarah  (Cryder) 
Ridgvva)-,  was  born  in  Ohio  about  1811,  and 
died  in  this  count}-  in  1835.  Thej'  raised  two 
children,  both  sons,  of  whom  subject  is  the 
youngest.  He  attended  the  common  schools  in 
Grundy  County,  from  1835  to  1839,  but  after 
the  death  of  his  father,  in  1 839,  he  was  taken 
back  to  Ohio  in  1840,  liv  his  mother's  people, 
and  flnislied  his  education  at  South  Salem 
Academ}'.     He  began  reading  medicine   with 


Dr.  Wills,  of  Chiliicothe,  Ohio,  and  attended 
lectures  at  the  ITniversity  of  Pennsylvania, 
from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1855.  In  1878,  he  received  an  hon- 
orary degree  of  the  Chicago  Medical  College. 
In  April,  1855.  he  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Morris,  where  he  has  continued 
ever  since.  There  he  engaged  in  the  drug 
business  in  SeptemVier,  1880;  this  he  still  fol- 
lows, in  connection  with  his  practice;  he  car- 
ries a  good  stock  and  has  a  fine  trade.  He 
has  been  Coroner  for  Grundy  County  the  past 
sixteen  years,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  De- 
partment six  years,  and  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Education  for  the  past  four  years. 
He  enlisted  in  tlie  Federal  army.  Seventy-sixth 
Illinois  Regiment,  as  Assistant  Surgeon,  in 
August,  1862,  and  returned  home  in  August, 
1865.  Dr.  Ridgway  was  married  in  this  coun- 
ty, in  1860,  to  Alcinda  B.  Hoge,  born  in  1842, 
daughter  of  William  Hoge,  one  of  the  oldest 
settlers  in  this  count}',  born  July  5,  1801,  in 
Virginia,  and  is  still  living  at  his  old  home- 
stead in  this  county.  His  wife,  Rachel 
(Bowles)  Hoge,  was  Ijorn  in  Virginia  in  1807, 
and  died  in  this  county  in  1843.  Subject  has 
six  children,  four  sons — Frederick  William, 
Henry  A.,  George  M.  and  Franklin  S.,  and  two 
daughters — Mary  H.  and  an  infant.  Subject  is 
a  Presbyterian  and  a  Republican. 

THOMAS  n.  ROSS,  miner.  MoVris,  was  horn 
in  Stark  Co.,  Ohio,  May  27,  1845,  and  here  he 
lived  until  twenty  years  old,  at  which  time,  be- 
ing a  member  of  the  Ohio  National  Guards,  he, 
with  his  regiment,  was  called  into  active  serv- 
ice. In  this  enlistment,  he  served  four  months 
in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  after  which  he  en- 
listed in  Company  A,  ofthe  One  Hundred  and 
Ninety-seventh  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, remaining  in  the  field  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  came  to  Grundy  Count}-,  111.,  in 
1870,  and  worked  in  the  coal  mines  of  Brace- 
ville  Township  until  1876,  when  he  carne  to 
Morris,  and  associated  himself  with  Mr.  John 


MORRIS  CITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


3S 


son  in  the  mining  business,  the  firm  known  as 
Johnson  &  Ross.  He  subsequent!}'  became 
owner  of  the  entire  mine,  but  soon  sold  a  half- 
interest  to  A.  F.  Mallory.  The  partnership 
continued  one  j'ear,  when  Henr}-  Burrell  be- 
came the  successor  of  Mallory-.  Since  then 
the  firm  has  been  known  as  Burrell  &  Ross, 
now  operating  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific  Railroad.  On  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1875,  Mr.  Ross  was  married,  to  Miss 
Bell  Peacock,  daughter  of  John  Peacock,  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  the  count}-;  she  was  born 
in  Morris  September  19,  1844.  They  have  two 
daughters — Gertrude  I.,  born  December  30, 
1876;  and  Lizzie  H.,  born  June  4,  1881.  Mr. 
Ross  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity; 
his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopalian 
Church.  They  own  thirty  acres  of  valuable 
property  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city,  adjoin- 
ing the  paper  car-wheel  manufactory.  Their 
residence  is  on  Fremont  avenue,  west  of  Nettle 
Creek. 

HON.  J.  S.  R.  SCOVILL,  jeweler  and  Mayor 
of  Morris,  was  born  in  Johnstown,  Fulton  Co., 
N.  Y.,  May  18,  1832  ;  son  of  Rev.  John  Sco- 
vill,  who  was  also  born  in  New  York,  in  1804, 
and  in  the  same  house  that  our  subject  was 
born  in  ;  the  mother,  Clarissa  (Young)  Scovill, 
was  also  born  in  the  same  town  in  1806.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Scovill  was  a  clergj'man  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  died  in  December,  1861,  and 
his  wife  died  in  1870.  The  parents  raised  four 
children  to  maturit}- — one  son,  our  subject,  and 
three  daughters.  Subject  was  educated  at  Johns- 
town, common  school  and  academy.  He  began 
in  the  jewelry  business  in  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  with  a 
cousin,  with  whom  he  learned  the  trade.  He 
left  New  York  in  1855,  and  went  to  Waukegan, 
111.,  and  two  years  afterward  to  La  Porte,  Ind., 
where  he  remained  five  years  ;  thence  to  Chi- 
cago, and  remained  there  till  1866,  at  which 
time  he  came  to  Morris,  and  has  followed  the 
jewelry  business  ever  since.  He  now  owns  not 
only  the  leading  jewelry  establishment  of  Mor- 


ris, but  of  any  of  the  small  cities  of  this  part 
of  the  State.  Mr.  Scoville  was  married  at  Keno- 
sha, Wis.,  in  January,  1856,  to  Elmira  H.  C.  Cole, 
who  was  born  in  New  York  July  20,  1834,  and 
is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Lucy  (Hicks)  Cole. 
Mrs.  Cole  now  lives  with  her  son-in-law,  our 
subject,  at  this  place.  Subject  has  four  children 
— two  sons,  J.  S.  R.,  Jr.,  and  De  Lancy  T.  W., 
and  two  daughters,  Nellie  Z.  Y.  and  Fanny 
Belle  Wallace.  Mr.  Scovill  has  been  Alderman 
two  years  ;  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, and  has  been  elected  Mayor  seven  times, 
notwithstanding  that  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in 
general  elections  the  city  goes  Republican  by  a 
handsome  majority  ;  this  shows  the  populMrity 
of  our  subject.  He  has  two  maiden  sisters  living 
in  a  house  built  by  his  grandfather  in  New  York 
more  than  one  hundred  j'ears  ago.  Our  sub- 
ject has  followed  four  generations  to  the  grave 
from  his  place  ;  first,  his  great-grandmother,  at 
the  age  of  ninety-two  years  ;  next,  his  grand- 
father and  grandmother  ;  next,  his  father  and 
mother  :  and  next,  a  brother  and  a  sister. 

CHARLES  SPARR,  harness  shop,  boots 
and  shoes,  Morris,  was  born  in  Germany,  April 
5,  1836  ;  is  the  sou  of  Nicholas  Sparr,  a  native 
of  German}-,  born  in  1800,  a  harness-maker  by 
trade,  died  in  Germany  about  1870.  Our  sub- 
ject attended  school  in  his  native  place  until 
sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  came  to  this 
countv}'  ;  the  vo3'age,  which  took  twenty-eight 
days,  he  made  alone.  He  spent  two  years  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  working  at  the  trade  of  har- 

I  ness-making ;  from  there  he  came  to  Oswego, 
Kendall  Co.,  111.,  where  he  remained  from  1854 
to  1856,  when  he  came  to  Morris,  and  continued 
the  harness  business.  In  1868,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  George  Woelfel,  in  the  tannery 
business.  This  he  continued  for  twelve  years, 
or  until  Januarj'  1,  1880,  when  he  dissolved  the 
partnership,  Mr.  Sparr  taking  the  harness  and 
boot  and  shoe  departments,  and  Mr.  Woelfel 
the  tanner}'  business.     Mr.  Sparr  does  a  thriv- 

,  ing  business  ;  owns  several  store  rooms  and  a 


34 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


good  brick  residence  at  Morris.  He  was  mar- 
ried at  Oswego,  Kendall  County,  in  1856,  to 
Catiiarine  Wolf,  who  was  born  in  Germany  in 
June,  1836.  They  have  had  eleven  children 
born  to  them,  ten  of  whom  are  still  living, 
viz.,  Joseph,  William,  Harry,  Frank,  Mary, 
Kittie,  Carrie,  Haltie,  Birdie  and  an  infant. 
Several  years  ago,  Mr.  Sparr  was  City  Treasurer 
for  two  j'ears  ;  he  also  acted  as  Supervisor  for 
two  years.     He  is  a  Republican. 

WILLIA5I  STEPHEN,  retired  farmer,  P. 
■0.  Morris,  is  a  native  of  Scotland;  was  born 
May  26,  1817,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1837;  he  is  a  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
((Cruickshank)  Stephen,  both  natives  of  Scot- 
land. Subject  left  Scotland  the  24th  of  April, 
1837,  and  reached  New  York  Cit3'  some  time 
in  the  following  June,  having  been  on  the  sea 
some  six  weeks.  He  reached  Chicago  July  1, 
1837;  left  there  the  4th  of  the  same  month,  ar- 
riving at  Lisbon,  La  Salle  County,  111.,  on  the 
7th;  thence  to  what  is  now  Nettle  Creek,  Grun- 
dy County,  where  he  made  his  first  purchase 
of  land,  one-fourth  section,  in  Section  20.  The 
22d  of  November,  1837,  Mr.  Stephen  was 
caught  out  in  a  severe  snow  storm,  and  was  so 
badlj-  frozen  that  it  was  necessary  to  amputate 
two  of  his  toes,  and  the  ends  of  his  fingers  were 
so  frozen  that  they  bear  the  scars  to  this  day ; 
he  lived  on  the  aforesaid  farm  about  one  j-ear 
and  afterward  settled  near  Lisbon,  Kendall 
County,  where  he  lived  with  the  exception  of 
two  years,  till  1869;  one  of  these  years  was 
spent  in  Grundy  County,  and  the  other  in  La 
Salle  County.  He  next  moved  on  a  farm  which 
he  purchased  near  Morris  in  1869,  where  he  re- 
mained about  six  years,  and  in  December,  1875, 
moved  to  the  city  of  Morris,  where  he  still  re- 
sides. Subject  owns  at  present  about  1,400 
acres  of  good  farming  lands  in  this  and  Ken- 
dall Counties,  besides  city  property  in  the  su- 
burbs of  Chicago,  consisting  of  about  ninety 
lots,  and  two  good  residences  in  Morris.  After 
his  misfortune  of  getting  frozen,  when  a  j'oung 


man,  Mr.  Stephen  found  himself  without  any 
means  whatever,  and  what  property  he  now 
owns  is  the  result  of  his  own  eflforts,  showing 
what  can  be  accomplished  by  well  directed  dili- 
gence. Mr.  Stephen  was  married  in  the  town  of 
Big  Grove,  Kendall  County,  February  27,  1843, 
to  Margaret  Waterman,  daughter  of  Isaiah 
and  Hester  (Van  A'rankin)  Waterman.  Mrs. 
Stephen  was  born  December  16,  1825.  They 
have  had  ten  children  born  to  them,  seven  liv- 
ing, four  sons,  viz.,  William  I.,  Merritt  J., 
Charles  M.  and  Fred  L.,  and  three  daughters, 
viz..  Ella,  wife  of  Charles  B.  Collins;  Helen, 
wife  of  Albert  E.  Cogwin,  and  Hettie  J.,  wife 
of  Frederick  Page.  Mr.  Stephen,  wife  and  one 
son  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Subject  has  been  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  two  terms.  Assessor  eleven  years  for  the  town 
of  Big  Grove;  is  now  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  P]ducation  here,  and  also  Superintendent  of 
Grundy  County  Poor  Farm;  he  is  a  Republican. 
M.  W.  STEINER,  dentist,  Morris,  is  a  native 
of  Pennsj'lvania;  born  April  12,  1855;  son  of 
Andrew  Steiner,  liorn  in  Pennsylvania  in  1822; 
a  bridge-builder  by  occupation,  and  is  still  liv- 
ing in  Pennsj'lvania;  his  wife,  Henrietta  (Wiley) 
Steiner,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1824,  and 
died  in  1878.  The  parents  had  twelve  chil- 
dren born  to  them,  nine  of  whom  are  living 
four  sons,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  third,  and 
five  daughters.  Mr.  Steiner  was  educated  prin- 
cipally at  Morris;  graduated  in  dentistry  at 
Philadelphia  Dental  College  in  1876.  Subject 
came  to  this  place  when  eleven  years  of  age, 
all  alone,  to  visit  his  married  sister,  Mrs.  Dr. 
Murraj',  with  whom  he  made  his  home  till  Oc- 
tober, 1879.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  1876,  and  by  industry  and  close  at- 
tention to  business,  coupled  with  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  business,  he  has  built  up  a 
fine  practice.  Mr.  Steiner  was  married  in  this 
city  October  2,  1879,  to  Miss  Lilly  Grant  born 
January  15, 1856,  daughter  of  Judge  C.  Grant, 
of  this  place.     He  was  a  native  of  Scotland, 


MORlirS  CITY  AND  TOWNSHIP. 


85 


born  in  1821,  and  died  liere  in  Januarj^  1881. 
Mr.  Steiner  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church;  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  and  Secretary  of  the  Morris  ('utlerv  Com- 
pany ;  he  was  City  Clerk  in  1880  ;  is  one  of  the 
officers  of  the  fire  department,  and  a  Republi- 
can in  politics. 

JOHN  SCHOBERT,  dry  goods,  etc.,  Morris, 
was  born  in  Germany,  July  11,  1847,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  June,  1855,  with  his 
parents.  His  father,  Joiin  William  Schobert, 
■was  born  in  Germanj',  November,  13, 1815,  and 
his  mother,  JIargarettaC.  (Zeitler)  Schobert  was 
born  in  Germany,  February  16,  1822.  The 
parents  raised  five  boys  and  three  girls,  one 
girl  dying  when  but  ten  years  old,  and  another 
when  twenty-one  years  old.  Our  subject,  the 
eldest  son,  was  educated  principallj'  at  the 
public  schools  in  Ottawa,  this  State,  that  be- 
ing the  place  where  his  parents  settled  on 
their  arrival  in  this  country,  and  where  they 
still  reside.  Mr.  Schobert  began  business  for 
himself  by  learning  the  harness  trade,  at  which 
he  worked  at  Pontiac,  111.,  for  about  four  years, 
and  three  years  at  Ottawa.  He  next  began  in 
the  dry  goods  business,  in  1868,  as  clerk,  in 
Ottawa,  which  he  continued  about  six  j-ears. 
He  came  here  in  September,  1874.  and  began 
in  the  same  business,  in  partnership  with  Mr. 
Baum.  the  firm  name  being  Baum  &  Schobert. 
In  March,  1881,  this  firm  dissolved,  each  mem- 
ber opening  a  store  in  his  own  name,  in  which 
manner  the^'  have  continued  since.  Mr.  Scho- 
bert is  doing  a  good  business  at  Morris  ;  he  is 
also  interested  in  a  store  at  La  Salle,  in  La  Salle 
Count3',  the  firm  known  as  Breuuing,  Kilduff 
&  Co.,  which  is  doing  a  fine  business.  Mr. 
Schobert  enlisted  in  1863,  in  the  Federal  army, 
Company  D,  Twentieth  Illinois  Infantry,  and 
was  mustered  out  in  July  1865.  He  was  with 
Sherman  in  1864,  when  he  went  through  Miss- 
issippi. Ilis  regiment  then  came  home  on  thir- 
ty days  furlough,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Mr. 
Schobert  took  a  trip  through  Middle  Tennessee 


and  Alabama,  and  joined  Sherman  at  Acworth, 
Ga.  He  was  in  several  minor  engagements  on 
these  raids,  and  on  the  21st  of  July,  1864,  par- 
ticipated in  the  battle  at  Atlanta.  Ga.,  where 
he  was  severely  wounded  in  the  right  ankle, 
from  which  he  still  suffers.  He  was  married 
in  this  city,  January  29,  1878,  to  Elizabeth 
Baum,  sister  of  his  former  partner  in  business. 
She  was  born  September  11,  1857,  at  this  place. 
They  have  had  had  two  children  born  to  themi 
but  one  of  which  is  living,  a  daughter — Jessie 
B.,  born  October  7,  1880.  Mr.  Schobert  is  a 
Mason  and  a  Republican. 

DR.  A.  D.  SMITH,  Morris.  Mr.  Smith  was 
born  in  Jefferson  Count}',  near  Watertown, 
N.  Y.,  August  2,  1847  ;  son  of  Eleazur  Smith, 
a  native  of  Vermont,  born  at  Rutland  Septem- 
ber 21,  1807,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
He  left  Vermont  when  a  j'oung  man,  and  went 
to  New  York,  where  he  ran  a  farm  and  dairy 
till  1854,  at  which  time  he"  came  to  Illinois, 
selling  his  property  in  New  York,  and  purchas- 
ing a  farm,  in  1855,  in  Saratoga  Township, 
this  county,  where  he  still  makes  his  home. 
His  wife,  Maria  (Darb}-)  Smith,  was  hma  in 
Huntington,  Vt,  August  24,  1815.  The  par- 
ents raised  ten  children  ;  eight  sons,  of  whom 
our  subject  is  the  sixth,  and  two  daughters- 
Dr.  Smith  was  educated  in  this  county,  princi- 
pally, and  took  a  medical  course  at  the  univer- 
sity of  New  York  City,  from  which  institution 
he  graduated  in  1870.  He  began  life  as  a  tel- 
egraph operator,  which  he  followed  some  three 
years  prior  to  taking  his  medical  course.  Im- 
mediately after  graduating,  our  subject  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  his  native 
county,  with  an  uncle  ;  he  remained  there  but 
a  short  time.  In  the  fall  of  1870.  he  came  to 
Morris,  where  he  now  enjoj's  a  very  lucrative 
practice.  He  owns  some  town  lots  in  Mitchell, 
this  count}'  ;  he  is  a  Mason  and  a  Republican. 

EDWARD  STEEP,  molder,  Morris.  Mr. 
Steep  was  born  in  Clinton,  Canada,  July  5, 
1852.     His  parents,  Peter  and  Mary  A.  Steep, 


36 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


came  to  the  United  States  in  1851,  and  settled 
in  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  his  father  worked  six 
years  at  the  shoe-maker  trade.  In  1857,  they 
returned  to  Canada,  where  they  lived  until  they 
came  to  Grundy  County,  which  they  did  in 
1867.  Parents  lived  in  Morris  from  that  date 
till  time  of  death.  The  father  died  in  the  fall 
of  180G  ;  the  mother  died  on  January  11, 1879. 
Our  subject  was  principally  educated  in  Mor- 
ris. Married  January  1,  1875,  to  Miss  Marga- 
ret A.  Longacre,  of  Morris.  She  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1857.  They  have  two  daughters — 
Maud  W.,  Isabell,  born  July  30,  1882.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Steep  are  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  at  Morris.  Our  sub- 
ject is  associated  with  Messrs.  Griggs  and  Mar- 
tin in  the  manufacture  of  drain-tile.  Yard  is 
located  in  northwest  part  of  city  ;  residence 
on  Liberty  street.  Henry  C.  and  Hannah 
Longacre  (parents  of  Mrs.  Steep)  are  living, 
and  among  the  respected  citizens  of  Morris. 

SAMUEL  BARBER  THOMAS  was  a  na- 
tive of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  second  son  in  a 
family  of  five  sons  and  four  daughters  born  to 
William  and  Margaret  (Evans)  Thomas.  His 
father,  though  born  in  Chester  County,  in  the 
same  State,  was  of  Welsh  descent,  and  his 
mother  a  native  of  Wales.  Until  eight  years 
of  age,  Mr.  Thomas  lived  in  Chester  County 
where  he  was  born,  when  he  went  with  his  par- 
ents to  Center  Countj-,  in  the  central  part  of 
the  State.  Here  he  finished  a  common  school 
education,  and  with  this  capital  began  life  for 
himself  as  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile  establishment 
at  Jacksonville.  He  followed  this  line  of  oc- 
cupation at  various  places  until  about  twentj- 
six  years  of  age,  when  he  entered  in  partner- 
ship with  L.  W.  Irving  in  a  milling  and  mer- 
chandising business.  He  subsequently  went 
to  Clearfield  County,  and  went  into  the  lumber 
business  until  1852,  when  he  removed  to  Peru, 
Ind.,  and  for  a  year  and  a  half  engaged  with 
that  old-time  railroad  prince,  Andrew  DeGraff, 
in  railroad  construction.  While  here  at  work  on 


the  Indianapolis  &  Peru  Railroad,  a  letter  from 
his  friend  and  former  clerk,  E.  B.  Hanna,  reached 
him,  urging  him  to  accept  a  position  in  Morris, 
111.  He  at  once  accepted  this  offer,  and  entered 
the  employ  of  Mr.  Hanna  as  clerk  in  the  mer- 
cantile business.  Here,  as  in  every  position  in 
life,  Mr.  Thomas  formed  a  wide  circle  of  friends, 
and  paved  the  way  for  the  long  and  successful 
political  career  which  soon  followed.  In  the 
spring  election  of  1858.  he  was  elected  Justice 
of  the  Peace  for  the  town  of  Morris,  and  on 
the  12th  of  April  qualified,  and  assumed  the 
duties  of  ills  otBce.  For  four  years  he  amply 
justified  the  confidence  bestowed  upon  him  by 
his  fellow-citizens,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
strengthened  himself  in  the  regard  of  a  wider 
circle  of  friends,  that,  before  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  office,  he  was  called  by  the  popular 
vote  to  the  position  of  County  Clerk.  From 
1861  to  1878,  he  filled  this  position  continu- 
ously, and  with  such  satisfaction  to  the  people 
of  the  couuty,  that  he  was  elected  in  Novem- 
ber of  the  latter  year  to  the  position  of  Counts- 
Judge,  a  position  he  held  until  his  death.  Dur- 
ing his  nearly  twenty -one  years  of  public  serv- 
ice, he  held  his  high  place  in  the  public  esteem 
unchallenged,  and  so  marked  was  his  eminent 
fitness  for  the  position  he  occupied,  that  the  pub- 
lic voice  proclaimed  him  his  own  successor  so 
long  as  he  would  consent  to  forego  the  pleasures 
of  private  life.  In  the  fall  of  1882,  he  was  urged 
by  various  private  considerations  to  refuse  the 
use  of  his  name  as  candidate  for  another  term 
as  County  Judge,  and,  though  persevering  in 
this  determination  until  the  near  approach  of 
the  nominating  convention,  he  was  at  last  over- 
borne by  the  importunity-  of  friends,  and  gave 
a  half-hearted  assent  to  his  nomination.  The 
convention  was  held  on  the  12th  of  September, 
and  on  Monday,  the  lith,  at  7:15,  death  inter- 
vened. On  Saturday  evening,  he  had  gone 
home  apparently  in  good  health,  although  con- 
siderably fatigued  b}-  the  bustle  of  the  con- 
vention. A  little  after  9  o'clock,  a  physician  was 


MOKHIS  CITY   AND  TOWNSHIP. 


37 


sumraoned,  but  the  patient  had  passed  into  an 
unconscious  state  from  which  he  never  rallied. 
Shortly  aftor  coming  to  Morris.  Mr.  Thomas 
met  and  married  Miss  Amanda  Ferguson.  She 
was  a  native  of  New  York;  was  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Amelia  (Fowler)  Ferguson,  and  born 
October  5,  1828.  No  children  resulted  from 
this  union,  but  devoted  entirely  to  each  other 
their  lives  so  blended  that  death  seemed  onl}- 
paitially  successful  in  rending  them  asunder. 

The  following  account  from  the  Morris  Hir- 
ald  voices  the  public  grief: 

DEATH    OK    SA.MUEL    B.    THOMAS. 

Samuel  B.  Thomas  is  dead.  Hardly  can  we  rea- 
lize the  truth  of  this  statement,  and  so  sudden  was 
his  demise  that  we  cannot  reconcile  ourselves  to  the 
belief  that  it  ctin  be  true.  On  last  Saturday  at  5:30 
o'clock  we  were  in  conversation  with  him,  and  on 
Sunday  morning  came  the  announcement  that  he 
was  dying. 

On  Saturday  evening,  about  G  o'clock.  Mr.  Thomas 
went  home  and  coraplaiued  of  not  feeling  well,  at- 
tributing his  condition  to  having  been  exposed  to 
the  heat  of  the  sun  too  much  during  the  day.  His 
head  troubled  him.  Home  remedies  were  applied, 
but  instead  of  receiving  relief,  he  grew  worse,  until 
it  was  thought  best  to  send  for  a  physician.  At  a 
little  after  9  o'clock  Dr.  Fergu.son  was  summoned, 
but  before  his  arrival  Mr.  Thomas  had  passed  into 
an  unconscious  state,  from  which  condition  he  was 
never  aroused.  Dr.  Ferguson  remained  with  him 
throughout  the  night,  and  tlic  aid  of  other  medical 
skill  was  summoned,  but  without  beneficial  results. 
He  never  spoke  after  first  becoming  unconscious. 
Gradually  he  sank  to  rest,  and  at  7:1.5  Monday  morn- 
ing he  passed  away.  Words  avail  nothing  at  such  a 
time  as  this.  His  life  has  been  an  open  book,  read 
of  all  men  who  have  looked  upon  him  or  came  under 
his  influence.  He  was  a  true  man,  devoid  of  every- 
thing unbecoming  a  gentleman.  For  over  twenty 
years  he  has  been  connected  with  the  political  and 
social  histor)'  of  Grundy  County,  in  that  time  com- 
ing in  contact  with  all  of  our  people,  and  we  have 
yet  to  hear  of  a  single  person,  regardless  of  his  po- 
litical opinion  or  social  standing,  who  had  ought  to 
say  against  Sanmel  B.  Thomas.  He  was  the  friend 
of  everj'  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  county,  and 
his  demise  brings  mourning  to  every  household. 

Samuel  B.  Thomas  was  born  at  St.  Marys,  Ches- 


ter Co.,  Penn..  October  20,  1820.  At  the  age  of 
eight  years,  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Centre 
County,  where  after  ho  arrived  at  the  age  of  m;itu- 
rity,  he  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  and  mer- 
chandising until  1852,  when  he  moved  to  Peru,  Ind., 
and  for  a  year  and  a  half  was  engaged  with  Andrew 
DeGraff  in  railroading.  While  there  he  contracted 
fever  and  ague,  from  which  his  sj'stem  was  never 
entirely  freed.  Wliile  at  Peru  he  received  a  letter 
from  an  old  time  friend  and  former  clerk.  Mr.  E.  B. 
Hanna,  inviting  him  to  a  sitvnttion  in  Slonis.  In 
IS")!,  Mr.  Thomas  came  here  and  entered  the  employ 
of  Mr.  Hanna,  who  was  then  in  the  mercantile  bus- 
iness in  this  cit}'. 

April  G,  18.58,  deceased  was  elected  to  the  position 
of  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the  town  of  Morris,  and 
on  the  13tb  of  that  month  he  qualified  and  assumed 
the  duties  of  his  office.  From  this  time  commenced 
his  political  career.  On  the  15th  of  November,  18G1, 
before  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  as  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  Mr.  Thomas  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  County  Clerk,  which  position  he  filled  continu- 
ouslj'  until  December,  1877,  when  he  qualified  for 
the  position  of  Countj^  Judge,  to  which  office  he 
had  been  elected  at  the  November  election  preced- 
ing, his  term  of  office  expiring  in  December  next, 
and  would  have  completed  a  continuous  service  of 
twentj'-one  years  in  the  court  house.  What  better 
record  could  be  given  to  any  man.  Faithful  to  every 
trust,  competent  for  ever}'  duty,  affable,  genial, 
whole-souled,  he  won  and  held  the  confidence  of  all 
people.  So  strong  was  his  hold  upon  the  people, 
that  when  he  liad  dechuvd  his  intention  of  retiring 
from  public  life,  old-time  friends  would  not  listen  to 
his  protest,  but  compelled  him  to  signifj-  his  willing- 
ness to  again  accept  the  position  of  Judg-,  should 
the  convention  which  assembled  in  this  city  on  last 
Saturda}'  tender  him  the  nomination,  with  the  un- 
stauding  always,  that  he  would  do  no  personal  work 
to  secure  the  nomination.  At  no  time  did  he  think 
seriously  of  receiving  the  nomination,  and  we  know 
from  him  that  he  did  not  want  it,  and  would  not 
have  accepted  it  had  he  been  nominated  only  as 
above  stated,  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  friends. 

Shortly  after  coming  to  Morris,  Mr.  Thomas  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Amanda  Ferguson,  sister 
of  Sheriff  and  Dr.  Ferguson,  of  this  city,  and  during 
his  first  year's  residence  here  they  were  married,  and 
for  twenty-eight  years  have  lived  happilj' together. 

The  parents  of  Jlr.  Thomas  have  been  dead  several 
years,  and  are  buried  in  Centre  County,  Penn. 
Three  brothers  are  living  in  Pennsylvania,  and  one 
sister  in  Kansas. 


38 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


August  13,  1856,  Mr.  Thomas  was  inducted  into  the 
mysteries  of  Freemasonr_v,  and  was  raised  from  time 
to  time  until  he  rcaelied  the  Knight  Templar  degree. 
He  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  order,  and  filled 
various  offices  in  the  several  branches.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  second  in  rank  in  the  comman- 
dery. 

The  court  house  and  city  buildings  were  clothed 
in  mourning.  The  flag  at  the  Republican  pole, 
which  had  proudly  flaunted  to  the  breeze,  betoken- 
ening  victories  in  which  the  deceased  had  taken  an 
active  part  to  achieve,  was  hung  at  half-mast,  now 
the  emblem  of  sorrow  for  one  who  liad  been  its 
friend  and  defender.  Other  flags  in  the  city  were 
placed  at  half-mast,  and  during  the  time  of  the 
funeral  and  services,  at  3  o'clock  Tnesday  afternoon 
the  business  houses  were  closed 

Prior  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Thomas,  the  Knight 
Templars  of  this  city  had  been  in  constant  attend- 
ance upon  him,  and  after  his  death  they  took  charge 
of  his  remains,  and  made  all  arrangements  for  the 
funeral  services  at  the  request  of  the  widow.  Rep- 
Tesentalives  of  the  fraternity  were  present  from  all 
of  the  neighboring  towns,  which  together  with  the 
county  officials  and  the  vast  concourse  of  people 
from  all  parts  of  the  county  made  up  one  of  the 
largest  gatherings  for  such  an  occasion  ever  held  in 
the  city. 

The  floral  tributes  were  profuse  and  e.weedingly 
appropriate.  From  the  German  society  of  this  city 
came  a  pillow  inscribed  "  Unser  Freund."  From 
the  court  house  an  anchor,  surmounted  by  a  star; 
from  the  Templars,  a  Maltese  cross;  from  the  family, 
a  sickle  and  sbeaf  of  wheat.  There  were  many 
handsome  bouquets. 

The  funeral  service  was  held  at  the  residence. 
Rev.  Young,  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  officiating,  con- 
cluded at  the  grave  by  the  Blue  jLodge  of  Masons, 
followed  by  the  Commandery. 

And  then  was  deposited  all  that  was  mortal  of 
Samuel  B.  Thomas,  a  specimen  of  God's  noblest 
work — an  honest  man. 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted  by  Cedar 
Lodge,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  this  city: 
Worshipful  Master,  W-usden  and  Brothers; 

One  of  the  most  perfect  columns  of  our  super- 
structure— Past  Master  Samuel  Barber  Thomas — has 
been  stricken  to  earth  by  that  insatiate  archer — 
Death,  whose  sable  wings  spread  a  gloom  over  this 
Lodge  of  Sorrow. 

Well  has  it  been  said  that  "  the  good  die  young," 
"but  our  deceased  brother  was  an  exception  to  this 
rule.     He  possessed  all  the  elements  of  a  truly  good 


man.     Benevolence,  courtesy  and  kindness  were  his 

companions;  justice,  integrity  and  morality  were  his, 
rules  of  action.     Therefore  be  it 

Resoloed,  That  in  the  death  of  Brother  Thomas, 
Cedar  Lodge,  No.  124,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  has  lost  a 
just  and  upright  Mason,  society  an  exemplary  cit- 
izen, his  wife  a  kind  and  affectionate  husliand  and 
Grundy  County  a  faithful  public  servant. 

That  to  his  beloved  wife  we  extend  our  heartfelt 
sympathy,  and  commend  her  to  Him  who  doeth  all 
things  well,  with  the  assurance  that  she  will  some 
day  go  to  him  in  tliat  haven  of  rest,  where  all  is 
peace  and  perfect  joy. 

That  a  page  in  our  record  book  be  set  apart  as 
sacred  to  the  memory  of  Past  Master  Samuel  B. 
Thomas,  on  which  shall  be  inscribed  his  Masonic 
record. 

Thata  copy  of  the  preamble  and  resolutions  be 
certified  and  presented  to  the  wife  of  our  deceased 
brother.  Perry  A.  Armstrong, 

L.  P.  LOTT, 

Leander  Irons, 

Committee. 

THURSDAY,  SEPTEMBER  14,  1883. 

Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment;  called  to  or- 
der by  the  Chairman;  present,  a  full  Board,  except 
Superintendent  Ayers. 

Minutes  of  yesterday's  proceedings  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

A  motion  by  Superintendent  Germain  that  the 
matter  of  fixing  compensation  of  county  officers  be 
set  for  hearing  at  11  o'clock,  was  carried. 

The  committee  appointed  to  draft  resolutions  of 
respect  to  the  memory  of  the  late  Hon.  S.  B.  Thomas, 
deceased,  presented  their  report  as  follows,  to  wit  : 

Your  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  matter 
of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  S.  B.  Thomas,  County 
Judge,  would  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  re- 
port on  the  matter  before  them: 

Whereas,  Death  has  removed  from  this  com- 
munity the  Hon.  Samuel  B.  Thomas;  and,  whereas, 
it  is  but  fitting  that  we,  members  of  the  Grundy 
County  Board  of  Supervisors,  who  have  known  him 
personally  and  officially  for  many  years,  should  ex- 
press our  respect  for  him  as  an  officer  and  a  man. 

Be  it  resolved,  That,  in  the  demise  of  Judge  S.  B. 
Thomas,  the  "people  of  the  county  have  lost  the 
presence  and  counsel  of  a  man  whose  daily  life  was 
pure,  and  whose  kindly  nature  endeared  him  to  all, 
of  an  officer  who  always  did  his  duty  fairly  and 
justly,  whose  sense  of  justice  and  equity  was  strong 
and  constant,  and  whose  memory  will  long  be  held 


MORRIS  CITY  AND  TOAVNSHIP. 


39 


in  respect  and  vencrancc  ns  that  noblest  work  of 
God,  an  honest  man,  and  fnrther 

Be  it  re.mlved,  Tlial  a  [lajje  of  the  record  of  the 
Board  be  dedicated  to  his  memory,  and  that  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions  be  certified  by  the  clerk  to  the 
widow  of  the  deceased.  All  of  which  is  respect- 
fully submitted.  Oren  Gibson,  Chairman. 

THOMAS  TETLOW,  mechanic,  Morris. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  borii  in  England 
February  19,  1832,  and  was  raised  and  edu- 
cated in  his  native  countrj-.  Having  married, 
July  18,  1852,  Miss  Sarah  A.  Haywood,  they 
came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Morris  in  the 
fall  of  1855.  Mrs.  (Haywood)  Tetlow  was  born 
March  15,  1825,  in  Yorkshire,  England.  In 
Oruudy  County,  Mr.  Tetlow  engaged  in  farm- 
ing from  1855  to  August,  1862,  when  he  en- 
listed in  Company  I,  One  Hundredth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry  (Capt.  Gardner).  He  con- 
tinued in  this  regiment  until  the  battle  of 
Murfreesboro,  when  he  was  confined  to  the 
hospital  for  eleven  months  continuously;  when 
able  for  duty,  he  was  attached  to  an  invalid 
corps,  Seventeenth  Regiment  Veteran  Re- 
serve, where  he  remained  until  discharged, 
July  1,  18G5;  his  term  of  service  was  about 
three  years.  He  took  part  in  the  liattles  of 
Perryville.  Murfreesboro  and  others.  After 
the  war,  he  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmithing 
under  Oscar  Tompkins,  of  Morris,  and  he  has 
been  running  a  shop  of  his  own  for  the  past 
nine  years.  His  shop  is  situated  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Libert}-  and  Jefferson  streets;  residence 
on  Jefferson  street.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tetlow  have 
a  family  of  four  children — Eliza  H.,  born  Au- 
gust 4,  1854,  died  on  shipboard  about  the  15th 
of  September,  1855;  Frances  L.,  bom  July  22, 
1856;  Charles  S.,  born  July  20,  1858,  died  Au- 
gust 31,  1861;  -Joseph  E.,  born  July  14,  1860, 
died  Scptemljer  7,  1861.  Mrs.  Tetlow  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  Chiirclj,  of 
Morris.  Frances  L.  (one  of  our  subject's 
daughters),  was  married,  December  29,  1875, 
to  Frank  W.  Edson,  of  New  York,  later  of 
Wauponsee  Township,    and   they    have    throe 


children — Gertie  E.,  born  November  21,  1876; 
Clara  B.,  born  Julj'  13,  1878,  died  November 
29,1879;  and  Frank  T.,  born  June  13,  1881. 
Thomas  Tetlow  is  a  Republican. 

A.  G.  WOODBURY,  real  estate,  loan  and  in- 
surance agent  and  Police  Magistrate,  was  born 
in  Putnam  County,  this  State,  November  8, 
1842;  son  of  A.  0.  Woodbury,  who  was  born 
in  Franklin  County,  Mass.,  August  2,  1813, 
and  came  to  Illinois  first  in  1834,  and  settled 
in  1836,  in  Putnam  County.  He  is  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  came  to  Grundy  County  in 
1852,  remained  there  till  1875,  then  moved  to 
Nebraska,  where  he  still  lives.  His  wife,  Lydia 
S.  Winters,  was  born  in  Miami  County,  Ohio, 
November  28,  1812,  and  is  still  living.  The 
parents  had  six  children,  born  to  them,  but 
three  of  them  living,  two  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter; one  of  the  sous  died  at  Jefferson  Barracks, 
5Io.,  during  the  war.  Subject  was  educated  in 
Grundy  County,  and  began  life  as  a  f\irmer, 
which  he  followed  from  1866  to  1876,  then  en- 
gaged in  his  present  business,  which  he  has 
continued  since.  While  living  in  the  countiy, 
our  subject  was  Supervisor  of  his  Township, 
Collector,  Township  School  Treasurer,  Asses- 
sor, and  was  elected  Magistrate  the  past  spring 
(1882).  Mr.  Woodbury  enlisted  in  the  Federal 
army,  August  8,  1862,  and  served  three  5ears, 
lacking  a  few  days;  was  Sergeant  in  Companj' 
D,  Ninety-first  Illinois  Infantry;  participated 
in  many  warm  engagements;  was  captured  by 
Gen.  Morgan  in  December,  1862,  with  the 
balance  of  his  regiment,  at  Elizabethtown,  Ky., 
and  was  exchanged  in  July,  1863.  He  was  in 
the  Department  of  the  Southwest,  operating 
against  Dick  Taylor;  he  was  at  the  siege  of 
Spanish  Fort,  and  at  Jlobile,  Ala.  Mr,  Wood- 
bury was  married  in  tliis  county,  Jauuarj'  4, 
1866,  to  Merinda  Mechaui,  born  September  6, 
1843,  daughter  of  Sylvester  and  Delilah  (Bunch) 
Mecham;  he  died  in  1848,  she  in  1874.  Sub- 
ject has  two  children,  viz.,  Susie  D.  and  L. 
Adella.     Mr.   Woodburv   and   wife  and    older 


40 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


daughter  are  members  of  the  Baptist  Church. 
Mr.  Woodburj-  owns  a  comfortable  residence 
in  town,  and  a  good  farm  in  the  country-.  Mr. 
Woodbury  is  a  Republican. 

.GEORGE  WOE LFEL,  tanner,  Morris,  was 
born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  March  25,  1831, 
and  was  educated  in  his  native  town.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen,  he  began  an  apprenticeship  as 
tanner  and  currier,  serving  three  years.  Ac- 
cording to  tile  laws  of  Germany,  he  traveled 
and  worked  tit  liis  trade  for  four  jears,  when, 
in  1853,  lie  came  to  the  United  States,  landing 
in  New  York,  December  1.  He  worked  in  i 
Newark,  N.  J..  Pittsburgh.  Penn..  and  Joliet,  111.,  i 
as  a  journeyman  workman.  Was  in  business  ' 
for  himself  for  a  time  in  Lockport,  111.  From  j 
18G1  to  1863,  he  ran  a  leather  store  in  Ottawa,  | 
111.  In  1863,  he  settled  in  Morris  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  Fred  Caspari,  in  the  Morris 
tannery  ;  in  1864,  the^'  bought  a  boot  and  shoe 
store  which  they  ran  in  connection  with  the 
tannery  until  October  15,  18C5,  when  the  tan- 
nery burned.  They  rebuilt  it  in  the  winter  of 
1865-66.  In  the  fall  of  1866,  Caspari  sold  his 
interest  to  Charles  Pparr,  when  the  new  firm 
added  a  harness  sliop  to  the  other  business. 
In  this  relation,  they  remained  until  1880,  when 
they  dissolved  partnership.  Sparr  becoming 
sole  owner  of  the  hoot  and  shoe  and  harness 
store,  and  Woelfel  of  the  tannery.  In  1881, 
our  subject  erected  a  large  brick  building  on 
the  site  of  the  old  one,  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  The 
establishment  has  a  working  capacity  of  thirt3'' 
hands.  Our  subject  was  married  November 
29,  1861,  to  Miss  Margaret  Fleck,  who  was 
born  in  Germany  February  12,  1838,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1851.  Tlie  family 
now  consists  of  six  children — Edgar  H.,  born 
October  28,  1862;  George  L..  July  11,  1864; 
Annie  L.,  August  12,  1867  ;  Albert,  October 
19,  1871  ;  Ernest,  September  3,  1874  ;  and  an 
infant,  born  June  17,  18S2. 

II.  T.  WARNER.  Deputy  Sherifl'.  Morris,  was 
born  in  Chicago,  February   16,   1853;  son  of 


Hiram  Warner,  who  is  a  native  of  New  York 
State,  born  about  1813.  He  came  to  Chicago 
when  a  young  man,  and  engaged  in  the  grain 
business,  which  he  followed  some  twenty  years, 
and  has  since  .engaged  in  vainous  other  occu- 
pations, but  mainly-  fanning,  which  he  has  pur- 
sued for  the  past  twenty  years  in  this  county, 
where  he  still  resides.  Saraii  F.  (Taylor)  War- 
ner, the  mother  of  our  subject,  was  also  born  in 
New  York,  about  the  year  1824,  and  is  still  liv- 
ing in  this  county.  The  parents  have  six  chil- 
dren, three  sons,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the 
youngest,  and  three  daughters.  Our  subject 
was  educated  in  Chicago,  and  after  roving 
around  for  a  few  years,  sowing  his  wild  oats, 
he  finally  settled  in  Morris,  and  served  on  the 
police  force.  In  June,  1881,  he  was  elected 
Deputy  Sheriff  of  Grundy  County,  an  office  he 
holds  at  the  present  time.  Mr.  Warner  was 
married  in  Morris,  November  12.  1875,  to 
Jeanie  M.,  daughter  of  H.  0.  Ward  ;  she  was 
born  in  1854.  The)"  have  four  cliildren — one 
son  and  three  daughters.  Jlr.  Warner  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

JOHN  WINTERBOTTOM,  machinist  :\Ior- 
ris.  John  Wintcrbottom  was  born  in  Lanca- 
shire, England,  June  30,  1842.  He  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1859,  landing  at  Morris 
April  12.  He  is  a  machinist  Ijy  trade,  at  which 
trade,  together  with  engineering,  he  worked 
for  several  years  in  Morris.  In  1870,  he  es- 
tablished a  gunsmith  shop  on  Libert}'  street, 
where  he  is  still  engaged.  Mr.  Wiuterbottom 
was  married  December  20,  1876,  to  Miss  Mary 
Williams  of  Grundy  County,  111.  She  was 
born  December  20,  1850.  They  have  two  sons 
—William  R.,  born  October  3,  1877  ;  and  Rus- 
sell W.,  born  August  30,  1880.  Our  subject 
enlisted  in  Compain'  I,  Sixty-ninth  Illinois  Vol- 
unteers, and  when  his  term  of  service  expired, 
he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
eighth  Illinois  Volunteers.  Mrs.  Wiuterbottom 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Mr.  Wiuterbottom  was  raised  b}'  Quaker  par- 


AU  SABLE  TOWXSHIP. 


41 


ents.  William  Wiuterbottom,  father  of  John, 
was  born  in  England  in  1821,  and  died  in 
Olathe.  Kan.,  in  1S74,  Martha  Winterbottom, 
his  mother,  was  born  in  1821  in  England,  and 
is  now  living  in  that  countrj'.  Jacob  Williams, 
father  of  Mrs.  Winterbottom,  was  bora  in  Wales 
August  23,  1S20,  and  is  now  living  in  Grundy 
County.  Anne  Williams,  mother  of  Mrs.  W., 
was  born  in  Wales  August  20,  1819,  and  died 
in  this  county.  April  21,  1873.  Mr.  Winter- 
bottom  is  a  Republican. 

FREDERICK  A.  WILLIAMS,  house  car- 
penter, Morris,  is  a  native  of  New  York,  born 
February-  13,  1847.  At  the  age  of  nine,  his 
parents  moved  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Mor- 
ris, Grundy  County,  where  he  was  principally 
educated.  His  father,  F.  H.  Williams,  was  a 
building-contractor,  in  which  business  he  es- 
tablished himself,  and  followed  it  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  Morris.  In  1870,  Mr. 
F.  A.  Williams  went  to  Kansas,  and  engaged 
at  building  and  contracting  for  four  years. 
Returning  on  a  visit,  in  1874,  he  found  it  to 
his  interest  to  remain,  and  in  1875  be  began 
his  present  business  in  Morris.  He  ran  a 
planing-mill  and  a  general  carpentering  busi- 
ness, emploj'iug  a  large  force  of  workingmen. 
He  is  having  a  very  fair  success.  Mr.  Will- 
iams is  unmarried,  assuming  the  responsibility 
of  the  family,  which  now  consists bf  the  moth- 
er, one  brother  and  one  sister.  The  children 
are  our  subject;  Sarah  L..  born   December  10, 


1848,  who  is  married  to  Thomas  Shaw,  of  Mor- 
ris; Charles  H..  born  October  3,  1860;  and 
Ida  B.,  born  November  6,  1863.  Cynthia  T. 
Williams,  mother  of  the  subject,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 28.  1825,  in  Herkimer  County,  N.  Y., 
and  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Mor- 
ris. The  father,  F.  H.  Williams,  was  a  native 
of  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  born  Januarj-  1, 
1823,  and  died  in  Morris  June  1,  1875.  Mr. 
F.  A.  Williams  is  a  conservative  Republi- 
can. 

CHARLES  F.  WASHBURN,  Morris,  is  a 
native  of  Otsego  County,  N.  Y.,  born  Novem- 
ber 25,  1827,  was  raised  and  educated  in  his 
native  State.  In  the  spring  of  1855,  he  settled 
in  Saratoga  Township,  Grundy  County,  where 
he  bought  a  farm.  Here  he  lost  his  wife,  Mrs. 
Mary  (Austin)  Washburn,  and  his  three  chil- 
dren. On  the  7th  of  September,  1858,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Martha  Lyon,  of  Jefferson 
Countj-,  N.  Y.  Ske  was  born  August  22,  1830, 
and  came  to  Kendall  County  in  1848.  The 
family  consists  of  three  children — George,  born 
December  16,  1859;  Frank  M.,  September  30, 
1861;  and  Adelbert,  May  22,1863.  Mr.  Wash- 
burn was  for  several  years  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business  on  Libertj'  and  Canal  streets. 
He  is  now  owner  of  a  boat  and  team  on  the 
Illinois  &  Michigan  Canal,  spending  much  of 
his  time  on  the  line  from  Chicago  to  La  Salle. 
Residence,  northwest  part  of  city.  He  is  a 
Republican. 


AU  SABLE  TOWISTSHIP. 


CHARLES  W.  BARKER,  hardware  and 
implements,  Minooka,  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Barker  &  Stauifer,  hardware  merchants 
and  dealers  in  agricultural  implements,  the 
leading  interest  of  the  kind  in  the  town.  He 
■was  born  in  Lisbon,  Kendall  Co.,  111.,  in 
March,  1851,  eldest  son  of  William  M.  Bar- 


ker, who  was  boi-n  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y., 
May,  1825,  who  was  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Susana  (Rogers)  Bai'ker,  he  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, she  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  Scotch 
descent.  Samuel  Barker,  the  grandsire  of 
our  subject,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in 
Kendall  County;  his  son  William  came  with 


43 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


him  when  a  young  man,  and  succeeded  his 
father  on  the  homestead ;  afterward  purchased 
a  farm  in  the  same  county,  where  he  made 
his  permanent  location,  and  remained  on  the 
same  until  his  death,  September,  185S.  Two 
sons  were  born  him — Charles  William,  who 
bears  his  name,  and  George  H.,  who  resides 
in  Iowa.  His  widow  is  now  the  wife  of  Jo- 
seph Buckley,  of  this  township.  Charles  W. 
came  to  this  township  in  1865;  remained 
here  three  years,  and,  rotm-ning  to  Kendall 
County,  lived  there  until  the  spring  of  1876. 
In  the  fall  of  1877,  he  associated  in  business 
with  Adam  Staufler,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Barker  &  Stauffer,  which  copartnership  still 
exists.  They  k'sep  a  general  hardware  stock 
and  handle  farm  implements,  making  a  spe- 
cialty of  Weir  and  John  Deere  plows,  Union 
and  Deere  planters,  McCormick's  harvesting 
machines,  Webber  wagons  and  Abbott's  car- 
riages. In  1872,  he  was  married  to  Priscilla 
Coop,  daughter  of  Samuel  Coop,  of  this  town- 
ship; no  children.  He  is  a  member  of  Mi- 
nooka  Lodge,  No.  528,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Orient 
Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Blaney  Commandery 
(Knights  Templar). 

JOSEPH  BUCKLEY,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mi- 
nooka ;  emigrated  from  Lancashire,  England, 
to  this  county  in  the  spring  of  1849;  he  was 
born  February  3, 1831,  son  of  John  and  Mary 
Buckley,  both  natives  of  Lancashire,  En- 
gland. Mr.  Buckley's  early  boyhood  was 
spent  in  school  and  in  the  drug  store  of 
his  father,  who  was  an  apothecary  and  who 
died  in  1851 ,  »t  which  time  Joseph  returned 
to  England  to  settle  up  his  father's  estate, 
remaining  there  four  years  and  a  half.  tJpon 
his  retm'n  to  the  State,  he  located  in  Kendall 
County,  in  Lisbon  Township,  and  engaged 
in  farming.  August  11,  1862,  he  responded 
to  the  Nation's  call,  and,  although  not  a  full- 
fledged  citizen  at  that  time,  he  promptly  an- 
swered to  the  call  to  arms,  and  enlisted  as  a 


private  in  Company  H,  Eighty-ninth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  continued  in  service 
and  participated  in  all  the  engagements  in 
which  his  regiment  took  part,  beginning  with 
Stone  River  and  ending  with  that  of  Keuesaw 
Mountain,  June  21,  1861,  where  he  was  shot 
through  the  shoulder,  the  ball  passing  down 
and  out  of  the  forearm.  This  ended  his  use- 
fulness as  a  soldier,  and,  after  several 
months  in  hospitals,  was  discharged,  January 
20,  1865,  on  account  of  disability,  and  re- 
turned to  Kendall  County,  In  the  spring  of 
1866,  he  located  in  this  township,  on  the 
southwest  (jnarter  of  Section  5,  upon  land 
that  he  had  purchased  in  1863,  and  has  since 
remained  here.  He  has  a  good  farm  of  100 
acres,  with  excellent  buildings  thereon. 
February  23,  he  man-ied  Mi-s.  Mary  Barker, 
relict  of  William  M.  Barker;  she  was  born 
in  Derbyshire,  England,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Martha  (Milner)  Naden,  the  latter  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Milner.  The 
Naden  family  emigrated  from  England  in 
18-16,  locating  in  Lisbon,  Kendall  County. 
Mr.  Buckley  has  one  son.  Both  he  and  wife 
are  members  of  the  An  Sable  M.  E.  Church. 
PETER  H.  BRISCOE,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Minooka.  Among  the  representative  young 
men  and  farmers  of  this  township  is  Peter  H. 
Briscoe.  He  was  born  May  23,  1853,  at 
Dresden,  this  township,  youngest  son  of 
Nicholas  and  Mary  (Byrns)  Briscoe.  Nicho- 
las Briscoe  was  born  in  Kings  County,  Ire- 
land, in  September,  1795,  and  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  the  spring  of  1850.  The  family  con- 
sisted of  himself,  wife  and  nine  children — 
Richard,  Patrick,  Allen,  Maria,  Eliza,  James, 
John,  Nicholas  and  Bridget.  Thc3e  since 
born  that  lived  are  Peter  H.  and  William. 
Nicholas  Briscoe  came  to  Dresden  first,  and 
lived  there  about  two  years;  then  moved  to 
Section  24,  where  he  rented  land,  and,  sev- 
eral years  after,    purchased  360   acres,   160 


AU  SABLE  TOWNSHIP. 


45 


acres  on  Section  13,  balance  on  Section  24, 
and  remained  on  the  same  until  his  death, 
which  occiiired  August  1,  1882.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  Chui-ch  and  highly 
respected  in  the  commuuity  in  which  he 
lived.  His  widow  and  live  children  now 
survive  him,  viz.,  Patrick,  Ellen,  Maria,  Eliza 
and  Peter  H.  Patrick  resides  in  Will  County, 
111.,  in  Channahon.  Ellen  is  the  wife  of 
Thomas  Daly,  and  resides  in  Lynn  County, 
Mo.  Maria  resides  in  this  township,  wife  of 
James  Mead,  and  Eliza  resides  in  Minnesota, 
wife  of  William  Harrison.  Peter  H.  Briscoe, 
the  subject  of  these  lines,  came  to  this  farm 
with  his  parents,  and  remained  with  them 
until  the  year  1879,  when,  on  November  3, 
that  year,  he  married  Margaret  Burke,  who 
was  born  in  this  township,  daughter  of  Thom- 
as Burke.  After  his  marriage,  he  located  on 
the  farm  he  now  owns,  and  has  since  remained 
there,  engaged  in  farming,  his  farm  consist- 
ing of  200  acres,  on  Section  24.  He  has  al- 
ways been  identified  with  the  Democratic 
party;  he  served  the  township  as  Collector  in 
1878  and  1879,  and  served  two  terms  and 
was  re-elected  Supervisor  of  the  township  in 
the  spring  of  1882.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Briscoe 
have  two  children — John  and  Eliza.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church  at  Minooka. 
THOilAS  BURKE,  farmer,  P.  O.  Minoo 
ka.  Of  the  highly  respectable  citizens  of 
Au  Sable  Township,  Thomas  Burke  ranks 
among  the  first.  He  was  born  December  22, 
1824,  in  County  Clare,  Ireland,  in  the  said  e 
house  that  his  ancestors  for  three  generations 
were  born.  His  father,  Garrett  Burke,  was 
born  m  1804;  his  wife,  who  bore  our  subject, 
(Thomas;  the  only  son),  was  Sarah  Kleine. 
Garrett  Burke,  the  youngest,  was  a  son  of 
Patrick,  who  was  a  son  of  Michael  Burke, 
who  settled  in  County  Clare  prior  to  the 
Kevolution.  In  1847,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch    left   the    old   country    and    came    to 


America,  landing  in  New  York  in  the  spring 
of  that  year.  He  lived  in  New  York  about 
one  year,  then  came  to  Pike  County,  Ind., 
where  he  lived  until  the  fall  of  1851,  when 
he  came  to  this  township,  and,  for  about  six 
years,  rented  land,  after  which  he  made  a 
purchase  of  eighty  acres  of  unimproved  land, 
paying  for  it  $9  per  acre,  and  has  since  added 
to  the  same,  and  now  has  160  acres  and  some 
timber.  In  1851,  he  married  Elizabeth 
Welch,  a  native  of  Kings  County,  Ireland, 
daughter  of  AV^illiam  Welch;  they  have  two 
children — Margaret  and  Elizabeth;  the  for- 
mer is  the  wife  of  Peter  Briscoe,  of  this 
township. 

MICHAEL  BRANNICK,  Channahon,  was 
born  October  17,  1825,  in  County  Mayo,  Ire- 
land, fourth  son  of  Patrick  and  Mary  (Carey) 
Brannick.  Patrick  Brannick  was  the  son  of 
William  Brannick.  Subject  was  raised  on  a 
farm,  and.  in  April,  184(5,  he  landed  at  New 
Yoi"k;  came  to  this  county  and  to  Morris  in 
May,  same  year;  worked  awhile  on  the  canal, 
then  went  out  to  Lisbon,  Kendall  Co.,  IlL, 
and  stayed  there  four-  years,  altogether,  and, 
in  the  spring  of  1 850,  he  went  the  overland 
route  to  California;  engaged  in  raining  one 
year,  then  retm'ned  here,  in  1851,  and  made 
a  purchase  of  100  acres,  where  he  now  re- 
sides, which  cost  $9  an  acre  cash,  there  being 
some  little  improvement  on  the  land,  fifteen 
acres  broken  and  small  log  house  on  the 
place.  He  has  now  514  acres  in  this  county, 
including  eighty  acres  given  his  son,  and  he 
has  made  all  he  has  by  hard  labor.  He  was 
married,  November  10,  1851,  to  Mary  Ann 
Sterling,  who  was  born  in  York  State,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Sterling,  who  came  West  prior  to 
1848.  J\Ir.  Bi'annickhas  tt>n  childi'en — John, 
Ambrose,  William,  Mary  E.,  Michael,  Thomas, 
Kate,  Patrick  H.  and  Margaret,  all  living.  He 
carries  on  general  farming  and  stock  raising. 
He  is  a  member  of   the    Catholic  Church. 


44 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


GEORGE  COMERFORD,  farmer  and 
general  business,  P.  O.  Minooka.  Among 
the  representative  men  of  Au  Sable  Town- 
ship, George  Comerford  stands  among  the 
first.  He  was  born  August  3,  1826,  in  Coun- 
ty Wexford,  Ii-eland,  eldest  son  of  William 
and  Honora  (Nolan)  Comerford,  both  natives 
of  same  county.  His  ])aternal  grandsire  was 
Pierce  Comerford,  whose  wife  was  Mary 
Roche.  Our  subject  was  reared  at  home  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  received  a  collegi- 
ate education  in  the  land  of  his  birth,  and, 
in  the  spring  of  1850,  emigrated  to  America, 
in  company  with  his  parents  and  family  of  six 
children,  George  being  the  first;  then  in  or- 
der came  Pierce,  Mary,  Charles,  Nicholas 
and  William.  The  family  arrived  in  April, 
1850;  the  father  purchased  land  soon  after 
'his  arrival,  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  town- 
ship, his  purchase  amounting  to  560  acres  of 
land,  which  he  subsequently  divided  up 
among  his  children.  His  death  occurred  Oc- 
tober 11,  1866;  his  wife  preceded  him,  No- 
vember 1,  1854.  Of  the  Comerford  family, 
George  is  the  only  one  residing  in  the  coun- 
ty; in  fact,  only  one  of  the  family  is  yet 
living  aside  from  George,  and  that  is  his 
brother  Charles,  who  resides  in  Brule,  Cham- 
berlain Co.,  Dak.  When  oiir  subject  came  to 
this  county,  he  engaged  in  railroading  and 
helped  locate  and  survey  the  Rockf  ord  &  Rock 
Island  Railroad,  which  runs  through  this 
county,  and  helped  lay  the  first  rail  that  was 
laid  in  the  State.  After  the  survey  of  the 
road,  he  assisted  in  building  the  same,  and 
remained  in  the  employ  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany until  1856.  He  was  the  first  railroad 
affent  and  the  first  Postmaster  in  the  town  of 
Minooka.  He  served  consecutively  as  Post- 
master nine  years,  and  was  station  agent  sev- 
eral years.  He  built  some  of  the  first  busi- 
ness houses  in  the  place,  and  has,  perhaps, 
contributed  more  toward  advancing  and  build- 


ing up  the  town  than  any  other  one  man. 
Soon  after  the  establishment  of  the  place,  he 
engaged  in  commercial  business,  keeping 
station,  post  office  and  store  in  one  small 
building.  .Afterward,  he  built  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Comerford  Block  and  engaged 
in  running  a  general  store,  and  subsequently 
to  this  and  other  buildings,  and  did  what  he 
could  to  encourage  the  prosperity  and  the 
success  of  the  town.  During  this  time,  he 
has  been  carrying  on  his  farm,  consisting  of 
160  acres,  which  is  situated  adjacent  to  the 
town  on  the  west;  the  farm  is  well  improved, 
its  owner  being  a  thorough,  practical  farmer. 
In  justice  to  Mr.  Comerford  it  can  be  said 
that  he  has  been  more  prominently  identified . 
with  the  interests  of  this  portion  of  the  county 
than  any  other  man  living  in  the  township. 
He  has  filled  every  office  of  trust  in  the  town- 
ship within  the  gift  of  the  people,  and  served 
repeatedly  in  several  official  stations.  In 
church  matters  he  has  borne  a  conspicuous 
part,  assisting  in  the  formation  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church,  and  giving  liberally  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  M.  E.  society  at  this  place, 
also.  In  school  matters,  he  has  been  promi- 
nently identified,  being  aware  of  the  advan- 
tages of  education;  he  has  done  all  in  his 
power  toward  the  advancement  of  the  interests 
of  the  jSame  in  this  township,  and  is  now 
President  of  the  Board  of  Education  here. 
September  16,  1855,  he  was  united  in  wedlock 
to  Catharine  Smith,  who  was  also  a  native  of 
the  same  county  as  himself,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  Smith,  all  of  Wexford,  Ire- 
land. Four  children  have  been  born  to  them, 
three  of  whom  are  living — Thomas  S. ,  Nicho- 
las J.  and  Mary  C,  all  of  whom  ai-e  receiving 
the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education  at  the 
University  at  Notre  Dame.  In  politics,  Mr. 
Comerford  is  Democratic,  and  has  proven 
true  to  its  principles.  He  has  recently  re- 
turned from  a  visit  to  the  home  of  his  birth. 


AU  SABLE  TOAVNSriIP. 


45 


and  was  received  by  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances with  ovations  of  a  ilattorinw  character. 

WILLI.VM  CO-MERFORD.  Minooka,  was 
born  in  this  township  September  15,  1859, 
eldest  son  of  Pierce  and  nephaw  of  George 
Comerford,  of  thifi  township.  Pierce  Com- 
erford  was  born  January,  1828,  in  County 
Wexford,  Ireland,  and  came  to  this  country 
with  his  father,  William,  at  the  time  of  his 
settlement  here.  He  settled  on  land  given 
him  by  his  father,  and  engaged  in  farming 
on  Section  2,  in  this  township,  and  remained 
on  the  farm  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  January,  18(38.  His  widow  yet  survives 
him  and  resides  on  the  homestead.  She  was 
born  in  County  Kildare,  Ireland,  in  1S32, 
daughter  of  Dennis  Dempsey;  she  came  to 
this  county  in  1855.  To  Pierce  Comerford 
was  born  William,  Honora.  Nicholas,  Mary 
E.  and  Anna,  all  residents  of  this  township, 
living  on  the  homestead  of  which  William 
has  had  charge  since  1881.  February  11, 
1881,  he  married  Katie  Kinney,  who  was 
born  in  Morris  July  26,  1860,  daughter  of 
Patrick  Kinney.  They  have  one  child — 
Mary  E. 

EDWARD  CANT  WELL,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Minpoka;  has  been  a  resident  of  the  county 
since  1850;  he  is  the  eldest  son  of  Michael 
Cantwell,  who  was  born  in  Kings  County, 
Ireland,  in  1816,  son  of  Edward  and  Bridget 
(Hoolen)  Cantwell.  The  paternal  grandsire 
of  Michael  was  Matthew  Cantwell.  Michael 
Cantwell,  the  father  of  our  subject,  came  to 
America  in  1836,  landing  in  Albany  same 
year,  and,  having  nothing  when  he  came  to  this 
country,  hired  out  to  work,  and  continued  in 
and  about  the  city  for  about  four  years.  In 
February,  1839,  he  married  Margaret  Feehan, 
a  native  of  Kings  County,  daughter  of  Cor- 
nelius and  Mary  (Deegon)  Feehan.  About 
the  year  1840,  ili-.  Cautwell  removed  to 
Michigan,    where   he    had    purchased    land; 


there  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1850, 
when  he  came  to  Chicago  and  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business,  but  discontinued  it  and 
came  to  this  township  the  fall  of  that  year, 
and  located  here  and  since  remained.  He 
first  bought  forty  acres  of  land  at  $3  an  acre; 
afterward  bought,  160  acres  near  the  canal, 
now  owned  by  the  Boyle  family.  He  has  five 
children — Edwai'd,  John,  Margaret,  James 
and  Thomas,  all  residents  of  the  town.ship. 
Margaret  is  the  wife  of  William  Woods. 
Edward,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  born 
in  Albany  County  in  1840,  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Michigan  and  returned  with  them 
to  this  county,  in  1850.  At  the  outbreak  of 
the  war,  or  soon  after,  he  responded  to  the 
call  to  arms,  and  enlisted,  in  February, 
1862,  in  Company  I,  Sixtieth  Regiment  Illi- 
nois Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  His  first  engagement  was 
at  Stone  River.  Afterward,  Chickamauga, 
Mission  Bidge,  Lookout  andKenesaw  Mount- 
ains, Resaca,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta. 
Jouesboro  and  all  the  engagements  of  the 
campaign.  At  Bentonville,  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  April  19,  1864,  and  was  transferred 
from  different  points  until  he  was  finally  dis- 
charged, in  June,  1865,  having  been  a  true 
and  brave  soldier  dui'ing  his  period  of  enlist- 
ment. Upon  his  return  home,  he  resumed 
work  at  home,  where  he  remained  until  his 
marriage.  Since  then,  he  has  been  on  his 
own  land.  He  was  married,  August  15, 
1875,  to  Josephine  Gordon,  a  native  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, daughter  of  George  Gordon ;  they 
have  four  children — Edward,  Thomas,  Louisa 
and  May.  His  farm  is  located  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  Section  10. 

ISRAEL  CRYDER.  farmer.  P.  O.  Mi- 
nooka, born  in  Huntingdon  County,  Penn. , 
March  11,  1835,  fourth  child  of  Jacob  and 
Elizabeth  Cryder.  Jacob  Cryder  was  a  son 
of  Israel  Crvder.  whose  wife  was  a  Miss  Car- 


46 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


penter.  Jacob  Cryder  was  a]f armer  by  occu- 
pation; he  died  in  1839,  when  subject  was 
four  years  of  age;  he  had  six  children,  two 
Bons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom  lived 
to  be  grown,  save  one — Hannah  M. ,  Henry, 
Amanda,  Israel,  Sarah  A.  Those  living  are 
Israel  and  Sarah  A.,  now  Mrs.  James  Rear- 
don,  in  Vienna  Township,  this  county;  all 
of  the  above  came  West  and  all  firi^t  settled 
in  this  township.  Hannah  M.  married  N.  H. 
Tabler.  Henry  died  in  November,  1872. 
Amanda  married  Jonas  Bartlett;  they  set- 
tled in  Saratoga  Township;  she  died  about 
the  year  1854.  Our  subject  came  West  in 
the  fall  of  1844,  with  his  mother  and  the 
family;  they  lived  with  Henry  Crydar  a  few 
years,  ilr.  Ciyder  remained  with  his  grand- 
father imtil  he  reached  the  age  of  maturity, 
and  engaged  in  farming.  He  bought  190 
acres  where  he  now  lives,  and  has  since  lived 
here.  September  14,  1862,  he  married  Mary 
Hampson,  born  June  7,  1839,  in  Jefferson 
County,  N.  Y.,  daughter  ^of  George  and 
Maria  (Cash)  Hampson,  both  of  England, 
who  settled  in  Jefierson  County,  then*  re- 
moved West,  to  Kendall  County,  in  1858, 
where  the  father  yet  lives;  the  mother  died 
in  1867.  Mrs.  Cryder  has  four  brothers  and 
two  sisters — Edward  and  Henry,  in  Kendall 
County;  also,  Hannah,  wife  of  Thomas  New- 
som;  Thomas,  in  Decatur  County,  Iowa; 
Jane,  in  same  county,  wife  of  Thomas  Rear- 
don,  and  Joseph,  in  Newark,  '•  N.  J.  Since 
Mr.  Cryder  located  here,  he  has  been  a  con- 
stant resident,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  keeping  some  tine  Diu-ham  stock  on 
the  farm  of  385  acres,  on  which  he  has  put 
all  the  substantial  improvements.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cryder  have  four  children — Emma  E. 
Edith  M.,  Henry  E.  and  Jessie  B.  He  is  a 
Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity — Blue  Lodge,  Royal  Arch,  and 
Blaney  Commandery. 


GEORGE  COLLEPS,  book-keeper,  Mi- 
nooka,  was  born  March  16,  1848,  in  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  son  of  John  W.  and  Margaret  (Schro- 
der) Colleps,  both  natives  of  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, and  who  came  to  the  United  States  the 
same  year  that  our  subject  was  born.  When 
young,  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Michi- 
gan, where  they  remained  until  1853,  when 
he  came  with  them  to  this  jjlace.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen,  he  volunteered  in  the  service  of 
his  country,  enlisting  in  the  spring  of  1864, 
in  Company  G,  Sixty-fourth  Regiment  of  Il- 
linois Volunteer  Infantry,  and,  after  partici- 
pating in  several  of  the  engagements  of  the 
Atlanta  campaign,  was  taken  prisoner,  July 
22,  at  Atlanta,  and  taken  to  Andersonville 
Prison,  where  he  was  incarcerated  for  nearly 
ten  months,  and  for  nearly  one  month  he 
stood_j  and  laid  on  the  ground  in  the  rain, 
with  no  clothing  or  covering  for  his  body  but 
a  shirt  and  pair  of  drawers  At  the  time  of 
his  capture,  he  weighed  130  pounds;  at  the 
time  of  his  release,  had  dwindled  down  to 
tifty-six.  His  sufferings  were  indescribable, 
and  the  horrors  of  that  den  and  the  remem- 
brances of  the  cruelties  enacted  there  will 
ever  remain  vividly  impressed  upon  his  mind 
as  long  as  reason  holds  her  sway.  Upon  his 
release  at  the  termination  of  the  war,  he  re- 
turned to  Minooka  and  engaged  as  clerk  in 
the  dry  goods  and  grocery  store  of  R.  Gardi- 
ner, where  he  continued  until  1^70.  Then, 
for  three  years,  he  was  associated  in  the 
hardware  business  with  W.  A.  Worthing, 
after  which  the  partnership  was  dissolved  by 
mutual  consent;  he  then  clerked  again  for  R. 
Gardiner,  continuing  in  his  employ  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  was  for  two  years  and 
a  half  in  copartnership  with  L.  Smith  in 
the  grocery  business;  he  then  disposed  of  his 
interest  to  S.  W.  Smith,  and  remained  with 
him  as  clerk  until  1880,  when  he  took  charge 
of  the  books  in  the  grain  and  elevator  office 


AU  SABLE  TOWNSHIP. 


47 


of  A.  K.  Knapp,  and  has  since  served  in  that 
capacity.  September  14,  1869,  }ie  married 
Jennie  Van  Horn,  wlio  was  born  in  Essex 
County,  N.  J. ,  daughter  of  John  and  Mar- 
etha  (Terhime)  Van  Horn;  they  have  no 
children  living.  He  is  a  member  of  Minooka 
Lodge,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Orient  Chapter  and 
Blaney  Commandery. 

THOMAS  CARROLL,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mi- 
nooka. Of  the  representative  men  of  this 
township  who  came  from  Erin's  Isle,  none  are 
more  highly  esteemed  or  more  deserving  than 
Thomas  Carroll.  He  was  born  August  15, 
1814.  in  County  Lovel,  Ireland,  His  parents 
were  Thomas  and  Mary  (Tafe)  Can'oll,  and 
to  them  were  born  the  following  children: 
Patrick.  John,  James,  Thomas,  William,  Ed- 
ward, Maria,  Alice  and  Bridget.  None  of 
the  family  came  to  this  county  save  Thomas, 
who  emigrated  to  America  in  June,  1837, 
landing  in  New  York.  When  he  camo  he 
had  nothing  but  his  hands  and  a  willing 
heart,  but  he  made  good  use  of  his  opportu- 
nities, though  few  they  were.  He  hired  out 
to  work  as  teamster,  and  turned  his  attention 
to  whatever  employment  was  the  most  remu- 
nerative to  him.  He  remained  in  New  York 
four  or  five  years,  then  came  to  this  State 
prior  to  the  Imilding  of  the  canal.  The  first 
work  he  did  upon  bis  arrival  to  this  State  was 
for  Mr.  Kimball,  at  Marseilles,  where  he  stayed 
some  two  years  or  more.  Then  he  worked 
about  three  yeai's  on  the  canal.  Afterward 
■went  to  Ottawa,  where  he  worked  on  the 
canal,  and  afterward  worked  for  William 
Armstrong  about  two  years.  Prior  to  1850, 
he  located  on  the  land  he  now  owns.  Having 
accumulated  some  money,  he  invested  first  in 
forty  acres  of  land,  which  cost  him  $1  per 
acre,  the  land  being  unimproved.  He  after- 
ward piu-chased  eighty  acres  in  AVill  County, 
for  which  he  paid  $13  per  acre,  and  he  has 
now  210  acres,  all  of  which  he  has  worked 


for  and  obtained  by  great  industry.  His 
wife  before  his  marriage  was  Mrs.  Mary  Ann 
Freckleton,  a  native  of  County  Tipperary, 
Ireland;  her  maiden  name  was  Conn  and  her 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Ann  Heakey, 
now  eighty-eight  years  old;  by  this  union, 
there  have  been  born  eight  children,  whose 
names,  according  to  the  order  of  births, 
are  John,  Thomas,  Andrew,  Michael,  Edward, 
William,  Maria  and  Mary  A.  Mr.  Can-oil  is 
a  Democrat  and  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

JOHN  CASS,  farmer,  P.  O.  Channahon. 
Among  the  old  settlers  and  self-made  men  of 
this  township  is  Mr.  Cass,  who  was  born  in 
Queen's  County,  Ireland,  in  1828,  only  sou 
of  William  and  Bridget  (Kenihan)  Cass. 
Subject  was  raised  on  the  farm;  left  home 
May  19,  1849,  and  after  live  weeks  and  four 
days'  voyage,  landed  in  New  York,  July  2. 
same  year.  When  he  came  to  Chicago,  he 
had  but  33  cents  in  his  pocket,  all  he  pos- 
sessed. He  worked  a  short  time  at  Blue  Is- 
land, and  came  to  Au  Sable  that  harvest; 
worked  through  the  season,  then  went  to  Iowa 
and  worked  on  the  public  works  until  the 
spring,  and  returning  here,  he  worked  on  the 
State  boat  until  harvest.  He  then  hired  out 
at  $10  per  month  on  a  farm  about  thirteen 
months,  losing  but  one  and  one- half  days  in 
that  time,  for  John  Adams.  He  then  took 
the  farm  and  rented  the  same  on  shares  for 
two  years,  after  which  he  rented  land  of  the 
Lewis  heirs,  on  the  land  which  Briscoe  now 
owns,  for  about  five  years.  After  he  had  been 
here  three  years,  he  bought  eighty  acres, 
where  he  now  lives,  paying  $30  per  acre;  no 
improvements  on  the  land  whatever.  He  re- 
mained on  the  Lewis  farm  until  December, 
1856,  when  he  moved  on  his  eighty  acres, 
and  has  since  lived  there,  having  now  220 
acres  of  land  with  good  improvements.  Apri  1 
3,  1852,  he  maiTied  Nora  Delaney,  born  in 


4S 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Queen's  County,  Ii-eland,  daughter  of  James 
and  Bridget  Lyncli  Delaney.  Mrs.  Cass 
came  here  in  1850.  When  Iili\  Cass  located 
on  this  farm,  he  had  but  little  in  the  way  of 
comforts.  They  had  a  hard  time  for  several 
years,  but  by  hard  labor,  diligence  and  great 
industry,  they  have  acquired  the  home  and 
property  they  now  have.  They  are  members 
of  the  Catholic  Cbiu'ch.  -\Ii\  Cass  also  owns 
some  property  in  Joliet. 

SAMUEL  COOP,  farmer.  P.  O.  Minooka, 
born  August  20,  1827.  in  Lancashire,  En- 
gland, second  son  of  Jatnes  and  Mary  (Birt- 
wistle)  Coop.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he 
went  to  learn  the  machinists'  trade,  and 
served  seven  years  in  the  shop.  December 
25,  1853,  he  married  Ann,  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  (Holden)  Bull.  In  the  spring  of 
1855,  he  emigi-ated  to  this  county  and  pur- 
chased eighty-five  acres  of  Mi.  Longworth, 
on  the  west  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
Section  5.  paying  SU  per  acre.  There  were 
no  improvements  on  the  same  whatever  when 
he  located  here,  yet,  by  hard  work  and  econo- 
my, he  has  succeeded  in  making  a  good  home 
and  a  competence  for  himself.  He  has  but 
one  child — Priscilla.  wife  of  Charles  W. 
Barker,  of  Minooka.  ili-.  Coop  is  a  Kepub- 
lican,  aud  has  always  voted  that  ticket. 

PATRICK  CLEXNON,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Minooka,  was  born  in  Queen's  County,  Ire- 
land. 1825,  son  of  Patrick  and  Judah  (Scott) 
Clennon.  Mr.  Clennon  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica in  1849,  landing  in  New  Orleans  in  De- 
cember the  same  year.  From  there  he  went 
to  Fayette  County,  Ohio,  where  he  hired  out 
among  the  farmers  by  the  month,  taking  his 
pay  in  scrip,  and  I'emained  there  until  the 
fall  of  Buchanan's  election,  when  he  located 
in  this  township,  where  he  now  resides  upon 
land  that  he  purchased  two  years  jirior  to  his 
leaving  Ohio,  said  land  being  unimproved  at 
the  time  of  his  piurchase,   and  costing  him 


$4.50.  He  has  now  a  good  farm,  well  im- 
proved and  plenty  of  stock,  all  of  which  has 
been  the  fi-uitsof  his  own  earnings.  He  was 
married,  in  1848,  to  Margaret  Phalen,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  and  Catharine  (Campen)  Pha- 
len. This  maiTiage  has  been  crowned  by  the 
birth  of  one  son — James  Patrick,  who  re- 
sides with  his  parents  on  the  homestead. 
He  was  born  in  Fayette  Coiiuty,  Ohio,  and 
removed  to  this  county  with  his  parents  and 
since  remained.  May  3,  1800,  he  man-ied 
Jennie  Kinsley,  who  was  born  in  this  town- 
ship, daughter  of  Andi-ew  and  Eliza  (Smith) 
Kinsley;  they  have  one  son — James  Patrick, 
born  December  25,  1881.  Mrs.  Clennon. 
Jr.,  is  a  gi-and-daughter  of  Andi-ew  Kinsley, 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  township,  who 
was  prominently  identified  with  this  portion 
of  the  county;  he  was  a  contractor  on  the 
canal  at  the  time  of  its  building;  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Catholic  Church  at  Dres- 
den, one  of  the  first  Supervisors  in  the  town- 
ship and  one  of  the  leading  and  representa- 
tive men  of  his  time  in  Au  Sable  Township. 
He  had  three  sons- — James,  Michael  and  An- 
drew, none  of  whom  are  now  living  in  the 
county.  Andrew  Kinsley  died  in  August, 
1872;  Eliza,  his  wife,  in  August,  1862;  she 
was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Smith,  of  County 
Wexford,  L'eland,  who  came  to  Lockport,  N. 
Y,,  in  1852,  and  there  died  in  1854.  He  has 
one  son  in  this  township — George  T. ,  a  mer- 
chant in  Minooka.  ]\Ii-.  and  Mrs.  Andi-ew 
Kinsley  had  two  children — Jennie  and  Mary. 
GERHARD  DAHLEM,  Postmaster  and 
store,  Minooka.  The  present  efficient  Post- 
master of  Minooka  came  to  this  township  in 
1855,  and  since  that  time  has  been  a  constant 
resident  of  the  place  and  identified  with  its 
interests.  He  was  born  July  16,  1832,  in 
Bavaria.  Germany,  son  of  John  and  Kate 
(Ruth)  Dahlem.  In  1852,  Gerhard  emigi-ated 
to  America  and    spent  three   years    in    Lee 


AU  SABLE  TOWNSHIP. 


4» 


County.  Iowa,  at  a  place  called  Denmai-k, 
where  he  worked  in  a  cheese  factory.  In 
September,  1855,  he  came  to  this  State  and 
township,  and  engaged  as  a  farm  hand  in  the 
employ  of  R.  Gai-diner  for  one  year,  after 
which  ho  worked  on  a  railroad  section  c«ie 
year:  then  was  switchman  two  years,  after 
which  he  was  in  charge  of  the  section  as  fore- 
man on  the  railroad  for  three  years.  August 
29,  1802,  he  enlisted  as  private  in  Company 
D,  Fourth  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war;  was  advanced  to  Cor- 
poral, then  to  Sergeant,  and  participated  in 
many  of  the  stirring  and  thrilling  engage- 
ments of  the  wai-,  and  was  at  times  Orderly 
on  Gens.  Grant's,  McPherson's  and  Thomas  K, 
Smith's  sta£f.  After  his  discharge,  in  May, 
1865,  he  retm-ned  to  this  place  and  resumed 
work  for  the  railroad  company,  as  switchman 
and  baggageman,  until  the  spring  of  1867, 
when  he  engaged  as  clerk  for  Daniel  Fergu- 
son, one  year  after  which  he  was  appointed 
night  storekeeper  in  the  Au  Sable  distillery. 
In  1868,  Daniel  Ferguson  having  resigned  as 
Postmaster,  Mr.  Dahlem  was  appointed  in 
his  stead  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business, 
afterward  adding  dry  goods.  October  9, 
1870,  he  was  burned  out,  but  rebuilt  and  as 
sociated  in  business  with  his  nephew,  Adam 
Stauffer,  under  the  firm  name  of  Dahlem  & 
Staufifer,  which  copartnership  lasted  three 
years,  when,  owing  to  ill  health,  he  sold  out 
his  interest  to  Samuel  Persells,  but  retained 
the  post  office,  where  he  continued.  In  Au- 
gust, 1876,  he  engaged  with  William  Shepley, 
in  general  merchandise  business,  which  asso- 
ciation has  since  been  kept  up,  the  firm  name 
being  Dahlem  &  Shepley,  the  post  office  being 
still  kept  by  Mr.  Dahlem;  he  has  been  twice 
married — first,  in  1854,  to  Susan  Webber, 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Ruth)  Webber; 
she  died  August  13,  1862,  leaving  one  child 
— Jacob  J. ;  his  present  wife  is  Mary  Staufi'er, 


daughter  of  Jacob  and  Catharine  Stauffer; 
they  were  married  October  28,  1805,  and 
four  children  have  blessed  this  union — Adam, 
Katie,  Daniel  and  Mary.  Mr.  Dahlem  has  a 
snug  home,  a  good  business  and  is  well  and 
favorably  known  throughout  the  entire  county. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Minooka  Lodge,  No. 
528,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  served  several  years 
as  the  Worshipful  Master  of  that  lodge;  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Chapter  at  Morris,  and  of 
the  Commandery  at  that  place.  Has  always 
been  a  stanch  Republican. 

FLETCHER  DIRST,  farmer  and  stock- 
raiser,  P.  O.  Minooka,  is  one  of  the  leading 
fai'mers  and  stock-raisers  in  Grundy  County. 
He  was  born  August  10,  18^5,  near  the  town 
of  Galena,  Berkshire  Township,  Delaware 
Co.,  Ohio;  he  is  the  eldest  son  of  John  and 
Caroline  (Searlos)  Dirst.  John  Dirst  was  a 
son  of  Paul  Dirst,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  emigrated  to  Ohio  in  an  early  day,  set- 
tling near  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  where  he  died. 
The  father  of  oiu-  subj  ect  when  a  young  man 
came  to  Berkshire  Township,  Delaware  Coun- 
ty, and  there  married  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. In  1858,  the  Dirst  family  came  to  this 
State,  the  family  consisting  of  the  parents 
and  four  childi-en — Fletcher,  Howai'd,  Albert 
and  Sylva.  Fletcher  began  for  himself  at 
the  age  of  twenty -two,  and  while  he  remained 
in  Ohio  was  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
trading.  Since  he  came  to  this  county,  he 
has  given  his  attention  to  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  and  has  done  much  to  encoiu-age  the 
growth  and  introduction  of  fine  stock  in  the 
county.  When  he  came  here,  he  piu-chased 
480  acres,  part  of  which  was  in  Seward 
Township,  in  Kendall  County,  adjoining. 
He  has  resided  in  the  meantime  in  Au  Sable 
Township,  where  he  has  a  fine  farm,  well 
adapted  for  farming  and  general  stock  pui'- 
poses.  He  has  given  especial  attention  to 
thoroughbred   Cotswold   and    Leicestershire 


50 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


«heep,  importing  the  same  from  Canada;  he 
is  engaged,  also,  in  breeding  Dnrham  cattle, 
and  in  his  business  has  been  successful,  be- 
ing a  thorough  and  progressive  farmer.  He 
was  man'ied,  December  7,  1857,  in  Delaware 
County,  Ohio,  to  Ann  Dustin,  a  native  of  that 
county,  daughter  of  Nathan  Dustin,  one  of 
the  eai'ly  settlers  and  prominent  men  of  that 
county;  his  wife  was  Almira  BuzwoU,  both 
natives  of  New  Hampshire.  ]\L\  Dirst  has 
now  240  acres  of  land;  his  residence  is  on 
Section  3,  on  the  banks  of  the  Au  Sable, 
two  miles  west  of  Minooka.  He  has  filled 
the  office  of  Supervisor  and  other  positions 
of  trust  in  that  township.  He  is  a  member 
of  Minooka  Lodge,  No.  528,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  Orient  Chapter  and  Blaney  Commandery. 
He  has  three  childi'en — Ann  A.,  John  F. 
and  Charles  F. 

THOMAS  DEAIPSEY,  butcher,  Minooka. 
Among  the  interests  of  the  town  of  Minooka 
that  is  deserving  of  especial  mention  is  that 
of  Thomas  Dempsey,  who  supplies  the  people 
of  this  town  and  locality  with  the  best  of 
meats,  and  thereby  contributes  not  only  to 
the  comfort  and  happiness  of  the  people  in 
this  direction,  but  is  filling  a  need  that  is  in- 
dispensable in  the  way  of  refreshing  the  "  in- 
ner man."  He  has  been  canying  on  this 
business  since  1873.  He  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Lee,  Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,  June  20, 
1835,  the  second  son  of  Thomas  and  Marga- 
ret (Taylor)  Dempsey,  natives  of  Ii-eland,  he 
born  in  County  Kildare,  she  in  Coimty  Down; 
they  emigrated  to  New  York  about  1834,  lo- 
cating there,  and  came  West,  to  Kendall 
County,  111.,  about  1845;  stayed  there  one 
year,  then  moved  to  Will  County,  111.  Sub- 
ject's father  is  still  living;  his  mother  died 
in  1863;  they  had  a  family  of  five  sons  and 
one  daughter  —  John  (deceased),  Thomas, 
William,  James,  Hugh  and  Jane,  wife  of  M. 
Hinsler,  of  Chicago.     Our  subject  left  home 


at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  engaged  in 
farming;  in  1864,  he  bought  eighty  acres  of 
land  in  Will  County,  where  he  remained  a 
few  years,  then  came  to  Minooka.  In  June, 
1857,  he  married  Miss  C.  TjTrel,  a  native  of 
Connecticut  and  daughter  of  James  T.  T}t- 
rel;  they  have  nine  children — Mary  J.,  Mag- 
gie, Nellie,  Elizabeth,  Lydia,  William,  Ed- 
ward, Burton  and  Vincent.  Mr.  Dempsey  is 
a  Democrat. 

HARRISON  ENEIX,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mi- 
nooka; is  of  Virginia  stock,  and  was  born 
in  Marshall  County,  near  Wheeling,  Va., 
February  28,  1825.  His  father,  Brice  Eneix, 
was  a  native  of  Fayette  County,  and  married 
Leah  Mace,  a  native  of  England.  Mr.  Eneix 
was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits;  at  the 
ago  of  twenty-two,  he  started  in  life  to  do 
business  upon  his  own  accoiint.  March  16, 
1848,  he  wedded  Lovina.  daughter  of  Clem- 
eth  Leech,  and  engaged  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil. 
In  1855.  he  came  West,  to  this  State,  locat- 
ing in  Lisbon,  Kendall  County,  remaining 
there' two  years,  when  he  sold  his  interests 
and  removed  to  Saratoga  Tovmship,  this 
county,  and  purchased  a  farm  of  200  acres. 
In  the  spring  of  1877,  he  sold  his  farm,  and 
has  since  been  located  in  Minooka,  and  is  yet 
farming,  having  162|^  acres  in  Will  County, 
111.  Since  1859,  Mr.  Eneix  was  engaged  in 
stock  ti'ading,  his  field  of  operations  extend- 
ing over  a  large  extent  of  country;  he  con- 
tinued in  the  stock  business  with  varied  suc- 
cess up  to  within  the  past  two  years,  but 
since  that  time  has  abandoned  the  business, 
and  given  his  personal  attention  to  *he  man- 
agement of  his  farm.  Of  a  family  of  twelve 
children  borne  him,  ten  are  now  living — Cor- 
bley,  John,  Rachel,  Clara,  Franklin,  Aman- 
da, Martha,  Eliza,  Mary  and  Harrison.  Ra- 
chel resides  in  Iroquois  County,  wife  of 
Thomas  Riggs.  Clara  resides  in  Minooka, 
wife  of  Jacob  Dahlem.     Amanda  is  also  a 


AU  SABLE  TOWNSHIP. 


51 


resident  of  this  place,  wife  of  Oliver  Sadler. 
The  other  children  are  residents  of  the  town. 
In  1864,  Mr.  Eneix  made  a  trip  to  Idaho, 
and  ch-iving  an  ox-team  and  being  four 
months  on  the  road,  having  no  idea  at  that 
time  of  the  marked  improvements  that  have 
since  taken  place  in  that  waste  of  country  over 
which  he  traveled  with  his  ox-team.  Mr. 
Eneix  is  a  member  of  Minooka  Lodge,  No. 
528,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  was  one  of  the  char- 
ter members  of  the  establishment  of  ihe  lodge 
at  Lisbon,  Kendall  County. 

PATRICK  FEEHAN,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Queen's  County,  Ireland,  March 
17,  1824,  son  of  Patrick  and  Mary  (Boland) 
Feehan,  she  a  daughter  of  Owen  Boland.  Mr. 
Feehan  came  to  America  in  1850,  arriving  in 
New  York  on  New  Year's  eve,  and  immedi- 
ately after  came  to  this  State,  and,  having 
nothing  but  his  hands  to  make  a  living,  he 
immediately  set  to  work.  He  hired  out  by 
the  month  on  a  farm  at  low  wages,  and  after 
saving  sufficient  means,  purchased  a  team, 
and,  for  eighteen  months,  followed  the  fort- 
unes of  the  railroad.  After  this,  he  sold 
his  outfit  for  $240,  came  to  this  township, 
purchased  some  cows  and  engaged  in  stock- 
raising;  at  the  same  time,  he  worked  among 
the  farmers;  all  this  time  he  was  supporting 
his  mother  and  one  sister.  After  a  time,  his 
stock  having  accumulated,  he  made  a  cash 
sale  and  purchased  a  team  and  engaged  in 
farming,  on  the  land  which  Henry  Newman 
now  owns,  remaining  there  about  two  years. 
About  this  time,  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of 
canal  land,  on  Section  21,  paying  therefor 
$6.75,  biit  still  continued  renting  land  for 
about  four  years,  when  he  purchased  eighty 
acres  additional,  which  cost  him  $9  per  acre, 
making  him  160  acres  in  one  body.  He  then 
located  on  this  land,  and  has  since  remained, 
and  has  put  on  all  the  improvements.  In 
1860,  he  married  Ann  O'Mara,  a  native   of 


County  Tipperary,  Ireland,  daughter  of  Jerry 
and  Kittle  (Whalen)  O'Mara,  who  came  to 
America  in  1849,  landing  in  St.  Louis,  and 
finally  locating  in  Cincinnati.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Feehan  have  but  one  child — Joseph — whore- 
sides  with  them  at  home,  and  who  was  born 
January  15,  1861.  Mr.  Feehan  owes  his 
success  in  life  to  his  own  energy  and  indus- 
try. 

S.  A.  FERGUSON,  blacksmith,  Minooka, 
one  of  the  thorough-going  and  successful 
mechanics  of  Grundy  County  is  S.  A.  Fer- 
1  guson;  he  came  to  Minooka  and  set  up  in 
business  in  February,  1880;  he  was  born 
July  15,  1855,  in  Lisbon,  Kendall  Co.,  111., 
eldest  son  of  Gardiner  and  Almira  (Lamb) 
Ferguson,  he  a  native  of  Maine,  she  of  New 
York  State.  They  came  West,  to  Kendall 
County,  about  the  year  1848.  The  subject  of 
these  lines  was  brought  up  on  the  farm,  but, 
being  of  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one,  he  went  to  Millington, 
111. ,  where  he  worked  three  years  at  the  black- 
smith's trade.  After  the  completion  of  his 
trade,  he  came  to  Minooka,  setup  in  business 
and  has  been  well  patronized,  and  is  doing  a 
thriving  trade.  November  18,  1880,  he  mar- 
ried Belle  Thayer,  a  native  of  Kendall  Coun- 
ty, who  has  borne  him  one  child — Guy  T. 
In  conn'^ction  with  his  blacksmith  shop,  he 
carries  on  a  wagon  aud  general  repair  shop, 
and  also  painting  in  his  line. 

JAMES  HARVEY,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris. 
One  of  the  old  time  residents  and  honored 
pioneer  representatives  of  Au  Sable  Town- 
ship, is  Esquire  Harvey,  who  came  here  in 
1838,  and  has  since  been  a  continued  resident 
of  the  township.  He  was  born  on  "  Erin's 
Green  Isle,"  Roscommon  County,  about  the 
year  1809,  son  of  Michael  and  Bridget  (Mc- 
Dermot)  Harvey,  she  a  daughter  of  Charles 
McDermot,  a  mechanic  and  wheelwright. 
The  paternal  grandsire  of  oiu'  subject  was 


52 


BIOGKAPHICAL: 


•John  Harvey,  of  same  place.  In  1834,  our 
subject  bid  good-bye  to  his  native  land,  and 
set  sail  for  America,  leaving  in  April  and  ar- 
riving at  Quebec,  Canada,  in  June.  He  be- 
gan work  on  the  St.  Lawrence  Canal,  where 
he  continued  until  October,  1837,  when  he 
made  his  way  to  this  State,  coming  from  De- 
troit by  land  and  arriving  in  Chicago  in 
February,  1838.  He  came  on  to  the  county, 
and  engaged  at  once  at  work  on  the  canal 
here,  continuing  for  three  years;  he  then 
came  down  to  Au  Sable  and  purchased  land, 
where  he  now  resides,  and  has  since  been  a 
constant  resident  of  this  township.  In  Sep- 
tember, 18-43,  he  was  first  elected  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  and  was  subsequently  re-elected. 
He  has  been  twice  married — first,  when  in 
Canada,  in  1837,  to  Ellen  Kinsey,  who  died 
in  April,  1845,  having  borne  him  five  chil- 
dren, three  sons  and  two  daughters — John. 
Michael,  James,  Bridget  and  Mary.  The 
boys  are  deceased;  all  of  them  went  forth  at 
the  nation's  call,  and  enlisted  in  the  Fifty- 
third  Regiment,  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry, 
and  were  true  and  valiant  soldiers.  John 
and  James  lost  their  lives  while  in  the  serv- 
ice. Michael  served  three  years  and  "  veter- 
aned, "  and  served  through  the  entire  war 
and  died,  since  his  return  home,  from  the 
effects  of  his  exposure,  etc.,  while  in  the  serv- 
ice. Bridget  resides  in  Traverse  City,  Mich., 
wife  of  Daniel  Matison.  Mary  is  the  relict 
of  Samuel  Bui'gess.  In  1847,  Mr.  Harvey 
married  his  present  wife,  Mary  Kehoe,  of 
same  county  as  himself,  and  by  her  has  one 
son — Thomas — who  resides  with  them  on  the 
homestead. 

MATTHEW  KICKELS,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Channahon,  whose  residence  is  on  Section  25 
overlooking  the  surrounding  country  on  the 
south,  is  one  of  the  most  commanding  and 
beautiful  that  can  be  found  in  this,  or,  in 
fact,   any  other  portion  of  the  State.      His 


residence  is  on  the  high  bank,  or  rather  pla- 
teau, overlooking  the  head  of  the  Illinois 
River  at  the  junction  of  the  Kankakee  and 
Des  Plaines  Rivers,  at  an  elevation  of  about 
150  feet  above  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
country.  In  Felix  Township,  immediately 
at  the  foot  of  this  plateau,  courses  the  canal 
and  river,  running  parallel  with  each  other. 
Upjn  this  beautiful  site  stands  the  residence 
of  Ml'.  Kickels,  where  a  view  of  a  score  of 
miles  or  more  can  be  easily  had.  Braidwood 
and  Wilmington  lying  off  to  the  southeast  in 
full  view,  while  immediately  south  a  vast  ex- 
panse of  country,  upon  which  can  be  seen 
thousands  of  cattle  grazing.  To  those  who 
have  not  seen  this  enchanting  spot,  a  visit  to 
this  point  will  not  be  in  vain.  Matthew 
Kickels,  proprietor  of  this  place,  was  born 
December  2,  1823,  on  the  Rhine,  in  the 
"  Fader  Land,"  and  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try to  seek  his  fortune  in  1852.  His  parents, 
Peter  and  Lucy  (Mitchell)  Kickels  never  came 
to  America.  Matthew  came  alone  and  penni- 
less, to  Kendall  County,  where  he  hired  out 
by  the  month,  where  he  remained  until  the 
fall  of  Buchanan's  election,  when  he  came 
to  Au  Sable  Township,  and  purchased 
ninety-nine  acres  of  land,  which  cost  him  $8 
per  acre,  there  being  no  improvements  on  the 
land  at  the  time.  He  has  since  extended  his 
domain,  having  now  155  acres,  and  132  in 
Will  County,  all  of  which,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  his  noble  wife,  he  has  gained  by  ac- 
tive industry.  February  20,  1854,  he  mar- 
ried Margaret  Adgey,  who  was  born  March 
11,  1831,  in  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  and  Sarah  E.  (Cunningham) 
Adgey.  Mrs.  Kickels  came  to  this  country 
alone  in  1849.  Six  children  have  been  born 
of  this  marriage,  but  two  of  whom  are  living: 
Mary  E.,  residing  at  Lockport,  wife  of  James 
Duddage,  and  John,  at  home  with  parents. 
The  children  deceased  were  James  P.,  Mat- 


AU  SABLE  TOWNSHIP. 


53 


thew  R.  and  Joseph  F.  Mr.  Kickels  is  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  and  Mrs.  K.  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

L.  K.  KEOGH,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Mi- 
nooka.  Among  the  substantial  residents  of 
the  village  of  Minooka  is  Esquire  Keogh, 
who  came  here  in  the  fall  of  1856  and  has 
since  resided.  He  is  a  son  of  Patrick  and 
Margaret  (Keary)  Keogh,  the  Kearys  being 
of  Welch  extraction.  He  was  born  in  1827,  in 
County  Wexford,  Ireland,  where  he  received 
a  liberal  education  and  engaged  in  teaching 
at  eighteen,  and  continued  shaping  the  di- 
rection of  the  "  young  idea  "  in  that  country 
until  he  emigrated  to  America,  in  the  fall  of 
1852.  He  stopped  first  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
where  he  taught  for  three  years,  then,  coming 
to  this  State,  in  1855,  he  taught  one  year  in 
Joliet  and  until  his  coming  to  this  f)lace, 
where  he  was  at  once  employed  as  a  teacher 
in  the  public  school,  and  continued  very  suc- 
cessfully for  about  ten  years  in  all.  For 
three  years,  ho  was  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  with  Mr.  Kinsley,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Kinsley  &  Co.  He  has  served  the 
township  as  an  officer  in  all  the  offices  of 
trust,  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Commissioner 
of  Highways,  Town  Clerk,  Assessor  and  Treas- 
urer, and  is  now  serving  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  which  office  he  has  held  since  1874; 
he  attends  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  and 
also  accommodates  his  neighbors  with  the 
use  of  his  money  at  a  reasonable  rate  of  in- 
terest. September  26,  1866,  he  was  married 
to  Martha  Weston,  of  Staffordshire,  England ; 
they  have  no  children. 

JACOB  H  MURPHY,  Minooka,  was  bom 
in  Belmont  County,  Ohio,  September  18, 
1830,  eldest  son  of  Horatio  and  Hannah 
(Beam)  Murphy.  Horatio  Murphy  was  born 
about  1792  in  Virginia;  his  wife  was  born  in 
Belmont  County,  Ohio,  and  was  a  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Beam,  who  was  a  native  of  Germany 


and  came  to  Ohio  when  the  country  was  in 
its  infancy.  Horatio  Murphy  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  parentage,  and  came  to  Belmont  Coun- 
ty, Ohio,  when  a  young  man,  and  there  mar- 
ried. He  was  a  jeweler  by  trade,  and,  set- 
tling in  Belmont,  engaged  in  his  business, 
remaining  there  until  1856,  when  he  removed 
to  this  State,  when  he  came  to  this  county 
and  lived  among  his  children  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1865;  his  wife 
died  in  Ohio  several  years  previous  to  his 
coming  to  this  State.  They  raised  a  family 
of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  raise 
families — Jacob  H.,  Benjamin,  John,  Mary, 
Joanna,  Ann  E.  and  William.  Benjamin 
lives  in  Livingston  County,  near  Dwight, 
and  is  a  farmer.  John  resides  in  Dwight, 
same  county.  Mary  lives  at  Nevada,  111, 
wife  of  Mitchell  Thompson.  Joanna  lives 
in  Joliet,  wife  of  Caleb  Thayer.  Ann  in 
same  county,  wife  of  Charles  Smith.  Will- 
iam resides  in  Champaign  Coimty ;  is  a  farm- 
er. Jacob  H.  left  home  when  nearly  of 
age,  and  worked  three  years  by  the  month, 
receiving  $10  per  month  the  first  two  years, 
and  the  third  year  his  wages  were  increased 
to  Sll  per  month.  He  then  came  to  Illinois, 
bringing  some  stock  through  to  this  place  for 
a  Mr.  Bradshaw,  with  whom  he  hired,  re- 
maining with  him  until  his  health  failed, 
when  he  engaged  in  trading  in  horses  for 
nearly  two  years,  then  engaged  in  farming 
by  renting  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Israel 
Cryder;  then  he  and  his  brother  Benjamin 
oj>ened  up  a  farm  for  John  B.  Davidson,  in 
Erienna  Township,  and  stayed  there  about 
seven  years.  August  29,  1863,  he  pm-chased 
the  farm  he  now  owns,  which  was  then  owned 
by  H.  Bradshaw,  for  whom  he  worked  when 
he  first  came  here,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  two  years,  when  he  lived  in  Minooka,  he 
has  remained  on  the  farm,  and  all  the  time 
in  the  township.      He  has  200  acres  of  land, 


54 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


and  put  the  substantial  improvements  on  the 
farm,  and  has  been  engaged  in  fanning  and 
stock-raising,  keeping  good  graded  stock. 
He  was  married,  October  18,  1859,  to  Mary 
B.  Pumphrey,  born  in  Belmont  County, 
Ohio,  December  30,  1838,  daughter  of  Kid- 
ley  Pumphrey;  she  died  April  9,  1875,  leav- 
ing thi-ee  children — Laura,  "Willie  and  Net- 
tie, the  latter  deceased;  Laura  and  Willie 
are  at  home.  Januaiy  27,  1876,  he  married 
Mrs.  Francelia  Whittington,  born  in  White- 
hall, "Washington  Co.,  N.  Y.,  daughter  of 
Thaddeus  and  Eunice  M.  (Reynolds)  Curtis, 
natives  of  Vermont.  By  the  last  marriage, 
two  children  have  been  born,  one  of  whom  is 
living-  -Freddie,  bom  December  27,  1876, 
and  Jessie,  died  young.  October  27,  1881, 
aged  two  years,  five  months  and  seventeen 
days.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murphy  are  members 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  of  the  Mutual  Aid 
Society.  He  is  a  supporter  of  the  Republi- 
can party.  Mrs.  Murphy's  grandfather, 
Nicholas  Reynolds,  was  bom  in  West  Rutland, 
Tt. ;  he  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  Rejiiolds.  who 
lived  to  be  one  hundred  years  old  (lacking 
fourteen  days),  and  who  was  a  great  hunter: 
when  eighty-three  years  old.  he  stood  in  his 
own  door  and  killed  a  deer  with  his  rifle. 

HENRY  NT:WMAN.  farmer.  P.  O.  Mi- 
nooka.  Among  the  self-made  men  of  Grtin- 
dy  County  who  came  from  Germany,  there 
are  none  who  have  more  fully  developed  the 
trath  of  the  adage,  that  wherever  "there  is 
a  will "  a  way  will  be  forthcoming,  than 
Henry  Newman.  Coming  to  this  country  as 
he  did,  poor  and  destitute  of  friends,  he,  by 
steady  industry  and  rigid  economy,  has  be- 
come one  of  the  opulent  and  independent 
fanners  of  the  county.  He  was  bom  January 
6,  1825,  near  Frankfort,  in  Hesse-Darmstadt, 
third  son  of  Casper  and  Margaret  Newman. 
In  1850,  he  came  to  America,  landing  in  New 
York,  and,  for  three  years,  worked  out  by  the 


month  in  New  York  State,  sometimes  on  the 
railroad  and  at  otber  times  on  a  farm,  mak- 
ing $8  per  month,  and  receiving  such  wages 
as  the  times  justified.  In  1853,  he  came  to 
this  coTinty,  and,  for  several  years,  worked 
about  Morris  and  the  surrounding  country. 
During  this  time,  he  was  saving  his  money, 
while  it  came  slowly,  yet  it  was  sure,  and  it 
was  not  squandered.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  he  made  his  first  purchase,  on  Sec- 
tion 9,  in  An  Sable  Township,  buying  190 
acres,  at  S14.50per  acre;  here  he  located,  and 
has  since  lived,  and  has  been  prosperous. 
He  has  now  about  400  acres  of  land,  well 
stocked  with  cattle,  all  of  which,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  his  faithful  wtfe,  he  has  made  by 
his  own  industry  and  good  management  In 
addition  to  his  land  here  in  this  township, 
he  has  recently  purchased  several  hundred 
acres  in  Dakota.  He  was  man-ied.  in  1855, 
to  Lena  Meyers;  they  have  five  children — 
Mary,  George,  Henry,  Lizzie  and  Adaline. 
Mary  is  the  wife  of  Al  Patten  and  resides  in 
this  townhip. 

WILLIAM  H  RANDALL,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Minooka,  was  born  in  this  township,  where 
old  Dresden  now  is,  November  25,  1840,  the 
only  son  of  Samuel  S.  and  Nancy  L.  (Per- 
kins) Randall.  Samuel  S.  Randall  was  born  in 
Massachusetts'March  3,  1809,  son  of  Joshua 
Randall,  of  Massachusetts,  who  married  Sally 
Skeel,  who  bore  him  a  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren, six  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of 
whom  lived  to  be  grown — Bethany,  Samuel 
S.,  Hannah,  Dianah,  Henry  H,  Louisa,  Will- 
iam A.  and  Adaline  A.  Bethany  married 
'  Frances  H.  Butler,  in  Kansas.  Hannah  mar- 
ried Geo.  W.  Dealing,  settled  in  Chautauqua 
County,  N.  Y.,  and  there  died.  Dianah  now 
residing  in  New  York,  Oneida  County,  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Fox.  Henry  H. ,  in  Miimesota. 
Louisa  settled  in  Wisconsin,  now  deceased: 
she  married  L.  McMaster.     William  A.   re- 


AU  SABLE    TOWNSHIP. 


sides  in  Kansas.  Adaline  resides  in  Mar- 
seilles, wife  of  S.  K.  Danley.  Samuel  S., 
the  father  of  William  H.,  emigrated  West,  to 
this  State,  locating  in  this  township,  in  June, 
1837,  and  lived  some  time  at  Dresden-  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  which  occupation 
he  followed  for  several  years,  and  assisted  in 
building  the  first  frame  house  in  Morris,  the 
old  American  House.  He  finally  located  on 
Section  15,  west  half  of  the  southwest  quar- 
ter, where  he  built  a  house  in  1S44,  and  re- 
mained there  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
June  14,  1877;  his  wife  "passed  over"  the 
year  previous,  in  August,  1876.  He  was  a 
Whig,  and  later,  a  Republican,  and,  in  early 
days,  was  one  of  the  first  Constables;  subse- 
quently, he  served  consecutively  as  Justice  of 
the  Peace  for  fourteen  years,  and  Supervisor 
and  other  official  stations  of  trust  in  the 
township.  He  was  a  successful  man  in  busi- 
ness, and,  by  adding  to  his  first  purchase,  he 
had.  at  the  time  of  his  death,  about  400  acres 
of  land.  To  him  and  wife  were  bom  five 
children,  three  of  whom  lived  to  marry — W. 
H. ,  Mary  J.  and  Helen.  Mary  J.  is  the  wife 
of  George  W.  Collins;  she  died  March  3, 
1873,  leaving  four  children — Edward  L., 
Hattie  and  Kate  A.  Helen  married  Ezra 
Tabler,  and  resides  in  this  township.  Eliza- 
beth died  in  1864,  aged  15.  Harriet  died 
in  infancy.  William  Henry  now  succeeds 
his  father  on  the  homestead,  and  has  since 
his  birth  been  a  resident  of  the  township, 
where  he  received  the  home  school  advan- 
tages. At  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  be- 
gan business  for  himself,  engaged  iu  farm- 
ing. November  12,  lS66,he  married  Harriet 
M.  Gififord.  who  was  born  in  Lorain  Countv,  ' 
Ohio,  daughter  of  John  X.  and  Martha  (Mes- 
senger) Gififord.  Immediately  after  the 
death  of  his  father.  Mr.  Randall  located  on 
the  homestead,  and  has  since  resided  there.  | 
He  has  two  children — Libbie  May  and  Hen-  ' 


ry  G.  They  are  members  of  the  M.  E. 
Church.  Mr.  Randall  is  a  member  of  Mi- 
nooka  Lodge,  Xo.  52S.  X.,  F.  i  A.  M 

WILLIAM   SHEPLET.   hotel.    Minooka. 
was    born   in    Lancashire,     England,     Sep- 
tember  3,    1821,    and   was   raised    in   Che- 
shire, England.     He  is  the  eldest  son  of  Will- 
iam Shepley.  who  was  a  son  of  John  Shep- 
ley.     His  mother's  maiden   name  was  Eliza- 
beth  Lindley,    daughter   of    John    Lindley. 
Subject  was  raised  at  home:  his  father  died 
when  he  was  sixteen  years  old,   and  William 
then  remained  with  his  mother  until  twenty- 
five  years  of  age:  during  this  time,  he  assist- 
ed in  maintaining  the  family;  at  the  age  of 
nine  years,  he  went  to  work  in  a  cotton  fac- 
tory, and  worked  at  the  same  business   until 
twenty-six  years  of  age:  he  then  went  into  a 
foundry,  at  Staleybridge.  and  worked  there 
until  he  came  to  America.     In  1855.  he  came 
to  this  State  and  stopped   in  Torkville,  Ken- 
dall County,  and  stayed  there  one  year,  work- 
ing out  by  the  month  among  farmers.     The 
year  following,  he  came  to  Plainfield.    and 
worked  there  in  a  foundry,  for  Dillman.     He 
stayed   in   Plainfield    about    ten    years.     In 
1866,  he  left  Plainfield,  and  went  to  Troy,  in 
Will  County,  and  stayed  there  four  years, 
carrying  on  a  grocery  store.     In  February, 
1868,  he  came  to  Minooka  and   engaged  in 
the  hotel  business,  which  he  has  since  con- 
tinued: he  has  been  in  partnership  in  the 
mercantile  business,  with  G.  Dahlem,  which 
partnership  still  exists.      He  was  married, 
July   7,  1844,  at  Stockport,  England,  at  the 
"  Old  Chmrch."  to  Fannie  Kay,  who  was  bom 
in  Lancashire  December  5,  1816,   daughter 
of  John  and  Lucy  (Assen)  Kay.     Mr.  and 
Mrs.   Shepley  have   four   children   living — 
Matthew,   Edward,  Elizabeth   A.   and  John. 
Matthew,  on  the  farm  in   Kendall    (bounty; 
Edward,  living  with  parents;  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  Oliver  Paul,  who  served  four  years  in  the 


58 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


army,  and  who  died  in  1879.     Mr.  Shepley 
has  eighty  acres  in  Will  and  eighty  acres  in 
Kendall  County,  111.,  and  has  valuable  prop- 
erty in  Minooka.     He  keeps  a  good  hotel  on 
Main    street,    having   a    bar    in    connection, 
stocked  with  best  wines  and  liquors;  he  also, 
in   connection  with  the  hotel,    runs  a  good 
livery  and  feed  stable.     He  is  a  ReiJublican. 
THOMAS     SCHIEK,    proprietor   of    the 
Union  Hotel,  Miuooka,    was  born   February 
11,   1827,   in  the    Kingdom   of   Wittenberg, 
Germany,  oldest  son  of  Thomas  Schiek,  whose 
father  was    likewise    named    Thomas.       His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Margaret,  daugh- 
ter of  George  Reixben.     During  the  early  life 
of  our  subject,  he  was   raised   iu  a  vineyard 
and  upon   a  farm.     In  November,  1849,  he 
left  the  old  country,  and  was  upon  the  ocean 
until  April  12,  the  following  year,  before  he 
landed  in  New  York       For  live  years,    he 
lived  at  Mt.  Vernon   and  the  adjacent  cities, 
workintj  during  this  time  at  farm  labor  and 
learning  the  cai'penter's  trade,  and  coming 
West,  to  this  State,  soon  after,  he  continued 
at  his  trade  as  builder  and  contractor  in  Chi- 
cago and  other  places,  and,  being  a  thorough 
workman,   his  services   were    always   in    de- 
mand.    He  continued  at  his  trade  until  1881, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
hotel   business  at  this  place,  having  rebuilt 
the  hotel  and  fitted  the  same   in   excellent 
order;  the  house  is  situated  near  the  depot, 
and  is  three   stories  high,  containing  about 
twenty  rooms,    with  a    dancing-hall    in    the 
third  story.      There  is  a  bar  in   connection 
with  the  hotel,  which  is  well   stocked  with 
licpiors,  wines  and  cigars,  all  of  the  most  ap- 
proved brands,  while  his  table  is  well  sup- 
plied with  all  the  substantials  that  cheer  and 
refresh    the    "  inner   man."       He   has    been 
thrice   married — first,    to   Margaret   Palmer, 
who  died  four  years  after,  leaving  one  daugh- 
ter— Sophia.       His     second     wife,     Louisa 


Lentz,  died,  leaving  four  children — Augusta, 
Emma,  Ida  and  Lizzie.  His  present  wife 
was  Mrs.  Julia  Schmidt,  who  is  a  valuable 
aid  to  his  business. 

D.  C.  TABLER,  farmer,  P.  O.  Slorris,  is 
the  second  son  of  Nathaniel  Tabler,  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Grundy  County;  was  born 
July  12,  1S33,  iu  Delaware  County,  Ohio, 
and  was  brought  to  this  county  when  a  babe 
by  his  parents,  who  settled  on  Section  8  in 
this  township.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he 
left  home  and  hired  out  to  his  uncle,  Michael 
Cryder,  for  whom  he  worked  some  time. 
Soon  after,  he  purchased  a  horse  and  a 
shovel  plow,  and,  with  anunbroke  horse  that 
his  uncle  Cryder  let  him  have,  he  made  out 
his  team,  and  with  it  planted  his  first  crop  of 
corn.  He  remained  with  his  uncle  until  the 
spring,  and,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he 
married  Julia  E.  McCloud,  who  was  born 
in  1834,  in  Clinton  County,  N.  Y.,  daughter 
of  John  and  Paulina  (Ricketson)  McCloud, 
who  settled  in  Kendall  County  in  1836. 
After  his  marriage,  he  resided  two  years  on 
his  uncle's  place,  in  Saratoga  Township,  and, 
October  13,  1863,  he  purchased  his  first  land, 
he  and  his  brother  Nathaniel  buying  120 
acres  of  land  in  partnership,  paying  S20  per 
acre;  there  were  no  improvements  on  the 
land.  March  27,  1865,  they  j)iirchased 
twenty-five  acres  of  J.  E.  Mathers.  Novem- 
ber 7,  1872,  the  brothers,  by  mutual  consent, 
dissolved  partnership,  giving  each  quit- 
claims, after  dividing  up  their  land.  Octo- 
ber 28, 1873,  subject  bought  of  George  Collins 
twenty  acres  of  the  west  half  of  the  southwest 
quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  on  Section 
17,  paying S37.50  per  acre  for  it.  December 
26,  1881,  he  purchased  of  Jeremiah  Collins 
eighty  acres  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  Sec- 
tion 17,  and  has  now  155  acres,  all  of  which 
lies  on  the  17th  section.  Mr.  Tabler  is  the 
present  Commissioner  of  Highways,  and  has 


AU  SABLE    TOWNSHIP. 


57 


served  in  that  capacity  eight  years  in  all. 
He  is  one  of  the  representative  members  of 
the  Au  Sable  M.  E.  Church.  Of  live  chil- 
dren born  him,  but  one — Minnie  M. — is  liv- 
ing. 

N.  L.  TABLER,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  bom  on  the  old  homestead  July  4,  1838; 
he  is  the  fourth  child  now  living  by  his  fa- 
ther's marriage  to  Mary  Ann  Cryder;  he  re- 
mained on  the  homestead  until  his  tv?enty- 
third  year,  then  associated  with  his  brother 
David  C.  in  farming;  piu'chasing  land  to- 
gether, they  continued  together  for  nine 
years,  after  which  he  located  on  the  land  he 
now  owns,  which  he  improved,  the  buildings 
thereon  being  built  by  his  own  hands. 
Though  he  never  worked  at  the  carponter's 
trade,  yet  it  runs  in  the  Tabler  family  to  be 
of  a  mechanical  turn;  all  of  them  can  con- 
stiTict  anything  they  desire.  February  2, 
1870,  he  married  Hannah  Mary  Caldwell, 
who  was  born  in  Huntingdon  County,  Penn., 
December  6,  1831,  foiirth  child  and  second 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Cryder)  Cald- 
well; her  paternal  grandfather  was  David 
Caldwell;  her  mother,  Mary  Ciyder,  was  a 
daughter  of  Israel  Cryder,  whose  wife  was 
Mary  Seibert.  To  Samuel  Caldwell  and  his 
•wife  Mary  were  born  three  daughters  and  two 
sons,  Mrs.  Tabler  being  the  only  one  who 
came  West.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tabler  have  three 
children — Ella,  Rebecca  and  Mary.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Au  Sable  M.  E.  Church, 
and  class  leader  of  the  same.  In  school  mat- 
ters, he  takes  an  active  part,  and  is  School 
Director  of  the  same. 

EZRA  TABLER,  farmer,  P.  O.  Minooka. 
Among  the  thorough-going  young  farmers  in 
Au  Sable  Township  is  Ezra  Tabler,  who 
was  born  in  the  township  October  21,  1843, 
on  Section  8;  he  is  the  sixth  son  now  living 
that  was  born  to  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Ann 
(Cryder)  Tabler;  he  left  home  in  the  spring 


of  1864,  when  he  was  married  to  Cynthia 
Kellogg,  who  died  the  same  year  of  her  mar- 
riage, leaving  no  issue;  his  last  marriage  was 
in  1869,  to  Helen  Randall,  who  was  born  in 
this  township  on  the  farm  adjoining,  only 
daughter  of  S.  S.  Randall,  one  of  the  early 
settlers  and  prominent  men  in  the  township, 
now  deceased.  After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Tab- 
ler located  on  a  portion  of  his  father's  land. 
In  1873,  he  located  where  he  now  resides,  on 
Section  16,  which  was  formerly  owned  by  his 
brother  Joseph,  who  improved  it.  Mr.  Tabler 
has  one  of  the  finest  locations  in  the  town- 
ship; he  has  a  good  brick  house,  and  is  mak- 
ing improvements  of  a  substantial  character 
on  his  premises;  he  has  three  children  by  his 
last  man-iage — Alice,  Henry  and  Elizabeth; 
he  is  independent  in  political  matters  and 
liberal  in  religion. 

JEROME  R.  TABLER,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Morris,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Nathaniel  Tabler 
by  his  second  wife,  Hannah  Mary  Cryder;  he 
was  born  on  the  homestead  March  2,  1853, 
and  has  since  been  a  resident  of  the  township, 
and  now  resides  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  place  where  he  was  born.  He  was  mar- 
ried, July  27,  1876,  to  Mary  A.  Bradshaw, 
who  was  born  October  14,  1854,  in  this 
county  and  township,  eldest  daughter  of 
Hamilton  Bradshaw,  now  deceased.  After 
his  marriage,  Mr.  Tabler  lived  one  year  on 
the  homestead,  but,  since  February,  1877, 
has  been  a  resident  of  the  farm  he  now  owns, 
consisting  of  100  acres.  He  is  a  progressive 
young  man,  an  intelligent  farmer  and  a  suc- 
cessful one.  They  have  one  child — Albert 
Roy,  born  April  2,  1877. 

LEWIS  WESLEY  TABLER,  fai-mer,  P. 
O.  Minooka,  is  the  third  son  of  Nathaniel 
Tabler  by  his  wife,  Hannah  M.  Cryder;  he 
was  born  November  8,  1856,  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives  and  where  he  has  since 
resided.     February  14, 1877,  he  was  married 


58 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


to  Anna  L.  Bradshaw,  who  was  born  Decem- 
ber 28,  1859,  on  Section  8,  in  this  township, 
daughter  of  Hamilton  and  Mrs.  Hannah 
Beam  Bradshaw,  the  latter's  maiden  name 
being  Davis.  Hamilton  Bradshaw  was  born 
July  16,  1811,  in  Guernsey  County,  Ohio, 
son  of  William  Bradshaw.  Hamilton  was 
married  to  Mrs.  Bean,  on  December  21, 1853; 
she  was  born  in  the  town  of  Woodsfield, 
Moni-oe  Co.,  Ohio,  July  8,  1822,  only  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Ezekiel  and  Elizabeth  (Large) 
Davis;  she  was  born  in  Chester  County, 
Penn. ,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Sarah  (Whit- 
taker)  Large.  Dr.  Davis  was  born  in  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  son  of  Levi  and  Hannah  (Shep- 
herd) Davis.  Dr.  Davis  removed  with  his 
family  West,  to  Muskingum  County,  Ohio, 
in  1826,  and  two  years  later  was  drowned, 
while  crossing  the  river  on  his  horse,  on  his 
way  to  see  a  patient.  Hamilton  Bradshaw 
removed  West,  to  this  county,  in  1854,  and 
located  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  J.  H. 
Murphy,  on  Section  8,  where  two  children 
were  born — Anna  L.,  wife  of  C.  W.  Tabler, 
and  Mary  A.  now  wife  of  Jerome  Tabler,  both 
of  this  township.  J\Ir.  Bradshaw  resided  on 
that  farm  aboiit  fifteen  yeai's,  when  he  located 
at  Channahon,  Will  County,  111.,  where  he 
died  July  31,  1868;  his  widow  yet  survives 
him;  her  fii-st  husband  was  Landon  Bean, 
born  April  17,  1817,  in  Belmont  County, 
Ohio,  son  of  Levi  Bean;  by  Mr.  Bean  she 
had  two  sons  and  one  daughter — Wesley  E., 
David  T.  and  Sarah  E.  Wesley  is  now  a 
Methodist  minister  in  Nebraska  City,  Neb. 
David  T.  is  in  the  employ  of  a  railroad  com- 
pany at  Omaha.  Sarah  E.  married  Brainard 
Curtis,  and  resides  in  Russell  County,  Kan. 
Mr.  Tabler  resides  on  the  homestead;  he  has 
two  children — Hattie  May  and  Oliver  Wesley. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

JOHN    T.  VAN  DOLFSON,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Minooka.     Of  the  ealyr  settlers  in  this  town- 


ship that  have  risen  from  small  beginnings, 
making  their  commencement  by  hard  months 
and  continued  years  of  manual  labor  on  a 
farm  at  low  wages,  is  Mr.  Van  Dolfson.  His 
ancestors  originally  came  from  Holland,  and 
settled  in  the' Mohawk  Valley,  in  Now  York 
State.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  John 
T.  Van  Dolfson,  only  son  of  his  father's  fam- 
ily; he  married  a  Miss  Brunk;  to  them  was 
born  Tunis  Van  Dolfson,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject. Tunis  maiTied  Elizabeth  Ten  Eyck,  who 
bore  him  five  childi'en — Charlotte,  Conrad 
Garritie,  Elizabeth  and  John  T.,  all  of  whom 
lived  to  attain  the  years  of  manhood  and  wom- 
anhood, and  are  yet  living,  save  Charlotte,  who 
married  Ephraim  Brunk,  who  first  settled  in 
this  county,  but  afterward  removed  to  Ken- 
dall County,  where  she  died.  Com-ad  resides 
in  Chicago,  and  has  three  children.  Gar- 
ritie resides  in  Labette  County,  Kan. ,  wife 
of  Theran  Collins,  and  Elizabeth  resides  in 
Kendall  County,  wife  of  W.  H.  Perkins. 
John  T.  was  the  youngest  of  the  family,  and 
is  the  only  one  of  the  name  in  the  county; 
he  was  born  April  5, 1822,  in  Albany  County, 
N.  Y.;  his  mother  died  when  he  was  quite 
young.  In  1838,  he  came  to  the  West,  and 
directly  to  this  county;  the  following  year, 
he  went  to  Kendall  County,  where  he  hired 
out  by  the  month.  In  the  spring  of  1843,  he 
returned  to  this  township,  and,  with  his  accu- 
mulated earnings,  he  purchased  land  where 
he  now  resides,  paying  therefor  $3  per  acre; 
there  was  a  log  cabin  and  about  seventeen 
acres  broken;  here  he  settled  and  has  since 
been  a  constant  resident  and  a  safe  and  suc- 
cessful business  man,  having  accumulated  a 
handsome  property;  he  has  been  twice  mar- 
ried—first, to  Rachel  Widney,  December  7, 
1848;  she  was  born  June  28,  1825,  in  Miami 
County,  Ohio,  daughter  of  John  Widney; 
she  passed  to  her  rest  in  the  "  beyond  "  Sep- 
tember 11,  1858,  having  given  birth  to  two 


AU  SABLE  TOWXSHIP. 


59 


children,  both  of  whom  are  now  living  —Mary 
E.,  wife  of  William  H.  Smith,  of  Will  Coun- 
ty, and  William,  residing  near  his  father's, 
in  this  township.  In  1864,  Mr.  VanDolfson 
maiTied  Miss  Sarah  E.  Ross,  also  a  native  of 
Miami  County,  daughter  of  Charles  Ross,  of 
Ohio;  no  children  by  last  man-iage;  he  is  a 
member  of  Miuooka  Lodge,  No.  528,  A.,  P. 
&  A.  M. ,  and  was  one  of  the  charter  members. 
ZACHARIAH  WALLEY,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Morris.  Among  the  old  pioneers  of  this 
township  is  Mi*.  Waller,  who  was  born  No- 
vember 1,  1807,  in  Washington  County,  Md., 
and  son  of  Conrad  and  Catharine  (Beard) 
Walley.  Com-ad  Walley  was  a  native  of  Ger- 
many; came  to  America  when  small,  and  set- 
tled in  Mar^'land,  where  he  married  Catha- 
rine Beard,  a  native  of  that  State,  daughter  of 
Zackariah  and  Mary  Beard.  Our  subject  re- 
moved with  his  parents,  when  ten  years  of 
age,  to  the  vicinity  of  Zanesville,  Muskingum 
Co. ,  Ohio,  and  remained  there  about  fifteen 
years;  then  removed  to  Delaware  County,  on 
the  Scioto  River;  here,  on  attaining  his  ma- 
jority, he  run  a  saw-mill  on  the  river  for  five 
years;  then  engaged  in  farming  by  renting. 
He  man-ied,  September  22,  1831,  Catharine, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  Ann  (Hess) 
Cryder.  Mi-s.  Walley  was  born  in  Delaware 
County,  Ohio,  December  12,  1814.  In  the 
fall  of  1833,  Mr.  Walley  removed  West,  to 
this  township,  in  company  with  Nathaniel  H. 
Tabler  and  Hem-y  Cryder,  his  father-in-law, 
all  of  whom  settled  in  what  is  now  this  town- 
ship. Mr.  Walley  settled  first  on  Section  17, 
where  he  squatted,  and,  not  liking  the  situa- 
tion, lived  there  only  one  year,  when,  in  the 
fall  of  1834,  he  removed  to  his  present  place, 
took  a  pre-emption  claim  of  160  acres,  and 
has  since  resided  here  and  been  engaared  in 
farming.  His  wife  died  February  4,  1849, 
leaving  seven  children — Elizabeth,  Susan, 
Maria,    William   and   Sarah,    all   of    whom 


raised  families  Emily  deceased,  aged  twen 
ty-two  years,  unmarried;  Mary  (deceased), 
married  William  Walker,  now  deceased. 
Those  living  now  are  Susan,  wife  of  John 
McHanna,  of  Seward,  Kendall  Co.,  111.,  and 
Maria,  in  same  county,  wife  of  Peter  Davis; 
William,  residing  in  this  township,  and  Sar- 
ah, resides  seven  miles  south  of  Chataworth, 
111.,  married  Henry _Netherton.  Febniary  6, 
1851,  Mr.  Walley  married  Mrs.  Eunice  Kel- 
logg, born  in  Madison  Coimty,  town  of  Nel- 
son, June  3,  1814,  daughter  of  Daniel  War- 
ren and]  Sarah  Lord,  both  of  the  State  of 
Maine  and  who  finally  settled  in  New  York. 
By  this  marriage  three  children  have  been 
born — Le  Roy  A.,  Catharine  A.,  Antis  Z. 
Ije  Roy  died  young;  Antis  Z.  died,  aged 
sixteen  years  nine  months,  and  Catharine, 
at  homestead,  wife  of  Thomas  Hague;  they 
have  two  children — Ira  Z.  and  an  infant,  un- 
named. Mr.  Walley  has  peen  identified 
with  the  M.  E.  Church  since  1842;  he  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  and  first  voted  for 
Gen.  Jackson,  but  since  Buchanan's  term  has 
been  a  Republican.  Mrs.  Walley  came  to 
this  State  in  1S30;  settled  first  on  the  Ver- 
million, and  came  to  this  county  and  town- 
ship in  1851;  she  has  only  one  brother  living 
— Nathan  Wan'en,  who  lives  in  LaSalle 
County;  her  father  died  in  LaSalle  County, 
in  September,  1831;  her  mother  died  Septem- 
ber 20,  1834.  Mrs.  Walley  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  Church  since  1834. 

WILLIAM  A.  WALLEY,  farmer,  P.  O. 
,  is  the  only  son  of  Zachariah  Wal- 
ley, one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county,  and 
was  born  May  3,  1842,  on  the  homestead, 
where  he  was  raised  to  the  years  of  manhood. 
Febi-uary  23,  1868,  he  married  Louisa  Pyle, 
a  native  of  Belmont  County,  Ohio,  daughter 
of  Enos  and  Matilda  C.  (Harry)  Pyle.  Enos 
Pyle  was  born  October  10,  1815,  and,  Novem- 
ber 8,  1838,  he  married  Miss  Harry,  who  was 


60 


BIOGBAPHICAL: 


bom  in  Harrison  County,  Penn.,  June  28, 
1816.  The  Pyle  family  came  West  in  1844, 
and  settled  in  this  county.  Enos  Pyle  died 
May  9,  1877;  his  wife  died  September  4, 
1859;  they  had  seven  children,  among  whom 
was  one  son  who  was  a  member  of  Company 
D,  Thirty-sixth  Kegiment,  of  Illinois  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Perryville.  After  Mr.  Walley's  marriage,  he 
located  in  Saratoga  Township,  this  county, 
where  he  purchased  land  and  remained  until 
the  spring  of  1882,  when  he  piu'chased  the 
Urich  farm;  he  has  three  children — Bertha 
E.,  "William  Cryder  and  a  babe  unnamed. 
They  lost  Freddie  November  7,  1877,  five 
years  and  ten  months  old,  and  a  promising 
child.  Mr.  Walley  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  and  is  one  of  the  Trustees  and  presi- 
dent of  the  board;  is  also  a  member  of  the 
prohibition  society  of  this  township.  He  is 
a  Republican. 

W.  A.  WORTHING,  banking,  Minooka, 
the  proprietor  and  founder  of  the  Exchange 
Bank  at  Minooka,  was  bom  in  Mt.  Pleasant, 
Iowa,  in  1842,  and  removed  with  his  jjarents 
to  Kendall  County,  111. ,  the  year  of  his  birth, 
and  remained  there  until  his  location  in  Mi- 
nooka, in  the  sjwing  of  ISOG,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  His  father  was  Solon  AVorth- 
ing,  whose  father  was  a  minister.  The 
Worthing  family  trace  their  ancestry  to  En- 
gland, from  which  place  their  progenitors 
emigrated  at  an  early  day.  locating  in  the 
Eastern  States.  Solon  Worthing,  the  father 
of  our  subject,  was  a  native  of  New  Hamp- 
shire and  a  farmer  by  occupation,  to  which 
vocation  our  subject  was  raised;  he  received 
the  advantages  afforded  at  the  common  dis- 
trict schools,  and  took  a  course  at  Oberlin 
College,  where  he  graduated  in  the  Commer- 
cial Department.  Soon  after  his  coming  to 
Minooka,  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness, and  continued  that  business  for  fourteen 


years,  and  during  this  time  was  associated  with 
several  different  parties  in  the  business;  he 
has  160  acres  of  land  in  Kendall  County,  and 
sixty -five  acres  in  the  corporation  of  Minoo- 
ka. In  the  spring  of  1880,  he  started  the 
Exchange  Bank  at  this  place,  and  has  since 
given  it  his  especial  attention,  and  is  doing 
a  good  business,  the  bank  being  a  great  ac- 
commodation to  the  business  men  and  farm- 
ers of  the  surrounding  country,  collections 
being  attended  to  and  remittances  made 
promptly.  In  connection  with  his  bank,  he 
deals  in  agricultural  implements,  and  does  a 
good  insurance  business,  representing  some 
of  the  best  companies,  such  as  the  Jiltna, 
Hartford,  Phceaix,  Springfield,  Mass.,  etc. 
He  is  also  identified  with  the  M.  E.  Church 
at  this  place;  has  been  a  member  twenty-five 
years;  also  a  Sunday  school  worker,  and  has 
been  Superintendent  of  the  school  here  sev- 
eral years.  In  the  fall  of  18G4,  he  married 
Mai-y  E.  Avery,  ot  Pittsfield,  Lorain  Co., 
Ohio,  daughter  of  Carlos  Avery. 

E.  N.  WEES,  blacksmith,  Minooka. 
Among  the  representative  business  men  of  the 
town  of  Minooka,  and  who  were  among  the  first 
to  become  established  in  business  here,  is  E. 
N.  Wees,  who  came  here  in  February,  1862, 
and  immediately  began  the  completion  of  his 
trade,  which  he  had  begun  prior  to  his  com- 
ing here.  He  was  born  May  9,  1843,  in  Up- 
per Canada,  son  of  John  M.  and  Laura  M. 
(Howell)  Wees,  both  natives  of  Canada. 
His  paternal  gi'andsire  was  William  Wees, 
who  was  of  German  stock;  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, "Mi.  Wees  left  Canada  for  the  United 
States;  he  had  been  reared  upon  a  farm,  but 
had  commenced  learning  the  blacksmith  trade 
prior  to  his  leaving  Canada;  he  arrived  at 
Minooka  in  February,  1S62,  and  worked  in 
Wilmington  and  Platteville  until  the  final 
completion  of  his  trade,  and,  in  the  fall  of 
1865,  he   came  to   this  town  and  set  up  in 


AU  SABLE  TOWNSHIP. 


61 


business  on  his  own  acconut,  and  has  since 
continnod,  removing  to  his  present  place  of 
business  in  lSf)8.  In  connection  with  his 
shop,  he  carries  on  the  wagon  making  busi- 
ness, and  also  a  paint  shop,  and,  being  a 
thorough  mechanic,  he  has  been  well  patron- 
ized and  has  been  successful  in  business. 
His  inclinations  toward  stock-raising,  farm- 
ing and  its  attendant  minutise,  and  he  con- 
templates in  the  near  future  to  give  his  at- 
tention to  this  enterprise.  In  April,  1864, 
he  married  Eliza  Andrews,  a  native  of  Ken- 
dall County,  111.,  daughter  of  Ambrose  and 
Sarah  A.  (Wire)  Andi-ews;  they  have  had 
four  children — Charles,  Fred,  Lottie  and 
Allie.  He  is  a  member  of  the  several  Ma- 
sonic organizations  from  the  Blue  Lodge  to 
the  Commandery,  Minooka  Lodge,  No.  528, 
Orient  Chapter  and  Blaney  Commandery. 

S.  S.  WATSON,  merchant,  Minooka,  is 
located  on  the  corner  that  was  formerly  occu- 
pied by  Daniel  Ferguson,  a  former  business 
man  of  this  place,  now  deceased.  The  sub- 
ject of  these  lines  was  born  January  25, 
1848,  in  Ottawa,  Canada;  he  is  the  third  son 
of  Southwell  Watson,  who  was  a  native  of 
County  Down,  Ireland,  and  who  emigrated 
to  Canada  when  a  young  man;  he  mai'ried 
Jane  Strong,  and  by  her  raised  a  family  of 
children,  but  two  of  whom  are  residents  of 
Grundy  County — Dr.  I.  S.  and  S.  S.  In 
1866,  Mr.  Watson  came  to  Chicago  from 
Canada,  and,  three  years  later,  to  Minooka, 
whore  he  engaged  in  business  for  a  time,  then 
retiu'ned  to  Chicago  and  engraged  in  the  di-ug 
business  with  his  brother.  In  1878,  he  came 
back  to  Minooka  and  associated  in  business 
with  H.  T.  Wheeler,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Wheeler  &  Watson.  This  copartnership 
lasted  but  six  months,  when  he  piu'chased 
his  partner's  intere.st  and  has  since  conducted 
the  business  himself;  he  keeps  a  good  stock 
of  groceries,  canned   fruits,  boots  and  shoes. 


ready-made  clothing  and  furnishing  goods, 
and  is  doinga  successful  business,  being  well 
pati-onized.  July  28,  1880,  he  married  Mrs. 
Libbie  Ferguson,  daughter  of  A.  C.  Worth  - 
ing;  she  was  the  relict  of  Daniel  Ferguson, 
one  time  a  prominent  business  man  of  this 
place.  Mr.  Watson  and  wife  are  members  of 
the  M.  E.  Church.  He  is  a  member  of  Mi- 
nooka Lodge,  No.   528,  A,  F.  &  A.  M. 

H.  T.  WHEELER,  merchant,  Minooka,  is 
the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Wheeler  & 
Sadler,  the  leading  busiiiess  firm  of  the  town, 
and  is  one  of  the  self- made  young  men  of  the 
county;  ho  was  born  in  Wiltshire,  England, 
Jan.  13,  1852,  son  of  Thomas  and  Ann  (Dyer) 
Wheeler,  both  natives  of  the  same  place. 
Mr.  Wheeler  came  to  this  country  in  the 
spring  of  1870;  came  the  same  year  to  this 
county  and  located  in  this  town.  He  worked 
for  his  uncle,  John  Dyer,  on  the  farm  in  this 
county  for  two  years;  then  engaged  as  clerk 
with  D.  PergiiBon,  with  whom  he  stayed  until 
Mr.  Ferguson's  death.  Mr.  Wheeler  and 
Alex  Ferguson  bought  this  stock  and  carried 
on  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Ferguson 
&  Wheeler,  about  three  years,  when  Mr. 
Wheeler  bought  out  Mr.  Ferguson's  interest 
and  carried  on  the  business  himself,  for 
about  one  "year,  when,  on  account  of  ill 
health,  he  sold  out  and  retired  from  business 
for  a  year.  In  September,  1881,  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Oliver  B.  Saddler,  with 
whom,  under  the  firm  name  of  Wheeler  & 
Saddler,  he  has  since  carried  on  business,  and 
doing  a  good  trade  in  dry  goods,  groceries, 
boots  and  shoes,  hats,  caps,  clothing,  notions, 
glassware  and  crockery,  their  business, 
which  is  the  best  in  the  town,  having  in- 
creased fully  50  per  cent  since  they  began 
business  in  1881.  Mr.  Wheeler  married  Ar- 
tie Greenly,  a  native  of  Will  County,  111., 
who  has  borne  him  two  children — Elsie  and 
Jessie. 


62 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


MAZOJST    TOWNSHIP. 


JOHN  ANTIS,  physician  and  surgeon,  Ma- 
zon,  was  born  in  Montgomery  County,  N.  Y., 
in  1817,  and  early  in  life  commenced  the  study 
of  medicine,  graduating  from  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  Western  Uni- 
versity of  New  York,  in  the  year  1838.  He 
practiced  his  profession  in  North  Brookfield, 
Madison  County,  N.  Y.,  four  years,  and  during 
that  time,  in  1840,  married  ^liss  Nancy  A. 
Sweet,  youngest  daughter  of  Samuel  G.  Sweet. 
lu  1841,  they  had  born  to  them  their  eldest 
daughter,  Eudora  A.  The  same  year  (1841), 
Dr.  Antis  moved  to  Mixville,  Allegany  Coun- 
ty, N.  Y.,  and  lived  there  four  years,  during 
which  time  his  youngest  daughter,  Mary  L., 
was  born.  In  1845,  the  Doctor  moved  to  Mor- 
ris, where  he  resided  until  1879,  when  he 
moved  out  to  his  farm  in  Mazon  Township,where 
he  has  enjoyed  the  full  possession  of  health 
and  happiness,  and  a  large  circle  of  friends  and 
acquaintances.  Thus  have  been  chronicled  the 
dates  of  the  births  and  marriage  of  the  Doctor 
and  his  estimable  wife,  whose  lives  have  been 
intimately  blended  and  moulded  into  the  inter- 
ests of  the  county  and  city  of  their  adoption. 
They  have  lived  to  see  their  daughters  married 
to  cherished  husbands,  and  they,  surrounded 
by  children,  the  pride  of  their  parents.  The 
lives  of  this  aged  pair  have  been  a  series  of  ex- 
periences from  which  they  have  learned  to 
judge  wisely  and  live  properly,  and  are  now 
looking  forward  to  that  great  change  when  the 
man  proper  will  separate  from  the  man  physi- 
cal, and  stand  out  in  its  own  pristine  worth, 
untrammeled  bj-  matter  and  its  laws. 

ABBOTT  BARKER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon, 
is  a  native  of  Washington  County,  N.  Y.,  born 
January  12,  1823,  son  of  Leonard  and  Han- 
nah   Barker,   of    New   Hampshire.      He   was 


raised  and  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  State,  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in 
Putnam  County,  about  1857.  Here  he  lived 
until  1861,  when  he  moved  to  his  present  resi- 
dence in  Mazon  Township,  Grundy  Co.  He 
took  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  joiner  after 
coming  to  Illinois.  He  was  married  on  March 
5,  1856,  to  Miss  Malinda  Hopkins,  of  Putnam 
County,  111.  She  was  born  May  1,  1830,  and 
died  in  Mazon  Township  May  22,  1865.  They 
had  two  children^Joel  H.,  born  January  31, 
1860,  and  H.  J.,  born  January  16,  1857,  and 
married,  December  28,  1876,  to  Rev.  A.  D. 
Beckhart.  April  17,  1866,  Mr.  Barker  mar- 
ried the  second  time.  They  own  a  farm  of 
235  acres  of  improved  land  in  Sections  5 
and  8,  of  Mazon  Township,  land  worth  $50  per 
acre.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barker  are  members  of 
Wauponsee  Grove  Congregational  Church. 

J.  F.  BURLEIGH,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon, 
was  born  in  Livingston  County,  N.  Y.,  March 
24,  1824,  and  took  an  academic  course  of  study 
in  his  native  State.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Sarah  E.  Burleigh,  of  New  Hampshire.  He 
was  married  in  the  State  of  New  York,  Octo- 
ber 28,  1847,  to  Jliss  Hannah  J.  Maynard  of 
Wayne  County,  N.  Y.  She  was  born  February 
5,  1826,  and  died  August  9,  1854.  They  had 
two  children— Willis  C,  born  July  29,  1848, 
died  February  28,  1850  ;  and  Ella,  born  June 
26,1854.  August  27,  1856,  our  subject  mar- 
ried Miss  Susan  D.  Underwood,  who  was  born 
March  27,  1831  ;  by  this  union  there  were  born 
four  children— Arthur,  born  July  24,  1860  ; 
Alice  G.,  June  4,  1862  ;  Ida  J.,  December  6, 
1863  ;  and  Irving  C,  April  22,  1870.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Burleigh  and  the  two  older  children  ai'e 
members  of  the  Congi-egational  Church  of 
Wauponsee  Grove.     Our  subject  owns  a  farm 


MAZON    TOWNSHIP. 


C3 


of  240  acres  of  improved  land  in  Section  4, 
Mazon  Township,  worth  $G0  per  acre.  He  is 
a  Republican,  and  has  been  repeatedlj-  elected 
to  tlie  offices  of  his  township.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  The  two  elder 
children  were  educated  at  the  Cook  Countj' 
Normal  Institute.  John  and  Sarah  (Fellows) 
Burleigh,  parents  of  J.  F.,  were  married  at 
Salisbury,  N.  H.,  December  14,  1810  ;  he  was 
born  in  New  Hampshire  April  2(i,  1789,  and 
died  in  the  State  of  New  York  May  27,  186G  ; 
she  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  December  4, 
1794,  and  died  in  the  State  of  New  York  July 
18,  1865.  They  raised  a  family  of  five  chil- 
dren— John  L.,  Catherine,  Harriet,  Joseph  F. 
and  Elizabeth  A. 

ISAAC  N.  CLITHERO,  farmer,  Mazon,  was 
born  in  Monroe  Countj-,  Ohio,  January  13, 
1833,  and  was  raised  and  educated  in  his  native 
State ;  he  is  a  son  of  John  D.  and  Jemima 
Clithero.  He  was  first  married,  March  5,  185G, 
to  Miss  Sarah  Taylor,  who  was  born  in  Ohio 
September  24,  1835,  and  died  April  2,  1858. 
They  had  one  daughter — Mary  V.,  born  Julj- 
27,  1857,  and  died  June  14, 1858.  Mr.  Clithero 
came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Mazon  Town- 
ship. Grund}'  County,  in  December,  18G2.  He 
now  has  a  farm  of  140  acres  of  improved  land, 
worth  $60  per  acre,  in  Sections  28  and  29.  Jan- 
uary 28,  18G9,  Mr.  Clithero  married  Miss  Jane 
E.,  daughter  of  William  and  Jane  Pool,  of 
Ohio.  She  was  born  December  23,  1843,  in 
Monroe  County,  Ohio  ;  the  result  of  this  union 
was  three  children — -William  T.,  born  April  16, 
1872;  Addie  V.,  born  February  5,  1876,  and 
an  infant,  born  August  8,  1882.  The  famil3' 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Mazon.  Mr.  Clithero  is  a  Republican.  John 
D.  Clithero,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born 
November  25,  1803,  and  died  March  9,  1880  ; 
Jemima  Clithero,  mother  of  our  subject,  was 
born  March  6,  1806,  and  died  June  14,  1881. 

MELViN  CARTER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon. 
The  familj-  of  Abraham  C.  and  Margaret  A. 


Carter  came  to  Illinois  from  Ohio  in  Juue, 
1851,  and  settled  in  Mazon  Township,  Grundy 
County.  The  family  consists  of  ten  children — 
Abraham  Carter,  born  in  Belmont  Couutj-, 
Ohio,  October  17,  1818,  and  died  in  Mazon 
Township,  March  2,  1876;  his  wife,  Margaret 
Ann  (Preston)  Carter,  a  native  of  Tuscarawas 
County,  Ohio,  born  June  14,  1826,  is  now  liv- 
ing with  her  sons  on  the  old  homestead,  which 
is  controlled  by  the  eldest  son,  Melvin,  who 
was  born  in  Guernsej-  County,  Ohio,  November 
17,  1845  ;  Sarah  M.,  was  born  March  27,  1849, 
married  to  Alex  Lee,  November  11,  18G7  : 
Martha  A.,  born  October  21,  1851,  died  Decem- 
ber 24,  1854  ;  Lora  and  Flora  were  born  March 
29,  1854 — Lora  E.  was  married,  June  27,  1876, 
to  George  W.  Satterlee.  Flora  B.  married  Sep- 
tember 1,  1879,  to  Marion  Mecham  ;  Amanda 
J.,  born  August  27,  1857,  married  to  El  wood 
Randal,  October  9,  1880  ;  Douglas  P.,  born 
June  29,  1860  ;  William  H.,  born  February  6, 
1863  ;  Amos  A.,  born  JIarch  11,  1865  ;  Frank 
B.,  born  August  17,  1867.  The  Carter  estate 
consists  of  354  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Sec- 
tions 26,  27,  34  and  35,  of  Mazon  Township, 
his  residence  being  situated  two  and  a  half  miles 
southeast  of  Mazon.  Melvin  Carter  owns  a 
farm  consisting  of  a  quarter  section,  in  Sec- 
tions 22  and  27,  including  dwelling  house  and 
other  improvements,  the  land  being  valued 
at  §60  per  acre.  He  is  among  the  solid  farm- 
ers of  Grundy  County,  and  is  engaged  in  stock- 
raising. 

JOHN  DRESSER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon, 
was  born  in  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  December  12, 
1813.  While  he  was  quite  young,  his  parents, 
Samuel  and  Nancy  Dresser,  removed  to  Port- 
age County,  Ohio,  where  John  was  raised  and 
received  a  common  school  education.  At  an 
early  age  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  and 
joiner,  at  which  he  worked  for  several  j-ears. 
He  was  married  in  Februarj',  1841,  to  Miss 
Betsey  Morse ;  she  was  born  in  Massachusetts 
March  16,  181G,  and  died   in  Mazon  Township 


64 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


September  28,  1854.  Soon  after  they  were 
married,  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Dresser  moved  to  Mil- 
ler County,  Mo.,  where  the3-  lived  till  1851, 
when  they  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Ma- 
zon  Township,  Grundy  Co,;  there  in  Section  4, 
Mr.  Dresser  owns  eiglity  acres  of  improved 
land  valued  at  $50  an  acre,  Mr,  Dresser's 
second  marriage  occurred  May  6,  1855,  when 
he  married  Mrs.  Betsey  Jones,  of  Missouri, 
formerly  of  Ohio.  She  was  born  March  13, 
1829.  Mr.  Dresser  had  by  his  first  wife  two 
children — Jacob,  born  in  October,  1843,  died 
in  September,  1848  ;  Mary,  born  May  7,  1849, 
died  in  October,  1871.  By  his  second  wife 
Mr.  Dresser  had  the  following  children — Isaac 
M.,  born  May  13,  1857;  Martha  E,,  born  Au- 
gust 20,  1860  (married  in  November,  1877,  to 
William  Holmes);  John  E.,  born  April  30, 
1865,  and  Alma  B,.  born  September  5,  1867, 
died  March  10,  1SS2.  John  Dresser  cast  his 
first  vote  for  Andrew  Jackson  and  has  adherred 
to  the  same  principles  since, 

S.  H,  DEWEY,  farmer,?,  0,  Mazon  Center, 
was  born  in  Lewis  County.  N,  Y,,  August  21, 
1821  ;  was  ra'sed  and  educated  in  New  Y'ork, 
from  whence,  in  1855,  he  came  to  Illinois,  and 
settled  on  the  present  site  of  the  village  of 
Verona,  Grundj-  Co.  In  May,  1851,  he  married 
Miss  Malissa  Fisk,  of  Booneville,  Oneida  Co., 
N.  Y.  She  was  born  November  24,  1828.  At 
Verona  Mr.  Dewey  bought  a  farm  of  eighty 
acres  to  which  he  added  extensively  in  after 
years,  owning  at  the  present  time  485  acres  of 
farm  land,  worth  $50  an  acres  in  the  townships 
of  Mazon  and  Good  farm  of  this  countj'.  Mr. 
Dewej'  is  now  a  resident  of  the  thriving  village 
of  blazon  Center,  where  he  has  lately  erected  a 
substantial  dwelling.  From  1872  to  1877,  he 
was  a  resident  of  Morris,  and  being  an  ardent 
advocate  of  temperance,  he  was  run  for  Maj'or 
on  the  temperance  ticket.  In  politics,  he  is  a 
Republican,  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  business  of  the  county.  He  served  from 
1873  to  1877,  on  the  State  Board  of  Equaliza- 


tion ;  also  served  several  terms  as  Supervisor, 
and  is  now  Justice  of  the  Peace.  Mr,  and 
Mrs,  Dewey  have  a  familj^  of  six  children — 
Ellen  N.,  born  in  New  York,  (married  to  Hor- 
ace H.  Overocker);  Alice  E.,  born  in  New  York, 
(mariied  to  Rev.  D.  W.  Frances,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania) ;  Milton  S.,  born  in  New  York  (married 
to  Miss  Maggie  Dewey,  of  Grundy  County)  ; 
Mary  J.,  born  in  Grundy  County  ;  Lester  S,, 
born  in  Grundy  County  (married  to  Miss  Dora 
Smith),  and  Flora  born  in  Grundy  County, 

G.  W.  DANIELS  (deceased)  was  born  in 
Vermont  June  8,  1818,  and  was  married  in 
New  York  January  9,  1843,  to  Miss  Fidelia 
Belding,  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  August  17, 
1816.  By  this  union  five  children  were  born — 
Charles  E.,  born  November  6,  1846,  married 
January  1,  1873  ;  Sarah  A.,  born  April  20, 
1849  (married  June  10,  1873.  to  James  Foster, 
of  Indiana);  L.  E,,  born  March  4,  1851  ;  Ellen 
A.,  born  December  1,  1854  (married  Februarj' 
8,  1875,  to  DeWitt  Hinkle,  of  Iroquois  Countj% 
Ills.),  and  William  A,,  born  xMarch  5,  1856. 
The  second  son,  L.  E.,  has  a  farm  in  Section 
16,  Mazon  Township.  Mr.  Daniels  died  October 
20,  1882,  from  paralysis  of  the  heart  ;  he  was 
a  man  highly  esteemed  in  the  community  in 
which  he  resided,  and  figured  prominently  in 
the  enterprises  of  his  county.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  owned  a  farm  in  Section  16,  Mazon 
Township,  worth  $75  an  acre,  a  portion  of  the 
village  of  Mazon  Center  being  on  his  land. 
Mr.  Daniels  taught  school  for  some  time,  and 
held  the  office  of  School  Treasurer.  He  was  a 
Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraterni- 
ty, Blue  Lodge  and  Knights  Templar. 

J.  K.  ELY,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon,  son  of 
James  G.  and  Rebecca  E.  Ely,  was  born  in 
Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  December  2,  1837.  He 
was  educated  in  Rock  River  Seminary,  became 
qualified  for  teaching,  which  he  followed  in 
LaSalle  and  Grundy  Counties  for  seven  jears. 
He  enlisted  at  Chicago  on  the  12th  of  August, 
1862,  in   Company  H,    Eighty-eighth  Illinois 


MAZON    TOWJJSHIP. 


65 


Volunteer  Infivntry,  with  which  he  continued 
until  dischnrged  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Took 
part  in  the  battles  of  Stone  River,  Chickainau- 
gua,  Chattanooga,  Mission  Ridge  and  Dalton, 
and  marched  with  Sherman  to  Atlanta,  Ga.,where 
he  was)  wounded  Julj-  20,  1864,  after  which  he 
saw  no  more  field  service.  September  5,  1864, 
he  married  Miss  Lovina  J.  Mossraan,  daughter 
of  William  and  Marj'  Mossman,  of  Iowa.  She 
was  born  .\pril  12,  1845.  They  have  a  family 
of  two  sons  and  four  daughters — Ruble  M., 
Lena  G.,  May  K.,  Nellie  V.,  John  M.  and  Will- 
iam Ray.  Mr.  Ely  owns  320  acres  of  valuable 
lantl  in  Sections  4  and  5,  of  Mazou  Township. 
His  father,  James  Ely,  died  in  1844,  his  mother, 
Rebecca,  is  now  living  with  our  subject.  He  is 
a  Republican  and  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  Ma- 
zon  Township.  Mrs.  Elj'  is  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  Church.  Mr.  Ely  first  settled 
in  Nettle  Creek  Township  in  1847. 

OWEN  H.  FULLER,  grain  and  lumber,  Ma- 
zon  Center,  is  a  native  of  Onondaga  County,  N. 
Y.,  born  January  19, 1 834,  and  came  to  the  town 
of  Mazon  with  his  parents  in  1839,  the}'  being 
among  the  first  settlers  of  the  county.  His 
father,  Hiram  Fuller,  took  an  active  part  in  the 
early  history  of  this  county.  He  died  at  the 
home  of  0.  H.  Fuller,  in  Mazon  Township,  April 
13,  1872.  Our  subject  was  married,  July  31, 
1853,  to  Miss  Weltha  Isham,  daughter  of  G. 
Isham.  Mrs.  Fuller  was  born  in  Vermont 
October  23,  1836,  and  has  borne  five  children — 
Olney  B.,  born  December  18,  1860  ;  Alta  A., 
born  November  1,  1863  ;  R.  Dale,  born  Decem- 
ber 10,  18G5;  Olin  M.,  born  December  30, 
1867  ;  and  Erlan  G.,  born  December  25,  1875. 
Alta  A.  was  married  June  11,  1882,  to  0.  S. 
Viner  of  Mazon  Township.  Mr.  Fuller  is  asso- 
ciated with  A.  0.  Murray  in  the  grain  and  lum- 
ber trade  at  Mazon  Center ;  they  own  an  eleva- 
tor near  the  Chicago,  Peru  &  South  Western 
Railroad.  Mr.  Fuller  is  a  Democrat,  and  has 
been  repeatedly  elected  to  the  offices  of  the 
townsiiip.     He  is  now  Notary  Public. 


V.  L.  FULLER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon,  was 
born  in  Onondaga  County,  N.  Y.,May  10, 1836. 
His  parents,  Hiram  and  Mary  Ann  Fuller,  set- 
tled in  Mazon  Township,  Grundy  Count}-,  when 
our  subject  was  but  three  j'ears  old,  and  three 
years  before  the  organization  of  the  county  ;  at 
that  time  there  were  but  three  or  four  families 
in  the  township.  Jlr.  V.  L.  Fuller  was  raised 
a  farmer,  and  now  owns  a  farm  of  eighty  acres 
of  improved  land  in  Section  17,  of  Mazon 
Township,  the  land  being  worth  $55  per  acre. 
Mr.  Fuller  was  married,  February  13,  1859,  to 
Miss  Sofrona,  daughter  of  Josiah  at\d  Lavina 
Tuck,  of  Maine.  She  was  born  Februarj'  13, 
1830,  and  is  the  mother  of  five  children — Will 
C,  born  January  11,  1860  ;  Cora  L.,  March  23, 
1862  ;  George  W.,  April  26,  1865  ;  Frank  E., 
June  20,  1867;  and  Mary  A.,  May  2,  1872. 
Mr.  Fuller  is  a  Republican  ;  is  Deputy  Sheriff 
of  the  county,  and  has  served  the  county  as 
Constable  for  seventeen  years.  Josiah  Tuck, 
father  of  Mrs.  (Tuck)  Fuller,  was  born  in  Maine 
June  19,  1799,  and  died  in  Grundy  County 
February  6,  1875  ;  his  wife,  Lavina  Tuck,  was 
born  in  Maine  April  19,  1807,  and  died  at  the 
home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Fuller,  November 
25,1881. 

PERLEY  B.  FULLER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon, 
was  born  in  Grundy  County  January  6,  1847, 
and  was  raised  and  educated  in  this  county. 
He  is  a  son  of  Richard  and  Cornelia  Fuller, 
natives  of  Ohio  ;  the  father  died  in  Mazon 
Township  in  November,  1880  ;  the  mother  was 
born  in  September,  1824,  and  is  now  living  in 
Mazon  Township,  with  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Hough.  Our  subject  was  married  September 
24,  1871,  to  Miss  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  John 
and  Margaret  Hough.  She  was  born  in  New- 
port, R.  I.,  July  6,  1852,  and  is  the  mother  of 
two  daughters — Mabel  A.,  born  August  18, 
1872,  and  Valley  V.,  born  January  20,  1879. 
Mr.  Fuller  has  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  of  im- 
proved land,  in  Section  22,  of  Mazon  Township, 
worth  $65  per  acre.     Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fuller 


66 


BIOGRAPHICAL : 


are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Mazon.  He  is  a  Republican  and  an  ultra 
temperance  advocate. 

SILAS  W.  GIBSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon. 
S.  W.  Gibson  was  born  in  Saratoga  Countj', 
N.  Y.,  February  24,  1842,  and  came  to  Grund}' 
County,  111.,  with  his  parents  when  less  than 
one  year  old.  He  attended  the  first  school  or- 
ganized in  Mazon  Townsiiip,  in  the  old  Fuller 
Sehoolhouse,  Constance  Hulse  and  Lafayette 
Doud  being  among  his  first  teachers.  He  is 
.the  second  of  a  family  of  four  children  of  Robert 
C.  and  Elizabeth  (Largent)  Gibson.  His  father 
was  born  in  the  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont, 
in  1811,  and  died  in  Morris  May  10,  1882. 
The  mother  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  died  in 
Grundy  County  March  29,  18G7.  Our  subject 
was  married,  October  2, 1866,  to  Miss  Clarissa  C. 
■  Lattimer,  daughter  of  Silas  and  Mary  Lattimer. 
She  was  born  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  November 
22,  1848.  They  have  a  family  of  four  children 
— Orrel  B.,  born  November  27,  1867  ;  Robert 
S.  G.,  December  20,  1869  ;  Burton  I.;  Clara  E.; 
Mr.  Gibson  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Sixty-ninth 
Illinois,  and  served  three  months,  then  enlisted 
in  100-day  service  in  Company  H.  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirtj'-eighth  Illinois  Regiment ;  was 
detailed  on  garrison  dutj-,  principally  in  Mis- 
souri and  Kansas.  He  is  a  Republican,  a 
member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  and  one  of  the  lead- 
ing farmers  of  Grundy  Couut3-.  He  owns  the 
old  Robert  Gibson  farm,  consisting  of  300  acres 
in  Sections  10  and  11  ;  his  residence  is  three  and 
a  half  miles  northeast  from  Mazon.  He  is  en- 
gaged in  stock-raising  and  general  husbandry. 
Mrs.  Gibson's  pareuts'are  living  in  Felix  Town- 
ship, Grundy  Count}'. 

OREN  GIBSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon,  was 
born  in  Grundy  Countj-,  III.,  September  24, 
1846  ;  son  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Gibson, 
who  are  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  this 
county,  coming  here  in  1836.  His  mother  was 
among  the  number  whose  lives  were  spared  by 
the  timelj-  warning  of  the  friendly  chief,  Shabo- 


na.  His  father  was  born  in  Landgrove,  Vt., 
May  4,  1811,  and  died  in  Morris  May  4,  1881  ; 
the  mother  was  born  in  Urbana,  Champaign 
Co.,  111.,  October  19,  1821,  and  died  March  29, 
1868,  in  Mazon  Township.  Our  subject  was 
educated  at  Aurora,  and  afterward  took  a 
course  at  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Business  Col- 
lege, Chicago.  He  was  married  October  6, 1869, 
to  Miss  Mar}-  R.,  daughter  of  William  Fuller, 
of  Mazon  Township.  She  was  born  August  10, 
1852,  and  is  the  mother  of  five  children — Orma. 
born  December  11,  1870  ;  Enid,  July  16, 1872  ; 
William  R.,  June  5,  1874;  Stella  M.,  May  9, 
1876  ;  and  Vivian  born  December  17,  1881. 
Mr.  Gibson  owns  385  acres  of  improved  land 
in  Sections  3.  10,  22  and  27  of  Mazon  Township, 
also  two  houses  in  Mazon.  He  is  filling  some 
of  the  offices  of  the  township,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  brotherhood  and  I.  0.  0.  F.; 
he  is  a  Republican.  Mrs.  Gibson  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

ROBERT  GLENN,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona,  is 
a  native  of  Count}-  Antrim,  Ireland,  and  a  son 
of  Robert  and  Mary  Glenn.  He  was  born  Sep- 
tember 12,  1835  ;  came  to  the  United  States, 
June,  1857,  in  the  vessel  "Empire  State,"  and 
settled  in  this  county  the  same  year.  He  now 
owns  335  acres  of  improved  land,  including  one 
dwelling  and  175  acres  in  Sections  30  and  31 
of  Mazon  Township,  and  160  acres  in  Section 
21  of  Vienna  Township,  the  land  being  worth 
$55  per  acre.  He  was  married  in  Grundy 
County,  December  31,  1866,  to  Miss  Catherine 
Thomas,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane  Thomas. 
She  was  born  in  Wales  September  20,  1845, 
and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1860.  They 
have  a  family  of  three  children,  all  born  in  this 
county — Mary,  born  September  27,  1867;  Anna 
E.,  born  December  1,  1870  ;  Robert  James, 
born  March  11,  1875.  Robert  Glenn,  father  of 
our  subject,  is  now  living  in  Vienna  Township, 
Grundy  County. 

HENRY  HOLDER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona,  is 
a  son  of  Henry  and  Sarah  Holder,  born  March 


MAZON    TOWNSHIP. 


67 


24,  1839,  in  Manchester,  England.  His  par- 
ents emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1848, 
and  settled  in  Pittsburgh,  Penn.,  where  the^-  re- 
mained two  and  a  lialf  3-ears,  then  removed  to 
Illinois,  and  located  in  Kendall  County,  near 
Plattville,  where  they  lived  until  they  came  to 
Grundy  Count}'  in  1862.  His  mother  died  in 
Mazon  Township  Februar}-  13,  1866,  and  his 
father  in  February,  1877  ;  both  are  buried  in 
the  Ward  Cemetery.  Our  subject  was  educat- 
ed in  the  common  schools  of  Pennsylvania  and 
England.  He  now  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  of 
land  in  Section  19,  Mazon  Township,  valued  at 
$50  per  acre,  his  residence  being  located  two 
miles  west  from  Mazon.  He  has  a  younger 
brother,  William,  who  was  a  soldier  from  Will 
County,  111.,  in  the  late  war.  Mr.  Holder  is 
Independent  in  politics. 

TURNER  B.  HOUGH,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon 
Center,  is  a  native  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  was 
born  April  14,  1850.  W^hen  he  was  seven  years 
old.  his  parents.  John  and  Margaret  Hough, 
emigrated  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Kendall 
Connty.  In  the  spring  of  1863,  thej'  removed 
to  Grundy  Count}',  and  the  next  .year  settled 
in  Mazon  Township,  where  they  are  now  living 
on  their  farm  of  160  acres,  in  Section  20. 
Our  subject  received  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, and  September  IS,  1872,  married  Miss 
Eda  A.  Fuller,  born  in  Mazon  Township  April 
1,  1855.  They  have  two  sons  and  a  daughter 
— George  T.,  born  July  7,  1873  ;  Nettie  C, 
March  30,  1875  ;  and  Harrie  L.,  May  27.  1876. 
Mr.  Hough  owns  a  farm  of  115  acres  of  culti- 
vated land  in  Section  22,  Mazon  Township,  ad- 
joining the  village  of  Mazon,  valued  at  $75  per 
acre.  Mrs.  Hough  is  a  member  of  the  ^leth- 
odist  Episcopal  Church.  >Ir.  Hough  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

M.  ISHAM,  merchant,  Mazon,  is  the  fourth 
of  a  family  of  nine  children,  and  was  born  June 
7,  1829,  in  Chittenden  County,  Vt.  When  he 
was  j'oung,  his  parei.ts,  Gersham  and  Annie 
Isham,  removed  to  St.  Lawrence  County,  N.  Y., 


where  they  lived  until  1844.  when  they  came 
to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Mazon  Township,  tliis 
county.  Our  subject  was  married,  Mai  ch  4, 
1855,  to  Miss  Ellen,  daughter  of  George  Jeuk- 
ings,  of  Michigan.     She  was  born    September 

13,  1834.  and  is  the  mother  of  six  daughters — 
Rosa,  born  October  20.  1856,  married  to  George 
W.  Clow,  Maich  19.  1876  ;  Alice  J.,  born  March 

14,  1858,  married  to  Frank  Myers,  December 
25,  1877  ;  Nellie  V.,  born  February  22,  1860, 
married  to  John  Wilkinson,  March  8,  1881 ; 
Almyra,  born  May  22,  1863  ;  Laura  M.,  born 
March  6,  1865  ;  and  Katie  V.,  born  April  17, 
1869.  Mr.  Isham  has  a  farm  of  eighty  acres 
of  improved  land  in  Section  28,  Mazon  Town- 
ship, worth  $50  per  acre.  He  is  engaged  in 
the  general  mercantile  business  in  the  village  of 
Mazon,  in  which  he  resides.  He  is  a  Democrat. 

ZACH  ISHAM.  formei,  P.  0.  Mazon  Center, 
is  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  was  born  Fel)ruar3' 
11,  1831.  When  he  was  seven  years  old,  his 
parents  removed  to  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  settled  in  St.  Lawrence  County,  where  the}- 
lived  until  1844,  when  they  came  to  Illinois. 
They  first  settled  in  McIIenry  County,  where 
they  lived  one  year,  then  came  to  Grundy  Coun- 
ty', and  have  been  residents  of  Mazon  Township 
since,  G,  Isham,  father  of  our  subject  was 
was  born  in  Vermont  March  3,  1801,  and  died 
in  Mazon  Township  October  6,  1878.  Mr. 
Isham  was  married,  November  30,  1854,  to  Miss 
Susan  S.  Viner,  of  Mazon  Township.  She  was 
born  November  22, 1835.  They  have  a  family  of 
eight  children,  of  whom  but  three  are  living. 
Mr.  Isham  now  owns  240  acres  of  land  in  Sec- 
tion 21,  Mazon  Township,  the  town  of  Mazon 
Center  being  laid  out  on  his  land.  The  value 
of  his  form  land  is  875  per  acre.  Mrs.  Isham 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Mazon.  Mr.  Isham  is  one  of  the  solid  busi- 
ness men  of  his  township,  combining  the  in- 
terests of  farming  with  business  of  a  general 
character  connected  with  the  village  of  Mazon 
Center.     He  manifests  a  public  spirit  in   the 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


enterprises  of  his  community,  giving  liberally 
to  the  fund  for  the  erection  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  buikUug  of  the  village.  His 
mother,  Eliza  Isham,  was  born  in  Hinesburg, 
Vt.,  February  22,  1802,  and  is  now  living  in 
blazon  with  her  son,  Jehial  Isham.  The  moth- 
er raised  a  family  of  nine  children,  our  subject 
being  the  fifth  child. 

SALEM  IRONS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazou,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Worcester  County,  Mass.,  born  October 
18,  1823.  Wheu  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  his 
parents,  James  and  Phiebe  Irons,  removed  to 
Rhode  Island,  where  they  remained  several  3'ears. 
Subject  came  to  Grundy  County,  111.,  in  1854, 
and  bought  land  in  Mazon  Township,  where  he 
now  owns  145  acres  of  cultivated  land,  in  Sec- 
tions 9  and  10,  worth  $50  per  acre.  He  was 
married,  in  Rhode  Island,  to  Miss  Harriet, 
daughter  of  James  Yaw,  of  Rhode  Island  ;  she 
was  born  in  Rhode  Island  December  15,  1823. 
They  have  a  family  of  three  children — Henry 
A.,  born  in  Rhode  Island  June  14,  1850,  mar- 
ried to  Miss  May  Keith  ;  Maria,  born  in  Grun- 
dy County  May  4,  1855,  married  to  T.  H.Rose- 
man,  of  Mazon  Township  ;  and  Clara  I.,  born 
October  26,  1858,  married  to  Fred  Keith,  of 
Mazon  Township.  Mr.  Irons  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  is  a  township  offi- 
cial. His  residence  is  one  and  one-quarter 
miles  north  of  Mazon.     He  is  a  Republican. 

D.  C.  JACKSON,  former,  P.  0.  Mazon,  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Jackson,  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  was  born  in  Schoiiarie 
County,  N.  Y.,  April  4,  1819,  in  which  State  lie 
was  raised  and  educated.  He  was  married,  in 
1844,  to  Miss  Rhoda,  daughter  of  James  and 
Nancj'  Brown  ;  she  was  born  in  1823,  and  died 
in  Albany  County,  N.  Y.,  in  April,  1846.  The 
result  of  this  union  was  one  son,  John,  born 
August  4,  1845  ;  killed  at  the  battle  of  Cold 
Harbor.  In  1865,  Mr.  Jackson  came  to  Illi- 
nois and  settled  in  Mazon  Township,  where  he 
owns  a  farm  of  eightj'  acres  of  land,  worth  S50 
per  acre,  in  Section  29.     Subject  was  married 


to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Traver,  widow  of  David 
Traver,  August  27,  1865;  she  is  a  native  of 
Schoharie  County-,  N.  Y.,  born  February  25, 
1830.  This  union  has  blessed  them  with  four 
children — Annie  E.,  born  February  6,  1867  ; 
Laura  M.,  born  July  3,  1872,  died  March  17, 
1874;  Frank,  born  April  10,1873;  and  Min- 
nie B.,  born  JIarch  25,  1875.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Wauponsee  Grove  Congrega- 
tional Church.     Mr.  Jackson  is  a  Democrat. 

J.  C.  KELTNER,  grain,  Mazon  Center,  was 
born  near  Dayton,  Ohio,  December  10,  1832. 
When  he  was  quite  j'oung,  his  parents,  John  and 
Nancy  Keltner,  removed  to  Indiana  and  settled 
in  Elkhart  County,  where  they  lived  until  the 
time  of  their  death,  and  where  James  C.  was 
raised  and  received  a  common  school  education 
He  came  to  Illinois  and  to  Grundj'  County  in 
October,  1854,  and  engaged  at  his  trade  as  car- 
penter and  joiner,  which  he  had  acquired  in 
Indiana,  and  at  which  he  worked  for  ten  years. 
He  was  married,  in  Grundy  County,  February 
17,  1858,  to  Miss  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  James 
and  Elizabeth  McKeen,  of  this  county-  ;  she 
was  born  April  20,  1839,  and  is  the  mother  of 
six  children,  two  of  wliom  are  deceased — Ben- 
jamin F.,  born  Februarj'  17,1859;  Columbus, 
July  8,  1862  ;  Lulu  M.,  June  18,  1864  :  Will- 
iam C,  Januar}'  2,  1866  ;  James  A.,  August?, 
1870;  andVenice,  January  3, 1881.  Mr.  Kelt- 
ner owns  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  worth  S50  an 
acre,  in  Section  23  of  Mazon  Township  ;  his 
residence  is  one  mile  east  of  Mazon  Center. 
He  is  engaged  in  the  grain  trade  at  the  village 
of  Mazon,  also  in  the  stock  business,  in  which 
he  is  associated  with  Charles  H.  Overocker. 

PERRY  F.  LANDPHERE,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Mazon,  was  born  in  Cayuga  County,  N.  Y., 
April  23,  1834.  He  is  a  son  of  Silas  and  Nan- 
cy Landphere,  of  Cayuga  County,  N.  Y.,  where 
his  father  died  in  1837.  His  mother  subse- 
quently married  a  Mr.  Hyslop,  and  is  now  liv- 
ing in  Morris,  this  count}',  and  is  sixty-six 
years  old.     Subject  came  with  his  mother  and 


MAZON    TOWNSHIP. 


69 


step-father  to  this  county  in  1845  ;  they  settled 
in  the  town  of  Vienna.  !Mr.  Landpliere  was 
married,  April  28,  18(J7,  to  Jliss  Khoda  Jack- 
son, born  in  Guilderland,  Albany  Co.,  N.  Y., 
September  15,  1849,  and  came  to  Illinois  in 
March,  1867.  They  have  lost  one  cliild  in  in- 
fancy, born  February  21,  1874  ;  the  second 
child,  Allen  DeWitt,  was  born  August  22, 
1882.  They  liave  two  adopted  children.  Mr- 
Landphere  owns  a  farm  of  240  acres  of  valuable 
land  in  Sections  18  and  29  of  Mazon  Township 
and  Section  11  of  Vienna  Tov^nship.  They  are 
members  of  the  Congregational  Church  at  Wau- 
ponsee  Grove.     In  politicSj'he  is  Kepublican. 

HIRAM  MENAUGH,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon. 
During  the  war  of  1812,  Mr.  Menaugh's  parents 
were  living  in  the  southern  part  of  what  is  now 
Indiana,  then  Indiana  Territory.  They  were 
compelled  to  flee  into  a  fort,  near  Franlifort, 
Ky.,  for  protection  against  the  Indians,  and  in 
this  fort  our  suljject  was  born  December  25, 
1812.  In  the  year  1811,  his  brother.  Col.  John 
L.  Menaugii,  was  captured  by  the  Delaware  In- 
dians, and  was  afterward  retaken  from  them  at 
Vincennes,  Ind.;  he  died  in  June,  1879,  after 
serving  the  country  in  various  capacities  for 
manj'  years.  Hiram  Menaugh  was  married, 
near  Salem,  Ind.,  October  4,  1832,  to  Miss 
Martha  Patlock,  who  was  born  in  South  Caro- 
lina November  25,  181.3.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Men- 
augh came  to  Grundy  Count3-  in  the  spring  of 
1844,  when  there  were  but  few  families  in  their 
township.  They  have  a  family  of  five  ciiildren — 
Robert ;  Elizabeth,  married  to  Cliarles  Nance  ; 
James,  who  died  October  11,  1878  ;  Martha, 
born  in  Grundy  County,  married  Henry  Baird, 
died  April  20,  187G  ;  and  Ferriday,  born  in 
Grundy  County,  and  married  to  William  Howe, 
of  this  county.  Mr.  Menaugh  owns  a  farm  of 
eighty-eiglit  acres,  worth  $55  an  acre,  in  Section 
27  of  Mazon  Township  ;  his  residence  is  cue 
and  one-half  miles  southeast  of  Mazon. 

ROBERT  D.  MENAUtiH,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Mazon,  was  born  in  Washington  County,  Ind., 


July  21,  1833,  son  of  Hiram  and  Martha  Men- 
augh. Tiiev  came  to  Illinois  in  the  .spring  of 
1844,  and  settled  in  Mazon  Township,  where 
they  are  still  living.  Robert  was  married  July 
24,  1 856,  to  Miss  Harriet  J.,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Rowen  ;  she  was  born  in  Ohio,  December  4, 
1833.  Their  family  consists  of  nine  children 
— Lora  E  ,  born  August|l,  1857  ;  0.  L.,  August 
27,  1859;  Laura  A.,  March  17, 1861  ;  Lida  B., 
June  3,  1863;  James  M.,  March  12,  1865; 
Robert  R.,  May  12,  18()7  ;  Luella  A.,  Septem- 
ber 1,  1869  ;  Hiram  A  ,  October  20, 1873  ;  and 
Volany  W.,  December  17, 1878.  Mr.  Menaugh 
owns  a  farm  of  240  acres  of  improved  land, 
worth  $45  an  acre,  in  Section  33  of  Mazon 
Township.     He  is  a  Democrat 

AUGUSTUS  0.  MURRAY,  grain  and  lum- 
ber, Mazon  Center,  was  born  February  9,  1832, 
in  Oswego  Count}',  N.  Y.  Wlien  he  was  three 
years  old,  his  parents,  Jonathan  C.  and  Perme- 
lia  M.  Murray,  removed  to  Illinois  and  settled 
in  Mazon  Township,  Grundy  County,  seven 
years  before  the  organization  of  the  countj'. 
The  father  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  first 
men  in  the  early  enterprises  of  the  county.  He 
was  drowned  in  the  month  of  June,  1844 ;  the 
mother  died  in  Ottawa.  111.,  in  February,  1870. 
Subject  was  married,  October  18,  1852,  to  Miss 
Lydia  A.  Isham,  of  Vermont,  born  May  15, 
1835.  Thej'  have  a  family  of  two  sons  and 
fire  daughters — Louis  R.,  born  March  6,  1859, 
married  to  Sarah  E.  Riggall  December  25, 
1881  ;  Ella  L.,  born  December  IG,  1860,  mar- 
ried to  Fred  Kingman  December  31,  1879; 
Hettie  P.,  born  August  24,  1862  ;  Frank  A., 
July  10,  1864;  Gertie  E.,  September  4,  1868  ; 
Eva  W.,  February  16,  1871  ;  and  Maud,  May 
22,  1876.  Mr.  Murray  owns  430  acres  of  cul- 
tivated land  in  Sections  23,  25,  26  and  33  of 
Mazon,  also  110  acres  in  Black  Hawk  County, 
Iowa.  He  is  associated  with  O.  H.  Fuller  in 
the  grain  and  lumber  ti'ade  at  Mazon  Center,  of 
whicli  place  he  is  a  resident.  Mrs.  Murray  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 


70 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


the  village  of  JNIazon.  Mr.  Murray  is  an  ultra 
temperance  advocate. 

CHARLES  H.  OVEROCKER,  stock-dealer, 
Mazon,  was  born  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y., 
October  21,  1838,  and  educated  at  Whitestown, 
N.  y.  He  was  married,  November  1,  1859,  to 
Miss  Amanda  M.  Roscoe,  of  New  York.  She 
died  iu  New  York  October  9,  1864.  Subject 
enlisted,  August  13,  18G2,  in  Company  A, 
Tenth  New  York  Artillery,  with  which  he  was 
connected  until  mustered  out  in  Maj-,  1865. 
He  was  engaged  at  Cold  Harbor  and  Peters- 
burg. Was  in  the  hospital  at  Albany,  from 
November,  of  1864,  until  mustered  out.  His 
second  marriage  occurred  December  31,  1867, 
when  he  espoused  Miss  Sarah  E.  Allison,  of 
Grundy  County.  Subject  has  one  son  by  his 
first  wife,  and  three  children  have  blessed  his 
present  union — Milton,  born  in  New  York ; 
Johu  H.,  Freddie  H.  and  Lenora  B.,  all  three 
born  in  Grundy  County.  Subject  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  Knights  Tem- 
plar. He  cast  his  first  vote  for  A.  Lincoln  in 
1860. 

HORACE  H.  OVEROCKER,  former,  P.  0. 
Mazon,  is  a  son  of  Jacob  Overocker,  born  in 
Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  September  28,  1850.  In 
that  State  he  was  raised  until  sixteen  3ears 
old,  during  which  time  he  received  a  common 
school  education.  He  is  the  j-oungest  of  a 
familj-  of  six  children,  and  was  left  an  orphan 
when  quite  j-oung,  after  which  he  was  reared 
by  an  aunt.  With  this  auut  and  his  brother 
C.  H.  Overocker,  he  came  to  Illinois  in  the  fall 
of  1866.  after  which  he  was  employed  as  a 
farm  hand  until  he  attained  his  majoritj-,  since 
which  time  he  has  farmed  for  himself.  He  was 
married,  November  26,  1874,  to  Miss  Nellie  M. 
Dewey,  daughter  of  S.  H.  Dewey,  of  Mazon 
Township.  She  was  born  in  Lewis  Couut}-,  N. 
Y.,  May  30,  1852.  They  have  one  son,  Berton 
H.,  born  in  Grundy  Countj-  December  11, 
1875.  He  owns  a  farm  of  220  acres  of  im- 
proved land  iu  Sections  9  and  10,  of  Mazon 


Township,  worth  $55  per  acre.  His  residence 
is  located  seven  miles  south  from  ilorris  and 
one  and  three-quarters  north  from  Mazon.  In 
politics,  he  is  a  Republican. 

JAMES  PAXTON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon, 
is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  Paxton,  was 
born  in  Guernsej'  Count}-,  Ohio,  December  3, 
1819,  and  came  to  Illinois  in  the  spring  of 
1848,  having  married,  September  28,  1843, 
Miss  Phoebe  A.  Keepers,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Hannah  (Jordan)  Keepers.  Thej-  settled 
in  Mazon  Tovvnship,Grundy  County,  and  bought 
eighty  acres  of  land,  which  Mr.  Paxton  at 
once  improved.  To  this  he  added  from  time 
to  time,  and  now  owns  400  acres — 240  in  Sec- 
tion 32  of  Mazon  Township  and  160  acres  in 
Section  5,  of  Good  farm  Township.  This  land 
is  worth  $60  per  acre.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paxtoa 
have  a  family  of  eleven  children — Sarah  B., 
born  June  13,  1844,  died  August  4,  1846  ; 
Joseph  K.,  August  18,  1840  ;  Hannah  M.,  born 
February  20,  1849,  died  August  18,  1851  ;  Sam- 
uel J.,  boru  September  9,  1851  ;  Harriet  L., 
born  February  23,  1854,  married  November  23, 
1875,  to  James  M.  Warnock,  of  Ohio — he  died 
December  16,  1877  ;  Philena  J.,  born  July  13, 
1856,  died  August  20,  1859  ;  Phabe  E.,  born 
February  7,  1859,  married  November  27,  1879, 
to  Nathan  Klinefelter  ;  James  E.,  born  Febru. 
ary  7,  1859  ;  William  E.,  born  July  23,  1861  ; 
George  M.,  born  October  13, 1866  ;  and  Mary  E., 
boru  October  13,  1866.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paxton 
and  daughter  Harriet  L.  are  members  of  the 
Church  of  God,  of  Goodfarm  Township.  Their 
residence  is  situated  three  and  three-quarter 
miles  southwest  of  Mazon. 

GEORGE  PAXTON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona. 
The  subject  of  these  lines  is  a  native  of  Guern- 
sej' Conntj-,  Ohio,  born  June  8,  1834,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Sarah  Paxton,  formerly  of  Penn- 
sylvania. When  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  his 
father  moved  to  Illinois,  his  mother  having 
died  in  Ohio.  His  father  settled  in  Mazon 
Township,  Grundy  County,  about  1849,  educat- 


MAZON    TOWNSHIP. 


71 


ed  in  Ohio,  married  November  15,  1855,  to 
Miss  Martlia  A.  Preston,  daughter  of  Elijah 
and  JIartha  Preston.  Slic  was  born  in 
Guernsey  County,  Ohio,  May  9,  1839.  They 
have  a  family  of  one  son — Elmer  E.  Paxton, 
born  in  Grundy  County,  111.,  May  13,  1865. 
Mr.  Paxton  now  owns  a  farm  of  eighty  acres 
in  Section  31  ;  residence,  five  miles  southwest 
from  Mazon.  Samuel  Paxton,  father  of  our 
subject,  died  in  Mazon  Township,  Grundy 
County,  October  22,  1852.  Mrs.  Paxton's 
father,  Elijah  Preston,  died  in  Grundj-  Count}', 
only  two  months  after  their  arrival,  August  15, 
1851.  Martha  A.  Preston  died  in  Grundy 
County,  December  17,  1867. 

WILLIAM  PRESTON,  retired,  Mazon,  is  a 
native  of  Ohio,  born  November  C,  1825  ;  was 
raised  principally  in  Guernsey  County,  Ohio  ; 
is  a  son  of  Elijah  and  Martha  Preston,  and  is 
the  second  of  their  family  of  nine  children. 
Was  married,  in  Ohio,  May  18,  1847,  to  Miss 
Phcebe  Randall,  daughter  of  Hunter  and  Mar- 
garet Randall,  of  Guernsey  County,  Ohio.  Mrs. 
Preston  was  born  July  30,  1825.  They  have  a 
family  of  five  children — Sparks,  born  June  1, 
1848,  died  May  13,  1858  ;  Nancy  Jane,  born 
April  24,  1852,  died  June  2,  1853  ;  Alexander, 
born  November  19,  1854,  married  to  Annie 
Kagan  ;  Harlin,  born  Februar}-  23,  1856,  mar- 
ried to  Susan  Hamilton  April  29,  1877  ; 
Marion,  born  June  16,  1858,  died  August  22, 
1860.  Mr.  Preston  came  to  Illinois,  settling  in 
Grundy  County  in  1849,  and  bought  land  in 
the  township  of  Wauponsee.  He  has  since 
sold  this  and  bought  213  acres  of  cultivated 
land  located  in  Section  5,  of  Goodfarm  Town- 
ship, and  Section  32,  of  Mazon  Township,  val- 
ued at  $50  per  acre.  He  owns  two  lots  and  a 
handsome  residence  in  the  village  of  Mazon. 
Mrs.  Preston  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Elijah,  father  of  William 
I^reston,  was  born  April  16,  1799,  and  died  of 
cholera  taken  at  Chicago  when  hauling  lumber 
for  his  buildings,  August  15,  1851.     Subject's 


mother,  Martha  (Wheatley)  Preston,  was  born 
October  3,  1799,  and  died  in  Mazon  December 
17, 1867.  The  father  and  mother  were  mar- 
ried March  22,  1820. 

GEORGE  B.  ROBINSON,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Morris.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  sou  of 
Mitchell  and  Maria  Robinson,  formerly  of 
Michigan,  born  July  18,  1833,  in  Cass  County, 
Mich.  His  fiither,  Mitchell  Robinson,  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  and  died  in  Michigan,  where 
he  had  moved  from  Ohio,  in  1832.  His  mother, 
Maria  (Colwell)  Robinson,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tuck}',  also  died  in  Michigan.  Subject  was 
raised  and  educated  in  Michigan.  Married, 
in  Mazon  Township,  January  8,  1858,  to  Miss 
Margaret  E.  Rosemn,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Tabitha  Roseman,  born  in  Guernsey  County, 
Ohio,  May  16,  1838.  The  family  consists  of 
ten  children,  all  living  with  parents,  as  follows : 
Vena  B.,  born  December  1,  1858  ;  Joseph  E., 
December  16,  1859  ;  Rosa  M.,  September  22, 
1860  ;  Hettie  E.,  March  15,  1862  ;  Maud  E., 
September  28, 1865  ;  Mamie  A.,  April  6, 1869 ; 
Eva  S.,  April  12,  1872  ;  Tracy  L.,  March  2, 
1876  ;  Clarence  M.,  April  27,  1878  ;  Ernest, 
May  31,  1882.  Mr.  Robinson  owns  a  farm  of 
160  acres  of  improved  farm  land,  in  Sections  7 
and  8  of  Mazon  Township,  and  160  acres  in 
Section  13,  of  Vienna  Township,  valued  at  $60 
per  acre.  His  residence  is  located  four  miles 
northw.est  from  Mazon,  eight  miles  southwest 
from  Morris.  In  politics,  he  is  a  Democrat. 
Mrs.  Robinson's  parents  are  dead. 

CHARLES  ROBINSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Ma- 
zon, was  born  in  Chenango  County,  N.  Y.,  April 
12,  1837.  Was  raised  and  educated  princi- 
pally in  Michigan  and  the  State  of  New  York. 
He  is  a  son  of  Dow  A.  and  Betsey  Robinson, 
who  settled  in  Kankakee  County,  111.,  in  1859. 
They  removed,  four  years  after,  into  this  count}', 
and  located  in  Felix  Township,  where  the  fa- 
ther died  in  February,  1876.  After  the  death 
of  his^father,  Charles  took  charge  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  family.     His  mother  died  at  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


residence  in  Mazon  Towusliip  September  30, 
1880.  He  was  married,  March  15,  1871,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Flanders,  of  Vermont.  She 
was  born  February  22,  1844.  Bore  him  five 
children— Eugene,  born  February  15,  1872, 
died  January  27,  1880  ;  Frank,  born  October 
3,  1873;  Millie,  October  10,  1874;  Alice,  No- 
vember 12,  1876,  and  Cora  A.,  December  16, 
1877.  Subject  owns  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  in 
Section  10  of  Mazon  Township.  His  land  is 
valued  at  $55  per  acre.  His  residence  is  seven 
miles  sonth  of  Morris,  and  one  and  three- 
fourths  miles  north  of  Mazon.  Mr.  Kobinson 
is  a  Republican. 

T.  W.  ROYAL,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mazon,  was 
born  in  Miami  County,  Ohio,  January  25, 1823; 
is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  Royal,  formerly 
of  Virginia.  On  coming  to  Illinois,  they  set- 
tled near  Newark,  now  Kendall  Countj',  and 
there  our  subject  was  raised  antl  received  his 
education.  Mr.  Royal  was  married,  March  22, 
1845,  to  Miss  Amanda  Goodrich,  born  in  Che- 
nango County,  N.  Y.,  March  4,  1824;  she  is 
the  daughter  of  Gardner  and  Nancy  Goodrich, 
who  came  to  this  county  in  1844.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Royal  have  five  children — 6.  C,  born 
September  16,  1848,  married  February  14, 
1869, to  Miss  Sarah  Hinkley,  of  Massachusetts  ; 
George  F.,  born  July  25,  1851,  died  August 
23,  1851  ;  A.  B.,  born  December  26,  1853, 
married,  September  17,1879,  to  Miss  Belle  C. 
Jaquith,  of  Michigan,  she  was  born  May  1 0, 
1856,  and  is  the  mother  of  one  child — Henry 
J.,  born  July  6,  1880  ;  E.  Royal  was  born  De- 
cember 17,  1857,  and  was  married  April  27, 
1880,  to  A.  D.  Wood,  formerly  of  New  York. 
A.  B.  Royal  was  educated  in  the  classical 
schools  of  Newark  and  Morris,  is  a  graduate  of 
Rush  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  and  is  prac- 
ticing in  Lyon  County,  Kan.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Roj'al  and  their  son  Dr.  A.  B.,  are  members  of 
the  M.  E.  Church,  in  which  T.  W.  Royal  has 
been  a  local  preacher  for  sixteen  3-ears  ;  he  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternitj'. 


A.  J.  ROBB,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  Brown 
Count}',  Ohio,  born  October  10,  1825,  son  of 
James  and  Rosana  Robb,  who  settled  in  Wau- 
ponsee  Township,  in  1834,  being  among  the 
first  dozen  families  in  the  county.  Subject  was 
then  nine  years  of  age,  and  for  many  years  had 
no  school  privileges.  The  father  had  a  famih- 
of  six  children,  of  whom  A.  J.  was  the  oldest ; 
sometimes  emploj'cd  a  teacher  to  come  to  his 
house  to  teach  his  children.  James  Robb,  sub- 
ject's father,  died  in  Wauponsee  Township  in 
1855  ;  his  wife  is  still  living  at  Marseilles,  111., 
in  her  seventy-sixth  year.  Mr.  Robb  was 
married,  October  18,  1846,  to  Miss  Betsey 
Hulse,  daughter  of  Henry  Hulse.  She  was  a 
native  of  Trumliull  County,  Ohio,  born  in  1815 
and  died  at  their  home. in  Mazon  Township 
January  10,  1880.  Mr.  Robb  has  a  family  of 
four  ciiildren — Emery  and  Emeline,  born  Au- 
gust 21,  1848  ;  Emery  was  married  in  Novem- 
ber, 1878,  to  Miss  Sadie  Pummell,  of  Grundy 
County  ;  Henr}-  W.,  born  February  13,  1850, 
died  December  14,  1850  ;  Wesley  W.,  born 
February  13,  1857,  married  February  16, 1879, 
to  Miss  Dora  Clow,  of  Grundy  Count}-.  Sub- 
ject has  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  of  improved 
land  in  Section  3,  of  Mazou  Township, 
two  and  one-half  miles  north  from  Ma- 
zon and  sis  and  one-half  miles  south  from 
Morris.  Engaged  in  general  husbandry.  There 
is  but  one  other  settler  now  living  who  has 
been  in  the  conntj'  as  long  as  Mr.  Robb;  that 
one  is  Mr.  L.  W.  Claypool,  who  came  here  at 
the  same  time. 

THOMAS  RANKIN,  merchant,'  Mazon,  is  a 
son  of  Duncan  and  Elizabeth  Rankin,  and  was 
born  December  15,  1857,  in  De  Kalb  County, 
111.  When  he  was  nine  years  old,  he  removed 
with  his  parents  to  Morris,  where  he  was 
principall}'  educated.  His  father  afterward 
moved  to  Braidwood,  where  he  is  still  engaged 
in  business.  Subject  was  married,  April  24, 
1878,  to  Miss  Ada  Lish,  daughter  of  John  and 


MAZON    TOWNSHIP. 


73 


Susan  Lish,  of  Essex,  111.  She  was  bovn  Janu- 
arj-  7,  1859.  They  have  one  son — William  F., 
born  November  11,  1881.  Mr.  Rankin  came 
to  Mazon,  February  14,  1879.  and  engaged  in 
general  mercantile  business.  One  \-ear  after,  he 
established  the  Mazon  Creamerj-,  with  which  he 
is  doing  a  flourishing  business.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

WILSON  SMALL,  hardware,  Mazon  Cen- 
ter, is  a  native  of  Somerset  Countj',  Maine, 
born  January  1,  1843.  When  he  was  twelve 
years  old,  his  parents,  Harris  and  Sophrona 
Small,  moved  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  High- 
land Township,  Grundy  County,  where  our  sub- 
ject was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He 
enlisted  July  31,  1861,  in  Company  G,  Thirty- 
sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he 
served  three  years.  He  was  mustered  out  Sep- 
temper  23,  ISO-l,  at  Atlanta,  Ga.;  he  participat- 
ed in  the  battles  of  Pea  Ridge,  Perryville, 
Stone  River  and  Jonesboro.  He  was  mar- 
vied,  December  23,  1868.  to  Miss  Philena  C. 
Mwoney,  daughter  of  H.  B.  and  Mary  L. 
Mooney,  of  Grundy  County.  Mrs.  Small  was 
born  in  Essex  County,  N.  Y.,  May  5,  1848,  and 
is  the  mother  of  seven  children — Ira  M.,  born 
in  Grundy  County  June  29,  1870  ;  Guy  W., 
born  in  Grundy  County  October  11,  1871  ; 
Clarence  H.,  born  in  Grundy  County  JIarch  3, 
1873;  G.  Winnefred,  born  in  Grundy  Countj' 
May  27,  1875  ;  Ina  V.,  born  in  Grundj'  County 
August  27,  1876  ;  Raymond,  born  August  28, 
1878,  died  August  12,  1882  ;  and  Ida  May,  born 
July  21,  1882.  Jlr.  Small  owns  a  farm  of 
eighty  acres  of  cultivated  land,  valued  at  S50 
per  acre,  in  Section  2,  of  Highland  Township. 
He  is  engaged  in  the  hardware  trade  at  Mazon 
Center ;  is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity.  Blue  Lodge,  of  Verona,  No, 
757. 

xMILLARD  SMALL,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Mr.  Millard  Small, 
is  a  native  of  Somerset  County,  Me.,  born  Juh' 
31,  1850,   and  came  to  Grundj'    Countj-,  111. 


when  four  j-ears  old.  He  is  the  fifth  of  a  fam- 
ilj-  of  six  children  of  Harris  and  Sophrona 
Small ;  was  educated  in  Grundy  County,  and 
raised  on  the  farm.  He  was  married,  July  4, 
1875,  to  Miss  Imogene  Ward,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Harriet  Ward,  born  on  the  farm 
now  occupied  by  Mr,  Small,  in  Mazon  Town- 
ship, March  3,  1852.  They  have  two  sons- 
George  H.,  born  IMarch  19,  1876  ;  Byron  C, 
October  24,  1880.  They  own  a  farm  of  113 
acres  in  Section  30  of  Mazon  Township,  val- 
ued at  $50  per  acre.  Mrs.  Small's  parents 
came  to  Grundy  Count}-  spring  of  1849,  and 
settled  in  'Sla.zon  Township,  where  thev  lived, 
until  the  time  of  their  death.  Her  father. 
Samuel  Ward,  was  born  in  July,  1825  ;  died  in 
Mazon  Township  June  17,  1881,  from  injuries 
received  on  the  railroad  near  his  home.  He 
was  struck  by  the  engine  while  attempting  to 
reach  a  crossing,  seeming  not  to  realize  the 
near  approach  of  the  train  from  the  fact  of  his 
being  somewhat  deaf  and  lame,  Harriet 
Ward,  mother  of  Mrs,  Small,  died  in  this 
county  on  the  27th  of  August,  1881,  after  suf- 
fering as  an  invalid  for  fourteen  years. 

SAMUEL  G.  SINCLAIR,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Mazon,  was  born  in  Canada  June  6,  1822,  son 
of  Jonathan  and  Betsey  (AVarner)  Sinclair, 
who  moved  to  Franklin  Countj-,  N.  Y,,  when 
Samuel  G.  was  [quite  j'oung.  They  afterward 
removed  to  St.  Lawrence  Countj'  of  the  same 
State,  in  which  our  suljjeet  received  a  common- 
school  education.  Maj-  22,  1845,  he  married 
Miss  Rhoda,  daughter  of  Silas  and  Paulina 
Daniels ;  she  was  born  August  27,  1824,  in 
Westport,  N.  Y,  5Ir.  and  Mrs.  Sinclair  have  a 
family  of  nine  children  :  Celestia,  born  July 
31,  1846,  married  January  10,  1866,  to  George 
Eells  ;  Sophia,  April  24,  1848,  married  Septem- 
ber 19,  1875,  to  William  Bennett;  Lefa  P,, 
April  18,  1854,  married  December  22,  1871, 
to  Henry  Burnam  ;  Emma,  July  20,  1850- 
died  in  infancy  ;  Adelia  M.,  April  18,  1854i 
married    March   22,    1879,  to   Robert   Howe: 


74 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Francis  I.,  March  1(5,  1858;  Henrietta  A.. 
August  9,  18G1  ;  George  E.,  June  2,  1865,  and 
Artie  W.,  October  29,  1806.  Mrs.  Sinclair  is  a 
member  of  tlie  Metliodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Mr.  Sinclair  owns  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Sec- 
tion 21,  Mazou  Township,  adjoining  the  village 
of  Mazon.     This  land  is  worth  $50  an  acre. 

THOMAS  SYMONS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon, 
is  a  native  of  Devonshire,  England,  born  De- 
cember 13,  1818,  and  was  raised  and  educated 
in  England.  He  was  married  March  1,  1853, 
to  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Yale,  of 
England  ;  she  was  boTn  JIarch  1,  1821.  Mr. 
S3'mons  came  to  the  United  States  and  to 
Grand}'  Count}-  in  1857.  He  settled  in  Nettle 
Creek  Township  and  bought  eighty  acres  of 
land,  which  he  has  since  sold.  He  removed 
into  Mazon  Township,  where  he  owns  a  farm  of 
five  hundred  and  twent3--five  acres  of  improved 
land  in  Sections  2,  5  and  15,  valued  at  $50  an 
acre.  Mr.  and  Sirs.  Syraons  have  a  family  of 
four  children — J.  W.,  born  in  England  Febru- 
ary 11,  1854,  and  died  in  England  May  15, 
1855  ;  \V.  H.,born  in  England  March  28, 1855; 
Charles,  born  in  England  May  7,  1856,  died  in 
Grundy  County  December  28,  1874,  and  S.  B., 
born  in  Grundy  County  December  18,  1857. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Symous  and  oldest  son  are  mem- 
bers of  Wauponsee  Grove  Congregational 
Church. 

GEORGE  P.  THOMAS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Ma- 
zon, is  a  native  of  Oneida  County,  N.  Y..  born 
September  14,  lS35,and  was  raised  and  educat- 
ed in  the  State  of  New  Y^ork.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,  July  4, 1860,  to  Miss 
Sarah  J.  Richardson,  who  died  iu  New  Y'ork 
in  1861.  Mr.  Thomas  enlisted  in  Company  F, 
Twenty  sixth  New  Y''ork  Yolunteer  lufantrj', 
April  26,  1861,  and  served  about  four  years, 
having  re-enlisted  in  the  Eleventh  New  York 
Cavalry.  He  participated  iu  the  battles  of 
Cedar  Mountain,  Rappahannock  Station,  sec- 
ond battle  of  Bull  Run,  Chantilly,  South  Mount- 
ain,  Antietam  and  others  ;  he  was  discharged 


in  July,  1865,  and  then  came  to  Illinois,  and 
located  in  Mazon  Township,  Grundy  County. 
Mr.  Thomas  was  married,  September  22,  1868, 
to  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Preston,  born  September  23, 
1838,  widow  of  Asbury  Preston,  of  Grundy 
County, by  whom  she  had  one  daughter — Abbie, 
born  iu  February,  1864.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas 
have  one  son — Benjamin  N.,  born  November 
21,  1869.  Subject  has  120  acres  of  improved 
land,  iu  Section  8,  of  Mazon  Township,  valued 
at  $50  per  acre  ;  his  residence  being  locat- 
ed seven  and  one-half  miles  south  of 
Morris.  Benjamin  N.  Thomas,  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  1809,  and  is  living  in 
Oneida  County,  N.  Y.  His  mother,  Lurancy 
R.  (Burlinganie)  Thomas,  was  born  November 
19,  1811,  and  died  in  June,  1856.  Mr. 
Thomas  is  a  ineml)er  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
ANN  AVALKER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon,  is 
the  widow  of  Lazenby  Walker,  born  in  Ohio, 
August  4,  1829.  She  is  a  daughter  of  John 
D.  and  Jemima  Clithero,  married  March  18, 
1852.  The  family  consists  of  six  children. — 
William  D.,  born  January  7, 1853,  died  July  15, 
1859  ;  Isaac  B.,  born  January  18,  1855  ;  Har- 
riet J.,  born  March  8, 1857,  died  June  30, 1858  ; 
Thomas  W.,  born  April  16,  1859  ;  Eddie  W., 
born  October  31,  1861,  and  Oliver  L.,  born  De- 
cember 8,  1863.  They  have  a  farm  of  200 
acres  in  Section  28,  of  Mazon  Township.  The 
following  is  the  notice  of  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band, Lazenby  Walker,  one  of  Grundy  Coun- 
ty's noblest  soldiers  : 

"How  sleep  the  brave,  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest  I 
When  spring,  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mold  ; 
She  then  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 
Than  fancy's  feet  hath  ever  trod. 

"By  fiiiry  hands  their  Rude  is  rung. 
By  forms  unseen,  their  dirge  is  sung; 
There,  honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray. 
To  bless  the  sod  that  wraps  their  clay; 
And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair 
To  dwell  a  weeping  hermit  there." 


MAZON  TOWNSHIP. 


75 


Died,  at  Post  Hospital,  in  the  city  of  Brownsville, 
Cameron  Co.,  Texas,  Lazenby  Walker,  of  Company 
D  (Capl.  Posha's),  Ninety-lirst  liliuois  Volunteer 
Infantry. 

The  (li'ceased  was  born  at  Belleville,  in  the  State 
of  Ohio.  A.  D.  1826,  and  was,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  thirty-seven  years  of  age.  He  enlisted  on  the 
11th  da}'  of  August  as  a  volunteer  soldier  in  response 
to  the  call  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  in  putting  down  the  rebellion. 
At  the  time  of  his  enlistment,  he  resided  at  Mazon, 
in  the  county  of  Grundy.  HI.  Brother  AValker  was 
a  good  and  faithful  soldier,  always  ready  to  do  his 
duty  as  a  soldier  in  every  particular.  Ho  had  only 
one  fault,  and  that  cost  him  his  life.  That  was  his 
zeal  in  the  cause  in  which  he  had  cast  his  all.  For 
three  months,  the  disease  of  which  he  died,  chronic 
diarrluea,  had  been  preying  on  his  system,  before 
he  reported  himself  on  the  sick  list:  and  when  he 
did,  he  was  so  exhausted  and  so  ill  that,  our  regi- 
mental hospital  tent  not  having  been  brought  up 
from  Brazos  Island,  I  sent  him  to  the  post  hospital 
at  Brownsville,  where  he  could  get  comfortable 
quarters  for  his  enfeebled  body.  There  he  contin- 
ued over  four  weeks.  Part  of  the  time  he  seemed 
to  improve  until  the  13th,  when  he  failed  rapidly  in 
strength,  and  expired  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  of 
December.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors  in 
the  soldiers'  burying  ground,  of  Fort  Brown,  Decem- 
ber 1.5,  1863. 

"Then  let  him  like  a  warrior  sleep. 
The  green  turf  on  his  breast; 
And  where  the  summer  roses  bloom, 
They  laid  him  down  to  rest." 

Brother  Walker  was  a  good  citizen  and  neighbor, 
beloved  and  respected  by  all  who  were  acquainted 
with  him.    At  home,  he  was  the  same  as  in  the  reg- 
iment.    He  had  no  enemies.    As  a  father  and  hus- 
band, he  was  always  at  his  post,  kind,  warm-hearted 
and  affectionate.     To  mourn   his  loss,  he  leaves  a 
wife  and  four  children,  besides  an  aged  father  and 
mother.     No  more  will  thej-  behold  his  manl}'  form 
No  more  with  smiles  of  pleasure  will  they  be  greet- 
ed on  his  return  from  the  labors  of  the  day.     No 
more  will  she  hear  his  voice,  so  pleasant  and  agree- 
able to  her  he  loved  so  well.    No  more  will  his  dear 
children,  for  whose  enjoyment  he  could  sacrifice  so 
much,  see  their  noble  father  again.     He  is  gone! 
"  He'll  come  no  nore  as  once  he  came, 
A  partner's  heart  to  cheer, 
To  bring  the  smiles  of  pleasure  back, 
Or  stay  the  falling  tear." 


Brother  Walker  was  not  only  a  good  citizen  and 
soldier,  but  he  was  more.  He  was  a  good  man  and 
a  Christian.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
worthy  father,  years  ago  he  was  converted  to  God, 
joined  the  Methodist  Church,  and  by  his  Godly 
walk  and  conversation  convinced  all  that  he  was 
what  he  professed,  a  meek  and  humble  follower  of 
the  Lamb. 

Although  the  summons  came  in  early  manhood,  it 
did  not  tind  him  unpi'epared.  A  few  hours  before 
he  breathed  his  last,  he  became  satisfied  that  his 
hour  of  departure  had  come.  He  gave  some  direc- 
tions to  Capt.  Fosha  about  his  funeral,  which  he 
requested  should  be  carried  out.  spoke  of  his  dying 
far  away  from  Iionae,  from  wife  and  children,  from 
father  and  mother,  expressing  a  wish  to  see  them  all 
once  more  on  earth.  But  saying  it  was  impossible 
(as  he  felt  the  cold  damp  of  death  on  his  brow)  "I 
yield  to  Him  who  dooth  all  things  well.  I  go  to  my 
Father's  house,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eter- 
nal in  the  heavens." 

"  Behold  the  Christian  warrior  stand, 
In  all  the  armor  of  his  God; 
The  Spirit's  sword  in  his  right  hand. 
His  feet  are  with  the  Gospel  shod. 
****** 
"Thus  strong  in  his  Redeemer's  strength. 
Sin,  death  and  hell  he  trampled  down; 
Fights  the  good  fight,  and  wins  at  length, 
Through  mercy,  an  imuKirtal  crown." 
David  Lerot, 
Surgeon  Ninety-first  Illinois  Volunteers. 

J.  C.  WHITMORE,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon,  was 
born  in  Middlelown,  Conn.,  April  25,  1831,  son 
of  D.  C.  and  Sarah  Wbitinore,  who  moved  from 
Connecticut  to  Ohio  when  John  C.  was  but 
three  years  old.  Here  he  was  soon  deprived  of 
the  care  of  his  mother,  who  died  in  Decem- 
ber, 1837.  Mr.  Whitmore  was  first  married, 
August  27,  1859,  to  Mrs.  Emma  T.  Sitterly, 
widow  of  Silas  Sitterly.  of  Connecticut ;  she 
was  born  December  13,  1822,  and  died  in  Ma- 
zon Township  March  13,  1877  ;  she  blessed 
Mr.  Wiiitmore  with  two  cbikken — Hattie  E., 
born  November  10,  1861.  married  February  1, 
1882,  to  Irvin  F.  Traver,  of  Grundy  County; 
and  Harry  C.  born  October  2.  18GG.  Mr. 
Whitmore  was  again  married,  June  6,  1882,  to 
Mrs.  Mary    M.   Moore,  of   Brookfield,  N.    Y., 


76 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


born  April  3,  1839.  She  was  the  widow  of 
Frank  Moore,  of  the  State  of  New  York.  She 
ha8  one  daughter — Marian  F.  Moore,  born  in 
Brookfield,  N.  Y.,  May  15,  1869.  Subject  has 
120  acres  of  finely  improved  land,  valued  at  $60 
per  acre,  in  Section  9,  of  Mazon  Township  ;  his 
residence  is  situated  two  miles  north  of  Mazon 
and  seven  miles  south  of  Morris.  Mr.  Whit- 
more  is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the 
Wauponsee  Grove  Congregational  Church. 

GEORGE  WHEELER,  farmer.  P.  0.  Ma- 
zon, was  born  in  Grundy  County  February  20, 
1851.     Raised  on  the  farm  and  educated  in  the 


common  schools  of  the  county.  He  was  mar- 
ried, October  11, 1871,  to  Miss  Jennie  Keepers, 
of  Ohio,  who  was  born  March  16,  1854.  They 
have  one  daui^hter — Effie  P.  Wheeler,  born 
March  11,  1877.  Residence  three  and  one-half 
miles  southeast  from  Mazon.  Jlr.  Wheeler  is 
a  son  of  H.  H.  and  Amanda  R.  Wheeler,  of 
Morris  ;  they  own  160  acres  of  valuable  land 
in  Section  35,  of  Mazon  Township.  Mr. 
Wheeler  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  of  improved 
land  in  Section  2,  of  Goodfarm  Township, 
and  Section  35,  of  Mazon,  valued  at  $-15   per 


WAUPOjSTSEE  towi^ship. 


JOSEPH  ASHTON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Delaware  County,  Penn.,  in  Sep- 
tember, .1829,  and  lived  there  until  he  be- 
came twenty-two  years  of  age,  when  he,  with 
his  parents,  moved  to  Kendall  County,  111. , 
and  settled  near  Lisbon,  where  they  bought 
a  farm.  Mr.  Ashton  now  owns  a  farm  of  190 
acres,  in  Sections  19  and  20,  of  Wauponsee 
Township.  This  land  is  worth  §45  an  acre; 
150  acres  of  the  farm  is  under  cultivation. 
On  the  2lBt  of  February,  1865,  Mr.  Ashton 
married  Miss  Rachel  Hager.  daughter  of 
Godfrey  Hager,  of  Virginia.  Mrs.  Ashton 
was  born  June  12,  1840,  in  Illinois,  and  is 
the  mother  of  three  children,  viz.,  William 
E.,  Sarah  L.  (deceased)  and  John  A.  Mr. 
Ashton  is  a  Republican. 

MICHAEL  BERRY,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Ii'eland  in  1829,  and  came  to 
this  country  with  his  parents  in  1837.  They 
first  settled  in  Athens  County,  Ohio,  but,  in 
the  fall  of  1840,  removed  to  Grundy  County, 
111.,  where  the  father  of  our  subject  assisted 
in  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  &  Michigan 
Canal.      Mr.   Bei'ry  was  married,  in  June, 


1851,  to  Miss  Mary -Harney,  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, born  in  1828.  She  is  the  mother  of 
four  children,  viz.,  Bridget  B.,  born  in  1854, 
and  married,  February  12,  1878,  to  William 
Foley;  Kate  E.,  born  in  1856,  and  married, 
November  25,  1879,  to  William  McCabe;  An- 
na A.,  born  April  25,  1858,  and  married, 
February  13,  1882,  to  Michael  Moran;  Ella 
M.,  born  February  26,  1861,  unmarried. 
The  entire  family  are  members  of  the  Catho- 
lic Chm-ch  at  Morris.  Mr.  Berry  owns  a 
farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Section  17,  all  under 
cultivation.  In  February,  1862,  Mr.  Berry 
enlisted  in  Company  K,  Fifty-third  Illinois 
Volunteers,  and  served  three  years ;  was  taken 
prisoner  at  JacksoQ,  Miss.,  and  held  at  Rich- 
mond prisoner  until  he  was  exchanged,  when 
he  returned  to  his  regiment,  after  an  absence 
of  about  ten  months.  He  was  twice  reported 
among  the  killed,  and  initial  steps  were  taken 
to  recover  his  back  pay.  In  politics,  Mr. 
Berry  is  Republican. 

JOHN  CLAYPOOL,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Wauponsee  Township  January  5, 
1837,   son  of   Perry  A.    and  Mary    (Foster) 


WAUPONSEE  TOWNSHIP. 


Claypool.  Our  subject  was  the  third  white 
child  born  in  this  county,  his  father  settling 
here  in  1834;  the  latter,  while  hauling  logs 
from  Chicago  to  Morris,  was  kicked  by  his 
horse,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died  Oc- 
tober 15,  1846.  Mary  (Foster)  Claypool,  the 
mother  of  our  subject,  is  still  living.  Mr. 
John  Claypool  received  his  education  in  Mor- 
ris, where  he  attended  the  first  day  school 
ever  organized  there.  He  was  married, 
April  7,  1859,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Hume,  born 
in  England  May  15,  1837,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward Hume,  who  came  from  England  with 
his  family  and  settled  in  New  York  State, 
where  they  remained  until  about  1858,  when 
they  came  to  Wauponsee  Township,  Grundy 
County,  111.  Here  Mra.  Claypool's  father 
died,  in  January,  1859,  and  her  mother  Sep- 
tember 17,  1879.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Claypool 
have  three  children,  as  follows:  Jennie  M., 
born  May  2,  18(50;  Abel,  born  April  11, 1862, 
and  John  E.,  born  July  11,  1868.  Mr.  C. 
owns  408  acres  of  land.  He  is  a  Republican, 
and  has  tilled  a  number  of  offices  in  his 
township. 

P.  G.  COSGROVE,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  bcJrn  in  County  Roscommon,  Ireland, 
March  17,  1811,  and  was  raised  on  a  farm. 
He  came  to  the  United  States  in  April,  1840, 
and  worked  in  Pennsylvania  for  two  years 
on  canal  and  railroad;  he  then  went  to  Cana- 
da, where  he  was  engaged  on  public  works 
for  the  following  two  years;  then  came  to 
Chicago,  where  he  worked  until  August  15, 
1840,  when  ho  began  steamboating  on  the 
Mississippi  River.  In  the  spring  of  1853, 
he  went  to  California,  where  he  worked  in 
the  mines  for  three  years.  Returning  to  Il- 
linois, he  settled  in  Wauponsee  Township, 
Grundy  County,  on  his  present  farm  of  160 
acres,  which  is  all  under  cultivation,  and 
valued  at  $50  an  acre.  Subject  was  married, 
February  17,  1833,  to  Miss  Annie  Kattican, 


of  County  Roscommon,  Ireland,  born  Octo- 
ber 22,  1808,  and  died  in  "Wauponsee  Octo- 
ber 15,  1874.  She  bore  him  one  son — Red- 
man, born  November  10,  1837.  He  was 
married,  February  27,  1869,  to  Miss  Mary 
Nolen,  who  was  born  July  10,  1849;  they 
have  had  seven  children — Mary  Ann,  born 
April  21,  1871;  Martin,  June  5,  1872;  Mar- 
garet, April  16,  1874;  Catherine,  November 
1,  1875;  Seva,  February  24,  1877;  Pabuck, 
March  18,  1879;  Nellie,  November  10,  1882. 
Our  subject  has  an  adopted  son — Daniel, 
born  in  1855. 

HENRY  CLAPP,  horticulturist,  Morris, 
was  born  April  7,  1825,  in  Addison  County, 
Vt.  When  oiu-  subject  was  six  years  old, 
his  parents  moved  to  St.  Lawrence  County, 
N.  Y. ,  where  he  received  a  common-school 
education.  In  October,  of  1846,  he  settled 
in  McHenry  County;  coming  to  Grundy 
County  in  1847.  he  located  in  Mazon  Town- 
ship, where  for  four  years  he  engaged  in 
farming.  He  next  lived  upon  a  small  farm 
in  Greenfield  Township,  which,  after  live 
years,  he  sold,  and  made  pm-chase  of  his 
present  farm  of  eighty  acres,  situated  in  Sec- 
tion 15,  of  Wauponsee  Township,  two  and  one- 
half  miles  southeast  of  Morris.  Here  he  car- 
ries on  a  very  lucrative  business  in  small  fruits 
and  market  gardening.  November  22,  1857, 
in  Pontiac,  111. ,  he  married  Mrs.  Pyrena  Du- 
gan,  born  May  15, 1817.  She  was  the  widow 
of  Robert  Dugan,  of  Wauponsee  To\vnship. 
Mr.  Clapp  is  a  Republican. 

ORSON  BINGHAM  GALUSHA,  P.  O. 
Morris,  was  born  December  2,  1819,  in 
Shaftsbury,  Bennington  Co.,  Vt.  His  father, 
Jonas  Galusha,  Jr. ,  lived  at  the  time  of  the 
birth  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  on  the  es- 
tate of  his  father.  Gov.  Jonas  Galusha,  who 
was  at  that  time  serving  his  second  term  as 
Governor  of  the  State.  Orson  was  the 
youngest  of  three  children,  having  one  sister, 


78 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Eloiaa  Electa,  and  one  brother,  Joseph  Hins- 
dale. He  lived  upon  his  grandfather's  es- 
tate, his  father  having  charge  of  the  several 
large  farms  into  which  it  was  divided,  until 
sixteen  years  of  age,  in  the  meantime  receiv- 
inor  such  educational  advantases  as  the  dis- 
trict  school  afforded,  and  also  was  sent  one 
year  to  Union  Academy,  in  Bennington.  At 
the  age  of  fom-teen,  he  united  with  the  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  continued  in  the  communion 
of  this  denomination  until  1844,  when  he 
united  with  the  Congregational  Church,  in 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  and  is  now  a  member 
of  that  church.  In  1834,  his  father  removed 
to  Rochester,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  lived  four 
years,  for  the  purpose,  mainly,  of  giving  his 
children  better  facilities  for  education,  and 
at  the  same  time  have  them  at  home,  and 
here  Orson  was  placed  under  the  tuition  of 
Chester  Dewey,  D.  D.,  of  the  Rochester  Col- 
legiate Institute.  He  also  taiight  one  year 
under  Prof.  Nathan  Brittan,  his  brother-in- 
law,  in  the  Fitzhugh  Street  Seminary.  Ow- 
ing to  the  failing  health  of  his  mother,  his 
father  resolved  to  try  a  Western  climate,  in 
1839,  and  removed  to  a  farm  near  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the 
family  there,  the  mother  died,  and  the  father 
and  brother  returned  to  Rochester,  while  he 
remained  in  Michigan  about  fifteen  years, 
dvu'ing  which  time  he  occasionally  taught 
school  in  winters,  working  upon  the  farm 
during  summers.  In  this  period,  he  served 
almost  constantly,  after  attaining  his  ma- 
jority, in  the  capacity  of  School  Inspector 
and  Township  Clerk.  March  9,  1843,  he 
was  married  to  Mary  J.,  third  daughter  of 
Judge  Mitchell  Hinsdale,  of  Kalamazoo,  who 
is  now  living.  In  the  year  1849,  he  ex- 
changed his  real  estate  in  Michigan  for  a 
small  farm  in  Grundy  County.  111.,  situated 
on  the  north  line  of  the  county,  and  two 
miles  from  Lisbon,  Kendall  County;  he  soon 


engaged  in  the  nursery  business,  which  he 
carried  on  there  until  his  removal  to  his 
present  residence,  where  it  was  at  once  re- 
sumed. During  his  residence  at  Lisbon,  the 
agitation  of  the  plan  for  a  system  of  agricult- 
ural colleges  took  jilace,  and  in  this  project 
he  took  a  deep  interest,  frequently  writing 
and  talking  upon  the  subject.  When  the 
plan  was  finally  adopted  by  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  he  was  the  Urst  man  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor  of  Illinois  as  a 
member  of  its  Board  of  Trustees,  to  take 
charge  of  the  480,000  acres  of  land  which  fell 
to  the  share  of  the  State,  and  to  found  a  col- 
lege and  to  start  it  in  operation.  He  was  elect, 
ed  Recording  Secretary  of  the  board,  which 
position  he  held  until  after  the  inauguration 
of  the  enterprise  and  the  college  was  in  suc- 
cessful operation,  and  remained  a  member  of 
this  board  for  the  term  of  six  years,  and  un- 
til the  number  of  the  members  of  the  board 
was  considerably  reduced,  by  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature. In  1864,  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  re- 
elected in  18(36,  holding  the  position  for  four 
yeai-s,  during  which  time  and  for  several 
years,  both  previous  and  afterward,  he  was 
Superintendent  of  the  Horticultural  Depart- 
ment at  the  State  fairs.  But  the  principal 
and  most  valuable  public  services  rendered 
by  Mr.  Galusha  were  within  the  Illinois  State 
Horticultural  Society,  This  society  was  or- 
ganized in  Decatur  in  1856,  and  Mr.  Galusha 
elected  Corresponding  Secretary,  which  po- 
sition he  held  till  December,  1861,  when  he 
was  elected  to  the  Presidency  of  the  society. 
He  continued  in  the  gratuitous  service  of  the 
society,  traveling  thousands  of  miles  annually 
as  member  of  the  "  Adinterim  Committee," 
collecting  horticultui'al  information  for  pub- 
lication in  the  annual  volume;  was  re-elected 
Corresponding  and  Recording  Secretary  in 
1869,  and  has  continued  in  this  position  until 


WAUPONSEE    TOWKSHIP. 


thp  present  time,  with  the  exception  of  one 
year,  when  he  declined  re-eloution,  on  account 
of  severe  illness  at  the  time  of  the  annual 
meeting.  During  these  years,  he  has  annual- 
ly edited  and  published  a  volume  of  the  trans- 
actions of  the  society,  about  400  pages  each. 
In  1868,  he  sold  his  farm  on  the  county  line 
and  piirchased  ^rhere  he  now  lives,  three 
miles  southeast  from  Morris,  to  which  place 
lie  removed  a  large  portion  of  his  nursery 
stock,  and  continues  in  this  business,  gradu- 
ally reducing  it,  however,  and  planting  and 
raising  fruits  for  market.  This  eighty-acre 
fruit  farm  is  known  as  the  Evergreen  Fruit 
Farm.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Galusha  have  had  two 
children— one  a  son,  briried  in  Paris,  Kent 
Co.,  Mich.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years; 
the  other,  a  daughter,  Nellie  H.,  born  Oc- 
tober 4,  1849,  and  now  the  wife  of  Prof.  W. 
H.  Smith,  of   Peoria,  111. 

JOSEPH  D.  HILL,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Ohio,  August 
26,  1822,  but  spent  most  of  his  boyhood  in 
Delaware  County.  When  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  bought  some 
land  in  Pike  County.  At  this  time,  he  also 
entered  a  tract  of  land  in  Mazon  Township, 
Grundy  County.  After  returning  to  Ohio  and 
remaining  there  aboiit  seven  years,  Mr.  Hill, 
September  24,  1854,  married  Mrs.  Margeretta 
Nicholas,  born  September  29,  1827,  when  he 
moved  to  his  land  in  Mazon  Township,  which 
land  he  sold  in  1865,  and  moved  into  Waupon- 
see  Township,  where  he  now  owns  280  acres 
of  improved  land,  in  Sections  21  and  22,  situ- 
ated four  miles  southeast  of  Morris,  This 
land  is  valued  at  $65  an  acre,  and  produces 
tine  crops  of  corn,  oats  and  hay.  Mr.  and 
^Irs.  Hill  have  but  one  child — Homer  D. 
Hill,  born  in  Adams  County,  Ind. ,  June  5, 
1856,  who  was  married,  January  7,  1S80,  to 
Miss  Flora  Case,  born  March  24,  1856,  daugh- 
ter of  Morris  and  Caroline  Case,  of  Delaware 


County,  Ohio.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the 
stalwarts  of  Grundy  County.  He  enlisted 
a  company  of  men  for  the  ranks,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  rebellion,  but,  owing  to  physical 
disability,  was  obliged  to  place  them  in 
charge  of  Caj^t.  Fosha.  Mr.  Hill  and  his 
son  are  both  Republicans. 

HORACE  HOYT,  gardener,  Mon-is,  was 
born  in  New  York  in  April,  1811;  was  raised 
and  educated  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  whei-e 
he  engaged  in  mercantile  jmrsuits  until  1857, 
when  he  came  to  Morris.  Here  he  continued 
the  mercantile  business  for  live  years,  when 
he  sold  out  and  went  to  Mexico,  where  he 
was  engaged  for  one  year  in  buying,  com- 
pressing and  shipping  cotton.  After  a  trip 
East,  he  came  back  to  Morris,  where  for  the 
past  six  years  lie  has  been  engaged  in  market 
gardening.  He  is  located  one  mile  south  of 
Morris,  on  sixty  acres  of  well-cultivat<>d  land, 
the  soil  of  which  is  well  ada^sted  to  the  rais- 
ing of  such  produce  as  he  handles.  He  has 
one  son — Harris  Hoyt,  born  in  New  York 
September  17,  1841;  has  bui-ied  two  sons  and 
one  daughter.  Mrs.  Hoyt  is  a  member  of 
tcie  Congregational  Church  of  Morris.  Mr. 
Hoyt  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  belongs  to  the  Re- 
publican party. 

PETER  A.  JOHNSON,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Morris,  was  born  in  Sweden  March  24,  1843, 
son  of  John  and  Hannah  Johnson,  both  na- 
tives of  Sweden.  In  the  spring  of  1853, 
John  Johnson  started  with  his  family  for  the 
United  States.  On  his  voyage,  he  and  two  of 
his  sons  died  of  cholera.  Peter  and  the  rest 
of  the, family  reached  New  York  City  safely 
and  came  immediately  to  Morris,  where  the 
subject  received  his  education,  i^rincipally  in 
the  MoiTis  Normal  and  Scientific  Institute. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany D,  Thirty-sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, Capt,  W,  P.  Pierce;  term  of  service, 


80 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


three  and  one-fourth  years.  He  participated 
in  the  battles  of  Pea  Eidge,  Shiloh,  Perry- 
ville,  Stone  River  and  Chickainauga.  At  the 
last-named  battle,  he  received  a  wound,  re- 
sulting in  permanent  injury.  May  7,  1864, 
he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Claypool,  daugh- 
ter of  Perry  A.  Claypool.  She  was  born  Au- 
gust 18,  1845.  They  have  a  family  of  four 
childi'en — Perry  A.,  Frederick  S.,  Frank  A. 
and  Nellie.  Mr.  Johnson's  farm  is  situated 
three  miles  south  of  Morris,  and  consists  of 
240  acres  of  well-improved  land,  upon  which 
he  has  erected  a  handsome  residence.  He  is 
one  of  the  prominent  men  of  Wauponsee 
Township,  being  a  first-class  farmer  and  an 
active  Republican.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson 
are  both  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church  at 
Morris. 

WILLIAM  JACKSON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Norfolk,  England,  November 
17,  1829,  where  he  was  raised  and  educated. 
He  came  to  Grundy  County,  111.,  while  quite 
a  young  man,  and  located  in  Morris.  The 
year  following,  he  bought  a  farm  of  120 
acres,  in  Section  1,  of  Mazon  Township, 
which  he  still  owns.  He  has  since  purchased 
240  acres  in  Section  30  of  AVauponsee  Town- 
ship, where  he  now  lives.  His  entire  fai'm 
of  360  acres  is  valued  at  $50  an  acre.  Sub- 
ject was  married,  November  14, 1864,  to  Ame- 
lia, daughter  of  George  Lane,  of  Canada; 
she  was  born  in  1817,  and  is  the  mother  of 
three  children — John  W.,  born  in  1869; 
Walter,  1873;  Freddie,  1875.  Mrs.  Jackson 
is  a  Methodist. 

MOSES  PANGBURN,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  New  York  State  November 
30,  1802,  and  lived  there  until  1855,  when 
he  moved  into  Wauponsee  Township,  Grundy 
County,  where  he  bought  eighty  acres  of  land 
in  Section  14,  which  he  has  since  traded  for 
120  acres  in  Sections  15  and  27.  In  1856, 
he  bought  the  forty  acres  on  which  he  now 


lives.  He  was  married,  September  25,  1828, 
to  Miss  Kate  Sitterley,  of  New  York  State, 
born  March  3,  1805.  She  died  in  Wauponsee 
Township  March  19,  1865.  They  raised  a 
family  of  eight  children,  viz.,  Martin,  Ste- 
phen, James  M. ,  Clarissa  A.,  Charlotte.  Eli- 
za M.,  John  H.  and  Caroline  A.  Jlr.  Pangr- 
burn  is  now  living  with  his  daughter,  Caro- 
line A.,  now  Mrs.  Spencer,  who  was  married 
August  30,  1871,  to  David  E.  Spencer,  of 
Grundy  County;  he  was  born  October  25, 
1842.  They  have  five  chihlren— Charles  O., 
Edna  M.,  Walter  W.,  Clarence  E.  and  Kate 
M.  David  E.  Spencer  was  a  soldier  in  the 
late  war,  serving  two  years  and  ten  months. 
He  enlisted  April  1,  1862,  in  Company  M, 
First  Illinois  Artillery,  and  was  transferred, 
after  ten  months,  to  another  battery;  he 
served  six  months  on  videtto  duty  for  Brig. 
Gen.  A.  W.  Elliott,  and  participated  in  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg  and  battle  of  Port  Gibson; 
he  was  discharged  February  1,  1865. 

JOHN  A.  SUMMERS,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Freetown,  Cortland  Co.,  N.  Y., 
March  11,  1824,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Mary 
Summers.  When  our  subject  was  four  years 
old.  his  parents  moved  to  Onondaga  County, 
N.  Y.,  where  they  remained  nine  years;  they 
then  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Wau- 
ponsee Grove,  where  the  father  died  in  Oc- 
tober of  1839.  Mr.  Summers  came  to  this 
county  some  years  before  it  was  organized  as 
such,  and  attended  the  first  school  taught 
here.  It  was  held  in  the  house  of  the 
teacher,  Mrs.  Dewey.  In  1838,  subject's 
father  built  the  first  house  of  the  county;  it 
was  situated  south  of  the  river,  and  was 
roofed  with  joint  shingles.  John  Summers 
began  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  joiner,  un- 
der the  instruction  of  his  father,  at  which 
trade  he  worked  for  several  years,  in  and 
around  Morris.  He  has  a  vivid  recollection 
of  having  to  grind  the   breadstuffs  for  the 


WAUPOXSEE   TOWNSHIP. 


81 


family  in  a  common  coffee- mill,  the  severe 
freezing  weather  rendering  the  grist-mill  use- 
less for  weeks  at  a  time.  In  1852,  he  bought 
eighty  acres  of  farm  land  in  Section  21,  of 
Wauponsee  Township,  which  he  sold  in  the 
spring  of  1882;  has  recently  bought  320 
acres  in  Douglas  County,  Dakota  Territory, 
where  he  will  soon  move  his  family.  Mr. 
Summers  was  married,  May  25,  185-4,  to  Miss 
Matilda  R.  Summers,  of  Ohio,  born  in  March, 
1835.  They  have  a  family  of  eight  childi-en 
— Clira  C,  born  in  1855;  Fred  E.,  1S57; 
Hortense  J.,  1858;  Edgar  D.,  1860;  Emily 
M.,  1802;  Harry  M.,  1806;  Helen  M.,  1869; 
John  G.,  1872. 

OWEN  SWEENEY,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  County  Cork,  Ireland,  in  1817, 
and  was  raised  a  farmer.  In  1840,  he  came 
to  the  United  States,  and  settled  in  Boston.  - 
where  he  was  engaged  in  day  labor  for  four 
years.  In  1851,  he  came  to  Kendall  County, 
111.,  Lisbon  Township,  where  he  bought 
eighty  acres  of  land.  Here  he  remained 
about  fom-  years,  when  he  rented  his  farm 
and  moved  to  Morris,  Grundy  County,  where 
he  remained  eleven  years;  while  living  here, 
he  sold  his  farm  in  Kendall  County.  He 
next  bought  a  farm  of  103  acres  in  Waupon- 
see  Township,  on  which  he  lived  three 
years;  selling  this,  he  bought  a  farm  of  120 
acres  in  Section  33,  of  the  same  township. 
This  land,  upon  which  he  now  lives,  is  valued 
at  $50  an  acre.  Mr.  Sweeney  was  married 
in  Boston,  in  1850,  to  Miss  Mary  Carey,  a 
native  of  Ireland,  born  June  25, 1825.  This 
union  has  resulted  in  six  children,  viz.,  Ellen, 
bom  August  26, 1856;  Alice,  bom  September 
23,  1854,  and  married,  April  11,  1882,  to 
Edward  Higgins,  of  Mazon  Townshija;  Mary 
Jane,  bom  December  17,  1859;  John  W., 
born  June  27,  1861;  Dennis  J.,  born  July 
12,  1804,  and  Annie  S.,  born  May  8,  1867. 
The  entire  familv  are  members  of  the  Catholic 


Church  of  Morris.  Air.  Sweeney  is  a  Demo- 
crat. 

HENRY  THUM,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  boru  July  9, 1848,  in  Chautauqua  County, 
N.  Y'. ,  and  was  the  son  of  Melchart  and  Oret 
(Clark)  Thum;  he  was  born  in  Herkimer 
County,  N.  Y.,  December  31,  1804,  and  died 
in  Wauponsee  Township  August  29,  1872. 
The  subject's  mother,  Oret  Thum,  was  born 
in  Ellery,  Chautauqua  Co.,  N.  Y.,  August  16, 
1817,  and  is  now  living  with  her  son  Henry. 
The  parents  of  Henry  Thum  settled  in  Grun- 
dy County,  Saratoga  Township,  when  he  was 
nine  years  old:  here  they  remained  four  years, 
when  they  moved  into  Wauponsee  Township, 
and,  in  1804,  pm-chased  a  farm  of  eighty 
acres,  which  the  subject  now  owns  and  lives 
upon.  Ho  was  married,  December  27,  1876, 
to  Mrs.  Jennie  Wagner,  of  Pennsylvania. 
She  was  boru  July  6,  1849,  and  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  and  Nancy  Miller,  the  former 
born  December  10,  1820,  died  June  11, 
1878;  the  latter  was  born  in  1823,  and  died 
April  17,  1856.  Miss  Ella  C.  Thum,  sister 
of  Henry  Thum,  and  a  member  of  his  family, 
was  born  in  Chautauqua  County,  N.  Y  ,  May 
26,  1854.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thum  are  the  par- 
ents of  two  children- -Laura  A.,  born  Octo- 
ber 21,  1877,  and  George  H,  born  January 
3,  1879. 

JOHN  THOAIPSON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Canada  July  4,  1835,  son  of 
James  and  Hannah  Thompson.  About  1838, 
his  parents  moved  to  Dresden,  Grundy  Co. , 
111.,  whore  they  lived  for  some  years,  and 
where  the  mother  of  our  subject  died  the 
first  year  after  their  arrival.  John's  father 
next  bought  a  farm  in  Wauponsee  Township, 
to  which  they  removed,  and  where  the  father 
died  April  12,  1880.  Mr.  John  Thompson 
was  married,  March  10,  1850,  to  Miss  Mary 
Jane  Thompson,  daughter  of  David  Thomp- 
son, of  Ireland.     She  was  born  in  18'^5.  and 


83 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


died  at  their  residence,  in  Wauponsee  Town- 
ship, May  12,  1882.  The  family  consists  of 
three  children,  viz.,  James,  born  August  29^ 
1857;  Susan,  born  October  12,  1859,  and 
Samuel,  born  August  2,  1865.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son owns  120  acres  of  good  farm  land,  in 
Sections  17  and  30,  of  Wauj^onsee  Township. 
This  land  is  valued  at  $50  an  acre,  100  acres 
of  which  are  under  cultivation.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  a  Re- 
publican in  politics. 

SAMUEL  WOOD,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  England  January  4,  1824,  and 
lived  there  until  1850,  when  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania, 
near  the  Ohio  line.  Here  he  worked  one 
year  in  a  brick-yard  and  in  a  coal-bank.  He 
next  went  to  Canada  and  worked  in  the  cop- 
per mines  for  some  months.  From  Canada 
he  came  to  Peoria,  where  he  worked  for  two 
years  at  mining,  at  the  end  of  which  time, 
the  spring  of  1854,  he  settled  in  Morris, 
where  he  and  Daniel  Williams  opened  the 


first  coal  bank  ever  started  in  the  vicinity  of 
Morris.  For  the  next  ten  years,  he  worked 
at  farming  in  the  summer  and  mining  in  the 
'  winter.  April  24,  1855,  Mr.  Wood  married 
Miss  Maria  Claypool,  born  February  2,  1840, 
daughter  of  Perry  A.  and  Miss  (Foster) 
Clay]50ol,  who  were  among  the  first  families 
to  settle  in  Grundy  County.  Mr.  Claypool 
was  born  in  Ohio,  June  5,  1815,  and  died 
October  15,  1846.  Mrs.  Claypool  was  born 
April  24,  1819,  and  is  still  living.  Soon 
after  his  marriage,  Mr.  Wood  bought  eighty 
acres  of  land  in  Section  17,  Wauponsee  Town- 
ship, which  he  has  added  to  until  he  now  has 
495  acres,  valued  at  $50  per  acre,  and  all  un- 
der cultivation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  have  a 
family  of  five  children — David,  born  Novem- 
ber 26,  1862;  Charles,  born  December  9, 
1865;  Sarah,  born  October  25,  1808;  James, 
born  December  13,  1872,  and  Mary,  born 
May  17,  1875.  They  have  also  buried  four 
children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W^ood  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


GREEI^riELD    TOWITSHIP. 


ZELOTES  J.  ANDREWS,  farmer,  P. 
0.  Gardner,  was  born  in  Oneida  County,  N. 
Y.,  July  7,  1840,  son  of  William  S.  and 
Amanda  (Convis)  Andrews,  natives  of  New 
York  State;  the  father  was  a  farmer  by  occu- 
pation, and  died  in  1878,  aged  seventy-eight 
years;  the  mother,  who  is  still  living,  was 
born  in  1814,  and  had  four  children,  of 
whom  our  subject  was  the  youngest  child;  ho 
received  a  common-school  education  and  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  farming;  came  to  Il- 
linois in  1857,  and  located  in  Kendall  County; 
came  to  Grundy  County  in  1874.  and  now 
carries  on  a  general  farming  business.  De- 
cember 22,  1870,  he  married  Miss  Alice  Con- 


vis,  who  was  born  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y., 
in  1851;  she  is  the  daughter  of  Andrew  aad 
Rachel  Convis,  natives  of  New  York  State, 
he  living,  she  dead.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrews 
have  four  children,  viz.,  Ralph,  Arthiir,  May 
and  Mate,  the  two  last  being  twins.  Our 
subject  has  been  Street  Commissioner  several 
terms,  and  also  School  Director;  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

H.  C.  ATKINSON,  blacksmith,  Gardner.  Mr. 
Atkinson  ranks  among  the  leaduig  blacksmiths 
of  this  county.  He  began  learning  his  trade  with 
H.  Hart,  of  this  village  (Gardner),  with  whom 
he  remahied  for  two  years.  October  19,  1877, 
he  opened  a  shop  on  iiis  own  resources,  and  is 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


;-t3 


now  making  a  specialt}-  of  horse-shoeing.  It 
is  onl}^  justice  to  say  that  but  few  are  his 
equal  in  this  branch  of  smithing.  He  is  a  son 
of  R.  Atkins,  a  popular  coal  dealer  of  this  vil- 
lage, who  started  life  in  tiiis  countrj-  with  onlj- 
$15.  The  father  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  aud 
came  to  America  May  3, 1839. 

O.  J.  BOOTH,  retired  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardnnr.  The  siibject  of  this  sketch,  whose 
portrait  appears  in  this  history,  was  born  in 
Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  April  8,  1824;  his 
father  and  mother  were  natives  of  Connecti- 
cut, the  former  born  in  1794;  followed  farm- 
ing for  a  livelihood;  died  in  June,  1842. 
The  latter  was  born  March  1(5,  1794;  is  still 
living,  but  feeble  with  age.  Their  names 
were  Truman  and  Rebecca  (Percey)  Booth; 
to  them  were  born  nine  children,  eight  of 
whom  grew  to  matiu'ity.  O.  J.  received  such 
education  as  the  common  school  of  his  native 
town  aflforded.  In  the  spring  of  1840.  when 
in  his  sixteenth  year,  he  visited  Illinois;  then 
railroads  were  not  built,  and  young  Booth 
took  stage  from  Warren  to  Wellsville,  and 
then  a  boat  down  the  Ohio  and  up  the  Missis- 
sippi to  St.  Louis,  where  he  arrived  in  eight 
days;  his  finances  were  now  reduced  to  $1 
good  money,  and  a  S2  bill  that  ho  had  re- 
ceived unsuspectingly  on  a  broken  bank;  he 
invested  his  SI  in  crackers  and  cheese  and 
reshipped  for  Peru,  offering  all  he  had  left, 
the  poor  note,  to  the  Captain  in  payment  of 
fare;  his  note  was  refused,  aud  he  was 
threatened  with  being  "  put  ashore  "  but  was 
finally  allowed  to  stay  aboard,  nibbling  spar- 
ingly the  while,  about  five  days,  on  his 
crackers  and  cheese;  ho  helped  a  man  carry 
his  baggage  from  Peru  to  Ottawa,  and  for 
his  service  received  dinner,  supper  and  lodg- 
ing. He  started  from  (Ktawa  at  3  o'clock 
the  following  morning,  and  walked  to  his 
uncle's,  at  Georgetown,  now  Xewark,  twenty- 
five  miles,  before  breakfast.     This  line  from 


life's  record  shows  something  of  the  push 
and  courage  that  have  ever  characterized  the 
man,  and  given  him  in  business  more  than 
ordinary  success.  Returning  to  Ohio  upon 
the  death  of  his  father,  he  took  charge  of  the 
farm  and  looked  after  the  interests  of  the 
family.  Mr.  Booth  was  married.  January  4, 
1844,  to  Miss  Sarah  Hulse,  native  of  the 
same  county,  born  May  ">,  1824,  dying  Au- 
gust, 1876.  He  came  with  his  family  to  Il- 
linois in  the  spring  of  1846,  and  located  in 
Mazon  Township,  buying  forty  acres  of  Gov- 
ernment land.  By  industry  and  economy,  he 
added  to  this  from  time  to  time,  until  he 
owned  over  500  acres.  His  fields  were  well 
cultivated,  and  his  thoroughbred  stock  of  cat- 
tle and  hogs  were  admired  by  all  who  saw 
them.  In  the  spring  of  the  present  year,  he 
sold  his  farm  and  moved  to  Gardner,  where 
he  now  resides.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  had 
nine  children,  three  of  whom,  viz. ,  Rocelia, 
Wesley  and  Amelia,  are  dead;  the  latter  grew 
into  womanhood,  and  was  engaged  in  teach- 
ing when  she  contracted  her  fatal  disease. 
Permelia,  Judson  and  Frank  are  iu  Kansas, 
the  two  former  being  married.  Emma,  Adora 
and  Minnie  are  at  home.  Mr.  Booth,  while 
he  has  looked  carefully  to  his  finances,  has 
been  given  to  hospitality,  not  turning  the 
worthy  poor  empty  away.  Mrs.  Booth  was  a 
careful,  devoted  wife  and  mother,  and  to  her 
the  family  are  indebted  largely  for  its  suc- 
cess. Mr.  Booth  has  been  a  Republican  since 
the  organization  of  the  party,  and  was  de- 
lighted with  the  overthrow  of  American  slav- 
ery; he  has  watched  over  his  children  with 
zealous  care,  in  every  way  guarding  them 
from  temptation  and  wrong,  and  has  the  sat- 
isfaction of  seeing  them  grown  up,  esteemed 
for  their  virtues  by  all,  and  to  him  a  solace 
in  his  declining  years. 

BENJAMIN  BOOKWALTER,  farmer,  P. 
O.    Gardner,    was   born  July    31,    1831.    in 


84 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Pennsylvania,  is  the  son  of  Abraham  and 
Elizabeth  (Witmer)  Bookwalter,  also  natives 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren, nine  of  whom  grew  up — Mary,  John, 
Daniel,  David,  Samuel,  Anna,  Benjamin, 
Elizabeth  and  Michael.  The  family  came  to 
Greentield  Township  in  185-4,  where  they 
bought  a  large  tract  of  laud  at  $9  per  acre,  a 
portion  of  which  had  been  entered  by  Dr.  Ab- 
bott, an  early  settler.  The  father  died  on 
this  farm,  in  June,  1872,  and  the  mother  in 
July,  1882.  They  were  Mennonites.  Mr. 
B.  attended  the  country  schools,  obtaining 
but  a  slight  education;  ho  has  always  devoted 
his  time  to  rural  labors.  He  was  married,  in 
1859,  to  Susan  Barkey,  a  daughter  of  Enos 
and  Eve  (Sigler)  Barkey,  early  settlers  of 
Mazon  Township;  she  was  one  of  five  chil- 
dren— Susan,  Sigler,  John,  Enos  and  Jude. 
Mr.  B.  now  has  660  acres  of  well-improved 
laud,  well  adapted  to  stock-raising,  to  which 
he  is  applying  his  personal  attention;  he  has 
raised  some  of  the  fastest  horses  in  this  coun- 
try, among  which  is  Troubadour  and  Chicago 
Maid;  he  is  also  raising  Durham  cattle.  He 
has  served  the  township  as  Trustee  and  Road 
Commissioner,  and  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 
He  is  the  father  of  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  living— Emma  and  Abraham,  each 
of  whom  has  received  a  good  education,  hav- 
ing attended  the  Normal,  McLean  County. 
Miss  Bookwalter  ranks  among  the  best  mu- 
sicians in  this  county,  and  is  giving  instruc- 
tion to  many. 

MICHAEL  BOOKWALTER,  farmer,  P. 
O.  Gardner,  was  bom  in  Pennsylvania  April 
7,  1835;  is  a  bi'other  of  Benjamin,  whose 
sketch  appears  elsewhere;  his  life  has  also 
been  spent  on  the  farm.  He  was  married,  in 
1861,  to  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  George  B.  and 
Rebecca  (Somers)  Kulp,  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
vania; her  parents  came  to  this  county  about 
1854;    their   children   were   four  —  Joseph, 


Sarah,  Jacob  and  Alvin;  the  mother  survives, 
living  in  Iowa.  Our  subject  has  five  children 
as  a  result  of  his  marriage,  three  of  whom 
are  living — Rebecca,  wife  of  John  Robert- 
son; Minerva  E.  and  Alice  C  Mr.  B.  set- 
tled for  awhile  after  his  marriage  on  his 
father's  farm.  In  1874,  he  located  on  his 
present  farm  of  eighty-four  acres;  he  has  in 
all  240  acres  of  tine  land,  on  which  he  is 
raising  fine  stock;  his  first  wife  died,  and, 
in  1873  he  was  again  married,  to  Mary  Ken- 
line;  he  took  an  interest  in  educating  his 
children.     He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

ELIZABETH  BAUMGARDNER,  teacher, 
Gardner.  The  father  of  our  subject,  John 
Baumgardner,  was  born  in  the  Canton  of 
Glarus,  Switzerland,  May  1.  1825.  He  started 
for  America  April  15,  1849,  landing  at  New 
Orleans.  Tlie  mother,  Magdalena  (Bahr 
Baumgardner,  was  born  near  Wurzburg,  King- 
dom of  Bavaria,  German}',  July  30,  1832,  leav- 
ing her  native  land  for  this  September  20, 1848, 
landing  at  Baltimore.  Thej-  were  married  in 
Galena,  111.,  July,  1853  ;  are  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  eight  of  whom  are  now  living — Eliza- 
beth, next  to  the  oldest,  was  born  in  Thomp- 
son Township,  Jo  Daviess  County,  January 
14,  1856  ;  arriving  at  sufficient  age,  wa.s  sent, 
for  a  time,  to  the  public  schools  of  Galena,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1875,  entered  the  Illinois  State 
Normal  University,  from  which  she  graduated 
in  Ma}-,  1880.  Two  of  the  five  years  were 
spent  earning  the  means  with  which  to  com- 
plete her  course.  She  received  her  "  degree  ' 
with  nineteen  others,  and  was  chosen  "valedic- 
torian." Upon  the  completion  of  her  studies, 
she  accepted  the  position  of  teacher  of  the 
Gardner  Primarj-  School,  for  the  school  j'ear 
commencing  September  1,  at  $45  per  month. 
Her  services  in  this  department  were  so  ac- 
ceptable to  the  patrons,  that  she  was  gladl}'  re- 
tained for  another  year,  at  an  advance  of  $10 
per  month.  She  is  now  Principal  of  the  Gard- 
ner Public  Schools,  at  a  salary  of    $75  per 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


85 


month.  She  is  offered  the  position,  as  "teacher 
of  the  primary  training  department"  of  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Carboudalc.  As  a 
teacher,  she  is  eminently  successful,  gaining  al- 
ready a  reputation  as  wide  as  the  State,  and  for 
her  the  future  appears  rich  with  promise. 

CHARLES  BLANEY,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gard 
ner,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  August  17, 
1804;  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  Blaney, 
natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  early  residents 
of  Licking  County,  Ohio;  they  v^ere  the  par- 
ents of  four  childi'en  that  grew  up — George, 
Maria,  Charles  and  Benjamin.  Our  subject 
received  schooling  in  a  pioneer  cabin;  he  has 
always  been  a  farmer.  He  was  married,  in 
1833,  to  Rebecca  Kimpton,  the  result  being 
three  children  that  attained  their  majority — 
Vincent,  Benjamin  and  Mary;  his  wife  died 
in  1873,  and  he  has  since  kept  house  with 
his  niece,  Mrs.  Mary  Latta,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Cox;  she  was  born  in 
1823,  and  had  a  like  chance  with  Mr.  B  in 
the  pioneer  schoolroom;  she  was  married,  in 
1842,  to  John  Latta,  and  has  one  child — 
Anna — living,  of  a  large  number.  Mr.  B. 
came  to  Illinois  in  1865,  and  settled  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  resides,  consisting  of  100 
acres,  which  he  has  under  good  cultivation; 
his  two  sons,  Benjamin  and  Vincent,  were  in 
the  late  war.  He  votes  the  Republican 
ticket. 

BARTON  W.  BARBER,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Rutland  County,  Vt., 
August  31,  1828,  son  of  James  W.  and  Le- 
rain  (Parker)  Barber,  natives  of  Vermont,  he 
born  in  1797,  died  in  July,  1875;  was  a  farm- 
er by  occupation;  she  was  born  in  1802, 
and  died  in  187-1;  she  was  the  mother  of  five 
children,  of  whom  our  subject  was  the  second 
child;  he  received  a  common-school  education 
and  worked  upon  the  farm;  he  came  to  Grun- 
dy County  in  1869,  and  located  on  his  present 
farm  of  160  acres.     In  connection  with  gen- 


eral farming,  he  handles  some  stock  and  car- 
ries on  a  dairy.  January  8,  1861,  Mr.  Bar- 
ber married  Marietta  E.  Farwell,  born  at 
Castleton,  Rutland  Co.,  Vt,  March  23,  1833; 
she  is  the  daughter  of  Salomon  and  Louise 
(Pond)  Farwell,  natives  of  Vermont,  both 
dead.  This  marriage  has  been  blessed  with 
four  childi'en,  viz.,  Carrie  L.,  Adelbert  F., 
Frederick  D.  and  Edith  L. ;  the  latter  died 
in  infancy.  Mr.  Barber  is  a  member  of  the 
A.,  F.  &  A.  M.  Although  he  commenced  as 
a  poor  man,  he  is  now  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances, as  a  result  of  his  own  labors. 

CLOVER  BROTHERS,  lawyers,  Gard- 
ner. Edward  Clover,  the  junior  member  of 
this  firm,  was  born  in  Hardin  County,  Iowa, 
January  25,  1861;  he  came  to  Illinois  with 
his  parents  in  1864,  they  locating  in  Mazon 
Township,  where  they  remained  fourteen 
years;  they  lived  in  Kansas  three  years, 
after  which  they  settled  in  Gardner.  The 
parents  of  our  subjects  are  Gerettus  and 
Susan  (Maddox)  Clover,  natives  of  Indiana, 
he  born  February  22, 1836;  is  a  retired  farm- 
er; she  was  born  February  7,  1840,  and  is 
the  mother  of  three  children — Bartlette,  de- 
ceased; Thomas  F.  and  Edward,  who  com- 
pose the  firm  of  Clover  Bros.  Edward  re 
ceived  a  good  education,  and,  after  reading 
law  with  N.  M.  Purviance,  of  Kansas,  was 
admitted  to  the'  bar,  November  26,  1881, 
when  he  was  but  twenty  years  of  age. 
Thomas,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  wa^ 
born  in  Leavenworth  County,  Kan.,  January 
23,  1859;  he  received  a  good  education,  and, 
after  studying  law  with  Webb  &  Glass,  of 
Oswego,  Kan.,  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
June  10,  1880.  He  served  as  City  Attorney 
of  Oswego,  Kan.,  one  year,  and  then  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  brother,  at  Gard- 
ner, III.,  April  22,  1882.  In  connection 
with  their  law  practice,  the  Clover  Bros,  are 
extensively  engaged   in  the  insurance  busi- 


b« 


BIOGKAPHICAL: 


ness.  Tliey  are  men  of  ability,  and  have 
thus  far  been  successful;  they  are  identified 
with  the  Democratic  party. 

AMOS  CLOVEE,  stock-dealer,  Gardner, 
was  born  November  25,  1822,  in  Hamilton 
County,  Ohio;  is  a  son  of  John  M.  and  Mary 
(Williams)  Clover,  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  mother  was  of  German  and  Welsh  de- 
scent, and  died  about  1840;  she  was  the 
mother  of  eleven  children.  When  our  sub- 
ject was  an  infant,  his  parents  removed  to 
Vermillion  County,  Ind.,  where  he  attended 
school  and  worked  on  the  farm  until  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  In  1843,  he  came  to 
Grundy  County,  where  he  now  owns  about 
600  acres  of  farm  land.  Subject  was  mar- 
ried, in  1848,  in  Grundy  County,  to  Martha 
J.  Fayler,  who  was  born  in  1832,  in  McLean 
County,  111.,  and  died  August  15,  1878;  she 
was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Cynthia 
(Smith)  Fayler,  and  left  four  children — Em- 
ma J.,  Joha  L.,  Flora  C.  and  Mary  B.  Mr. 
Clover  has  retired  from  active  labor;  he  rep. 
resented  Grundy  County  in  the  Thirtieth 
General  Assembly  of  Illinois-,  has  held  the 
offices  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  and  Supervis- 
or; he  is  a  member  of  the  A.,  F.  &  A.  M, 
and  of  the  National  Greenback  party. 

THADDEUS  P.  CEANE,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Middlebury,  Vt.,  Sep- 
tember 9,  1829,  son  of  Mahlon  and  Abigail 
(Eeed)  Crane,  he  a  native  of  New  York,  born 
January  3,  1794;  is  a  farmer,  living  in 
Grundy  County;  she  a  native  of  Vermont, 
died  in  November,  1873,  aged  about  seventy 
years.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  our  subject  was  the  fifth  child. 
When  two  years  of  age.  he,  with  his  parents, 
removed  to  New  York  State,  where  he  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools.  In  1862, 
he  came  West,  locating  in  Grundy  County, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming.  In  the  fall 
of  1864,  he  removed  to  his  present  place  of 


residence;  his  first  purchase  consisted  of  forty 
acres  of  unimproved  land,  to  which  he  has 
added  until  now  he  has  200  acres,  all  under 
a  state  of  cultivation  that  stamps  Mr.  Crane 
as  a  first-class,  practical  farmer;  his  build- 
ings and  general  surroundings  betoken  neat- 
ness and  thrift.  He  makes  no  specialties  in 
farming,  but  grows  the  usual  crops  and 
handles  some  stock.  June  12,  1855,  in  Steu- 
ben County,  N.  Y.,  he  married  Phebe  Thomp- 
son, born  in  New  York  State  November  16, 
1831,  a  daughter  of  Eobert  and  Dolly  (Skin- 
ner) Thompson,  natives  of  Connecticut,  both 
deceased.  This  union  resulted  in  five  chil- 
dren, viz.,  Fred,  Nellie,  Harry,  Frank  and 
Charles,  the  last  two  deceased.  Mr.  Crane 
is  something  of  a  traveler,  having  spent  three 
years  in  that  pleasant  recreation  in  South 
America.  During  one  term  of  three  years, 
he  held  the  office  of  County  Commissioner  of 
Grundy  County.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A., 
F.  &  A  M.  at  Gardner. 

JOHN  H.  COLES,  shoemaker,  Gardner, 
was  born  in  Delaware  County,  Penn.,  Febru- 
ary 5,  1822;  son  of  Enoch  and  Margaret 
(Henderson)  Coles.  The  father,  a  native  of 
New  York  State,  was  a  shoemaker,  born  in 
1792,  and  died  in  1854.  The  mother,  a  na- 
tive of  the  State  of  Delaware,  was  born  in 
1802,  and  died  March  17,  1879.  Our  sub- 
ject received  a  common-school  education,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  learned  the  trade  of 
a  shoemaker.  In  September,  1857,  he  came 
to  Gardner,  and  continued  at  his  trade.  In 
September,  1848,  he  was  married,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, to  Miss  Mary  E.  Hart,  born  in  that 
State  January  23,  1823;  she  died  January 
22,  1861,  and  was  the  mother  of  five  children 
— George,  Henry  A.  (both  deceased),  Mary 
E.,  John  A.  and  William  F.  Mr.  Coles  was 
again  married,  April  10,  1862,  to  Mrs.  Mar- 
tha J.  Dunmore,  born  March  1,  1826;  she 
has   four  children,  viz.,    Jessie  M.,  Elwood 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


87 


A.,  Herbert  M.  and  Nathan  E.  'Mr.  Coles 
was  the  first  President  of  the  Board  of  Trust- 
ees of  Ciardner,  and  was  also  the  fu-st  Police 
Magistrate  of  that  place;  has  been  Town 
Clerk  about  twelve  yejirs,  and  Township 
Trustee  four  terms;  has  had  the  commission 
of  Notary  Public  about  seven!  een  years,  and 
is  now  serving  his  fifth  term  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace:  ho  has  always  been  a  strong  temper- 
ance man;  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  forty  years,  and  has  belonged  to  the 
Eepublican  party  since  its  foundation;  his 
wife  is  a  Presbyterian. 

SAjNIUEL  CHRISTY,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gard- 
ner, was  born  in  Ireland  November  5,  1833; 
is  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  Graham  Chris- 
ty, the  jjarents  of  eight  children — Robert, 
Ellen,  John,  Joseph,  Thomas,  Samuel  and 
one  deceased.  Mr.  C.  spent  but  three  weeks 
in  the  schoolroom.  In  1853,  he  came  to  New 
York  City,  where  he  engaged  at  weaving, 
and  afterward  in  a  dry  goods  factory.  In 
1800,  he  came  to  Kankakee  County,  111., 
where  he  rented  a  farm  for  nine  yeai's;  in 
the  meantime,  he  bought  forty-three  acres, 
and  kept  adding  until  he  owned  125  acres  in 
Kankakee  County,  which  he  sold  in  1875, 
and  bought  forty  acres  in  Grundy  Coiuity, 
where  he  now  lives.  Ho  was  married,  in 
1S50,  to  Sarah  McConnell;  they  have  no 
children.  He  is  making  a  specialty  of  breed- 
ing Norman  horses  and  fast  stock,  having  at 
this  time  two  tine  stallions  of  the  above- 
named  breed.  When  he  settled  in  New 
York  he  had  about  $500,  which,  by  frugality, 
has  been  increased  until  he  ranks  among 
those  of  excellent  circumstances;  he  has 
reared  two  boys — Christopher  and  Michael 
Daily. 

CYRUS  M  EASTON,  physician,  Gardner, 
was  born  in  Trmubull  County,  Ohio,  October 
23,  1842,  to  Alexander  and  Hannah  (Lee) 
Easton,  he  born  in  Franklin  County,  Mass., 


September  25,  1801,  a  local  preacher  by  pro- 
fession and  also  a  farmer;  his  death  occurred 
November  1,  1880;  she,  born  in  Oppenheim, 
N.  Y. ,  January  5,  1811,  died  December  7, 
18-43;  she  was  the  mother  of  six  children,  of 
whom  the  Doctor  was  the  youngest  child. 
During  his  early  childhood,  his  time  was 
employed  in  rendering  what  assistance  he 
could  to  his  parents  upon  the  homestead  farm 
and  in  attending  the  common  schools  of  the 
county,  where  he  received  the  foundation  of  his 
subsequent  education.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
years,  he  emigrated  to  the  then  far  West,  and 
eventually  located  in  Grundy  County,  where 
he  was  engaged  about  three  years  as  a  farm 
hand;  he  then  returned  to  Ohio  and  entered 
the  Western  Reserve  Seminary,  with  a  view 
of  fitting  himself  for  school  teaching,  which 
occupation  he  followed  a  part  of  the  three 
years  following,  when  not  engaged  with  his 
studies.  His  literary  education  was  com- 
pleted at  the  Illinois  Wesleyan  University  at 
Bloomington;  commenced  the  study  of  medi- 
cine with  Dr.  J.  D.  Curl,  of  Mazon;  attended 
his  first  course 'of  lectures  at  Ann  Arbor. 
Mich.;  completed  his  studies  and  received 
his  diploma  as  an  M.  D.  at  Rush  Medical 
College  of  Chicago,  January  17,  1872,  but 
had  been  practicing  about  five  years  previ- 
ous; came  to  Gardner  in  August,  187-1,  where 
he  has  the  satisfaction  of  conducting  a  very 
successful  practice.  Baing  ambitious  to  keep 
abreast  of  his  profession,  the  Doctor  attend- 
ed the  practitioners'  course  at  Chicago,  in 
the  spring  of  1882,  where  he  also  received  a 
diploma.  He  was  married  in  Kankakee 
County,  August  20,  1867,  to  Miss  Mary  Ann 
Armstrong,  who  was  born  in  Calhoun  County, 
Mich.,  September  13,  1813,  to  Wellington  G. 
and  Grace  (Glass)  Ai-mstrong,  he  a  native  of 
New  York,  born  in  1814,  March  27,  died 
April  1,  1876;  she  a  native  of  England,  born 
Julj'  6,   1811,  still   living.     Mrs.    Easton   is 


88 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


the  mother  of  three  children,  viz..  Cora  May, 
born  July  10,  J 8(59;  Leaa  Almira,  born  Au- 
gust 19,  1870;  Rufus  Wellington,  born  Feb- 
ruary 11,  1875.  During  the  rebellion,  Dr. 
Easton  entered  the  service,  in  Company  F, 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-fourth  Illinois  In- 
fantry, Capt.  Barber,  and  served  on  detached 
duty  as  -Clerk  and  Warden  of  the  military 
prison  at  Columbus,  Ky. ,  until  mustered  out 
in  18(54.  Politically,  he  is  a  stanch  advocate 
of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 

ALCINOUS  E.ISTON,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Trumbull  County, 
Ohio,  July  25,  1837;  is  a  son  of  Alexander 
and  Hannah  (Lee)  Easton;  his  education  was 
limited  to  the  common  school  of  his  native 
county.  When  seventeen  years  old,  he  left 
the  homestead  farm  and  engaged  in  school 
teaching  and  farming.  In  1854,  he  came  to 
Grundy  County,  111.,  and  the  following  year 
went  to  Minnesota,  where  he  remained  about 
three  years.  After  spending  three  years  in 
Iowa,  he  returned  to  Grundy  Cou^nty,  where 
he  has  since  been  engaged  in  farming.  In 
Wisconsin,  April  23,  1857,  Mr.  Easton  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Jane  Doan,  who  was  born  in 
Lake  County,  Ohio,  October  25,  1841,  is  a 
daughter  of  Seth  and  Lucy  (Francis)  Doan, 
natives  of  Ohio,  both  deceased.  By  this 
marriage  there  were  ten  children,  viz.,  Han- 
nah, wife  of  Daniel  Showalter;  Henry,  Fred- 
erick, AUie,  Howard,  Minnie,  Effie,  Eva, 
Emery  and  Elmer;  the  three  last  mentioned 
are  deceased.  In  1875,  Mr.  Easton  was 
granted  a  license  to  preach  by  the  M.  E. 
Church,  and  he  is  now  one  of  the  local 
preachers  on  the  Gardner  Circuit.  Polit- 
ically, he  is  a  Republican. 

HARVEY  ELDRED,  furniture  dealer, 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Milford,  Otsego  Co., 
N.  Y. ,  September  3,  1830,  son  of  Robert  and 
Phebe  (Swartwout)  Eldred,  natives  of  New 
York  State.     The  father,  who  is  dead,  was  a 


farmer  and  stock-dealer.  Our  subject  is  the 
eldest  of  six  children,  and  received  a  common- 
school  education;  when  eighteen  years  of 
age,  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Illinois  and 
located  in  Kendall  County,  where,  November 
25,  1848,  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
his  father  and  three  brothers,  and  for  si.x 
years  they  rented  and  worked  land.  Our 
subject  then  learned  the  trade  of  a  mason, 
which  trade  he  followed  in  Gardner  from 
1850  to  1871;  he  then  purchased  the  furni- 
ture business  of  William  F.  Hastings;  this 
he  has  since  been  engaged  in.  Our  subject 
was  married,  in  New  York  State,  in  October, 
1848,  to  Miss  Margaret  Self,  a  native  of  En- 
gland, born  in  1828;  she  is  the  mother  of 
seven  children — Dr.  C.  C.  Eldred,  of  Braid- 
wood,  111. ;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Charles  Butler; 
Robert  J.;  Phcebe  J.,  a  school  teacher;  Hattie 
B. ;  Mary  and  Amy,  both  deceased.  Mr.  Eldred 
has  held  several  town  and  county  offices,  such 
as  Collector  and  member  of  the  Town  Board, 
of  which  he  is  now  President.  He  commenced 
life  asja  poor  boy,  and  is  now  in  good  cir- 
cumstances; was  formerly  a  Democrat,  but 
voted  for  Garfield,  and  will  remain  in  the 
Republican  party. 

ROBERT  FOSTER,  retired  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  July  8,  1812,  in  Old  Vir- 
ginia; he  is  a  son  of  Vincent  and  Oma  (Hick- 
man) Foster,  natives  of  Virginia,  and  the 
parents  of  three  children — Sarah,  Robert  and 
Vincent.  The  father  was  in  the  war  of  1812. 
Robert  attended  school  in  the  pioneer  cabins, 
walking  a  distance  of  five  miles.  His  father 
was  killed  in  the  war  spoken  of  above,  and 
the  son  was  reared  by  his  grandfather  Fos- 
ter. At  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  began  for 
himself  in  rural  pursuits  for  some  time,  and 
then  engaged  in  a  brewery  at  Zanesville, 
Ohio;  he  was  married,  November  28,  1834, 
to  Malina,  a  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Mary 
(Toben)  Smith;  she  was   born  April  5,  1813, 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


89 


and  was  one  of  seven  children — Maranda, 
Ann,  Malina,  John,  William,  Eliza  and 
Emily.  Mr.  Foster's  union  gave  him  six 
children,  five  of  whom  survive — George,  a 
farmer  of  Benton  County,  Ind.;  Sarah  E., 
wife  of  Josiah  Foreman,  farmer,  of  McLean 
County,  111.;  Mary  A.,  the  wife  of  Franklin 
Clark,  she  is  deceased;  Thomas  J.,  in  Color- 
ado; James  M. ,  married  to  Sarah  Daniels, 
the  result  being  two  children,  viz.,  Ella  B. 
and  Anna  F. ;  he  is  also  a  farmer  in  Benton 
County;  the  last  son  is  Robert  J.,  farmer  in 
same  county.  After  marriage,  our  subject 
settled  in  Muskingum  County,  Ohio,  and 
eubse([ueutly  in  Belmont  and  Washington 
Counties.  In  1852,  he  settled  in  Mazon 
Township,  Grundy  County,  111.,  where  he 
bought  sixty  acres  of  improved  land,  which 
he  sold  in  1876,  and  has  since  retired  to 
Gardner,  his  present  residence.  He  and  wife 
have  been  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church  for 
forty-five  years,  in  which  he  has  held  office 
and  has  been  Superintendent  of  Sabbath 
school  in  said  organization.  He  cast  his 
first  Presidential  vote  for  Gen.  Jackson,  and 
is  now  identified  with  the  Republican  party. 
BRIGGS  FULLER,  retired  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  January  27, 1824,  in  Sen- 
eca.County,  N.  Y.,  is  a  son  of  Jesse  and  Ra- 
chel Allen  Fuller,  the  former  a  native  of 
Vermont,  and  the  latter  of  New  York;  his 
great-grandparents.  Allen,  were  of  German 
descent,  and  emigrated  at  an  early  day,  from 
Holland,  to  America ;  his  parents  had  five 
children — Leroy.  Abel  B. ,  William  W.,  Sarah 
M.  and  Callista  J. ;  the  father  was  a  ship  car- 
penter; the  parents  were  Methodists.  Our 
subject  attended  school  but  little,  and  that  in 
a  log  cabin.  In  his  younger  days,  he  worked 
at  calking  canal  boats  and  ship-building.  In 
1800,  ho  came  West  and  engaged  in  farming, 
renting  for  three  years,  and  then  bought 
eighty  acres  in  Grundy  County,  and  has  since 


added  forty  acres,  all  of  which  is  well  im- 
proved and  the  attainment  of  his  own  labors, 
together  with  that  of  his  estimable  con.sort, 
whom  he  married  in  1851.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Maranda  Vanhouten,  born  April  2, 
1832,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Mary 
(Daily)  Vanhouten,  the  former  a  native  of 
Holland  and  the  latter  of  New  York.  Her 
parents  came  to  Grundy  County  about  1854r, 
settling  in  Goodfarm  Township,  where  her 
father  died  August  20,  1880;  her  mother  is 
still  living;  she  was  one  of  seven  children  — 
Betsey,  Ann  (deceased),  Mary,  Maranda,  Jane 
(deceased),  Sarah,  William;  her  mother  was 
a  Methodist.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fuller  have  no 
children;  they  have  reared  Mary,  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  Campbell,  whom  they  took  when 
four  years  old:  they  are  also  rearing  Samuel 
N.  West,  a  son  of  Mrs.  F.  's  sister,  Jane  (de- 
ceased). The  father  of  Samuel  was  an  early 
settler  of  this  county.  The  grandfather  Al- 
len was  a  blacksmith,  and  made  the  nails  for 
the  construction  of  the  first  house  in  the 
State  of  New  York.  Mr.  F.  votes  the  Repub 
lican  ticket.  Is  now  living  in  Gardner,  re- 
tired from  farm  labors. 

LEWIS  C.  FULLER,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Trumbull  County,  Ohio, 
April  14,  1849,  son  of  Alexander  and  Almira 
(Gates)  Fuller,  natives  of  Ohio.  The  father 
was  born  in  1814,  came  to  Illinois  in  1866; 
is  a  retired  farmer,  living  at  Streator,  111. 
The  mother  was  born  about  1817,  and  has 
borne  five  childreD,  all  of  whom  are  living. 
Our  subject  attended  the  colleges  of  Oberlin, 
Ohio,  and  Hillsdale,  Mich. ;  he  remained 
upon  the  home  farm  until  twenty-seven  years 
of  age,  when  he  came  to  his  present  [ilace  of 
residence.  He  was  married,  in  Gardner, 
July  10,  1879,  to  Miss  Maggie  Allison,  who 
was  born  in  Illinois  May  11,  1856.  Mr. 
Fuller  is  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising 
of  blooded  stock,  both  horses  and  cattle.     He 


90 


BlOGRxVPHICAL: 


is  a  member  of  the  fraternity  of  A. ,  F.  &  A. 
M.,  at  Gardner,  and  belongs  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  of  which  he  is  a  stanch  supporter. 
ROBERT  GLASS,  farmer.  Mr.  Glass 
was  born  in  Mom-oe  Township,  Guern- 
sey County,  Ohio,  June  29,  1824,  seventh 
child  of  a  family  of  thirteen  children  born 
to  Thomas  and  Rebecca  (Storer)  Glass. 
Thomas  Glass,  who  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion, was  born  near  Pittsburgh,  Penn.,in  1787; 
he  lived  in  Guernsey  County,  Ohio,  until 
May,  1852,  when  he  moved  with  his  family 
to  Grundy  County,  111.,  where  he  died,  near 
Gardner,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Par- 
ker farm,"  March  22,  1853,  his  wife,  who 
was  born  in  Harrison  County,  Ohio,  in  1793, 
died  in  Grundy  County,  111.,  February  22, 
1853.  Of  their  family  of  thirteen  children, 
eight  are  deceased,  six  older  and  two  younger 
than  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  Glass 
received  a  limited  education,  such  as  the 
subscription  schools  of  that  day  afforded,  at- 
tending from  twenty  to  fifty  days  each  win- 
ter season,  until  he  attained  his  majority, 
when  he  began  working  the  homestead  farm 
on  shares  with  his  father,  working  in  that 
way  for  about  one  and  one-half  years.  No- 
vember 12,  1846,  he  married  Mary  Little,  a 
native  of  Guernsey  County,  Ohio,  born  De- 
cember 17,  1828,  eldest  child  of  a  family  of 
eight  children,  born  to  Francis  and  Rebecca 
(McDonald)  Little.  Francis  Little,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  born  of  Protestant  parents,  came 
to  America  with  his  parents  when  nine  years 
of  age,  and  is  now  living  in  Guernsey  Coun- 
ty, Ohio;  his  wife,  who  was  of  Scotch  parent- 
age, was  born  in  Muskingum  County,  Ohio, 
and  died  in  Guernsey  County,  Ohio.  After 
bis  marriage,  Mr.  Glass  rented  a  part  of  his 
father's  farm,  which  he  worked  for  two  years, 
then,  in  the  spring  of  1849,  moved  to  Grundy 
County,  111.,  and  settled  on  the  farm  near 
Gardner,  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Blaney,  which 


he  located  by  a  land- warrant  for  $130.  In 
the  spring  of  1805,  he  sold  this  place  to  Mr. 
Blaney  for  $4,000,  and  bought  the  east  halt 
of  the  same  section,  where  he  lived  for  about 
sixteen  years,  and,  in  the  fall  of  1881,  sold 
out  for  $14,000,  and  moved  to  Kansas,  where 
he  purchased  640  acres  of  land,  on  which  he 
intends  to  locate  permanently;  his  wife  also 
owns  100  acres  of  land  in  Carroll  County, 
Mo.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glass  have  been  blessed 
with  nine  childi-en,  five  of  whom  are  deceased 
— Rebecca,  born  in  Guernsey  County,  Ohio, 
January  21,  1848;  Thomas  Francis,  born  in 
Grundy  County,  111.,  June  16,  1850;  George 
Little,  born  October  25,  1852,  died  April  21, 
1874,  Charles  Wesley,  born  October  27, 
1855,  died  April  5,  1871;  Alice,  born  July 
12,  1858,  died  January  22,  1859;  Robert 
Lincoln,  born  September  3,  1862;  William 
Mordecai,  born  October  23,  1865;  Andrew 
Jackson,  born  June  5,  1868,  died  June  29, 
1868,  and  an  infant  daughter,  born  Febru- 
ary 3,  1801,  died  the  same  day.  Of  these 
nine  children,  all,  save  the  eldest,  were  born 
in  Grundy  County,  and  all  those  deceased 
died  in  this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glass  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Church.  He  is  a 
Rej)ublican. 

LOUIS  GERMAIN,  stock  and  grain-deal- 
er, Gardner,  was  born  in  Clinton  County, 
N.  Y.,  in  the  year  1830  to  Peter  and  Julia 
(Christian)  Germain;  the  former  was  a  na- 
tive of  France,  born  in  1791;  was  an  ore 
miner  by  occupation;  died  in  Clinton  County, 
N.  Y.,  Deeemher  16,  1865;  the  latter  was 
born  in  New  York  State  in  May,  1803,  and 
died  in  1863;  they  were  the  parents  of  nine 
children.  Louis  had  to  depend  upon  the 
common  schools  for  his  education,  but  with 
these  chances  and  his  natural  ability,  he  was 
quite  well  prepared  for  business.  He  was  a 
good  accountant  and  an  elegant  writer.  His 
first  business  for  himself  was  that  of  clerk  in 


GHEEX FIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


91 


a  wholesale  house  at  Goshen,  Ind  'Mx.  Ger- 
main was  married  to  Mary  Adaline  Stone,  at 
Ligonier,  Ind.,  Mai'ch  29,  1859;  she  was 
born  in  Noble  County,  Ind.,  October  11, 
1841  ;•  was  the  daughter  of  Riehai-d  and  Mary 
(Higgins)  Stone,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
former  born  in  Harrisburg.  Soon  after  the 
man-iage  of  our  subject,  he  moved  to  this 
county  and  rented  a  farm  a  half  mile  west  of 
Gardner.  Although  his  crops  were  good,  yet 
owing  to  the  low  price  of  produre,  his  profits 
were  small.  In  company  with  i{.  B.  Huss, 
he  kept,  for  a  time,  a  dry  goods  and  grocery 
store.  For  about  foiirteen  years,  he  has  been 
buying  and  shipping  stock  and  grain.  He 
ha";  been  financially  successful  by  his  own 
industry  and  economy,  making  himself  well 
to  do.  Such  has  been  his  record,  that  he  en- 
joys the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who 
know  him.  He  has  served  the  public  as 
Constable  and  Deputy  Sherifi",  as  Collector 
and  Assessor,  the  latter  for  twelve  years,  and 
three  years  since,  was  i-lected  Supervisor, 
which  office  he  still  holds.  As  a  public  serv- 
ant, he  has  been  faithful  to  every  trust.  He 
went  into  the  army,  in  1861,  as  a  private. 
Company  D,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-sixth 
Regiment  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry;  was 
promoted  to  be  First  Lieutenant;  was  dis- 
charged at  the  close  of  the  war.  ]Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Germain  have  four  children  living — 
Eva,  Mabel,  Grace  and  Guy.  Mr.  Germain 
belongs  to  no  secret  society.  In  politics,  he 
is  an  active  Republican,  and  has  been  since 
the  formation  of  the^party. 

GEORGE  GOODSON,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  is  a  native  of  England,  boi'n  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1833;  he  had  very  limited  educa- 
tional advantages  while  young,  but,  after 
coming  to  America,  in  1857,  he  taught  him- 
self to  read  and  write,  and  acquainted  him- 
self with  the  common  branches  of  education. 
The  parents  of  our  subject  were  John  and 


Lucy  (Howett)  Goodson,  natives  of  England; 
he  was  a  day  laborer,  and  died  in  1804. 
She,  born  March  12,  1813,  is  still  living  in 
Gardner;  she  is  the  mother  of  eleven  chil- 
di'en,  of  whom  subject  is  tlie  eldest.  He 
came  to  Grundy  County  in  1859;  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  One  Hundi-ed  and  Twenty-sev- 
enth Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he 
served  eight  mouths;  he  was  disabled  while 
building  barracks  in  Chicago.  In  January, 
1800,  he  married  Margaret  Snyder,  born  in 
1840;  she  has  boruo  him  three  chikli-en,  viz., 
Mary,  Frank  and  John.  Mr.  Goodson  car- 
ries on  a  general  farming  business,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Republican  party. 

E.  W.  HULSE,  Postmaster,  Gardner,  was 
born  April  3,  1842,  in  Trumbull  County, 
Ohio;  is  a  son  of  C.  R.  and  Bethsheba  (Foot) 
Hulse,  natives  of  Ohio  and  parents  of  four 
children— Rosetta,  E.  W.,  Z.  F  ,  N.  J.;  the 
mother  died  in  1850,  and  the  father  came  to 
Illinois  in  1851,  and  was  subsequently  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Rice,  the  result  being  one 
child — Henry  J.  The  father  was  married  a 
third  time,  to  Mary  J.  Rutledge,  and  by  her 
was  blessed  with  two  childi'en  — Judsou  O. 
and  Hattie;  the  father  survived  all  his  wives. 
Was  a  minister  of  the  Protestant  Methodist 
ChiU'oh.  Oui-  subject  began  for  himself  at 
the  age  of  nine,  his  mother  having  died 
about  that  time;  he  worked  on  a  farm  at  $4 
per  month.  When  the  war  broke  out,  he 
offered  his  services,  but  was  refused.  Later, 
he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Thirty-sixth  Illi- 
nois Volunteer  Infantry,  for  three  years,  and 
was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge, 
which  caused  his  side  to  be  paralyzed;  he 
was  discharged  August  9,  1802.  In  1805,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and 
Forty-first  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
remained  till  the  close.  In  1800,  was  mar- 
:  ried  to  Mary  A.  Currier,  a  daughter  of  John 
I  and  Anna  Currier,  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 


93 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


and  parents  of  James,  I.  Lewis,  Arvilla, 
Amanda  and  two  deceased.  Mr.  H.  had  three 
children  as  a  result  of  his  marriage — Nelson 
W.,  Ebeu  R..  Ira  N.;  his  wife  died  May  14, 
1877,  and  he  was  again  married,  in  1878, 
to  Elizabeth  A.  Wartman,  resulting  in  one 
child — Mary  L.  Ho  engaged  in  the  hard- 
ware business  in  Gardner  under  the  firm 
name  of  Pratt  &  Hulse,  for  five  years,  and 
was  successful.  He  has  held  several  minor 
o£Qces;  has  run  for  County  Superintendent 
of  Livingston  County  one  term.  He  was  ap- 
pointed Postmaster  at  this  place,  November 
10,  1879,  which  position  he  still  holds.  The 
life  of  Mr.  H.  has  been  one  mixed  with 
trials;  he  hobbled  around  on  crutches  for 
several  years,  and  managed  to  attend  the 
Western  Reserve  Seminary,  at  Farmington, 
Ohio,  for  two  years;  he  is  a  Baptist,  while 
his  wife  is  of  the  Christian  Church.  He 
votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

ROBERT  HOUSTON,  retired  farmer,  P. 
O.  Gardner,  was  born  in  Ireland  August  14, 
1809;  he  is  a  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Gibson) 
Houston.  The  father  died  ia  Ireland  and 
the  mother  in  New  York;  they  were  he  par- 
ents of  nine  children— Ellen,  Jane,  "Will- 
iam, Robert,  James,  John,  Mary.  Alexander 
and  Thomas;  the  parents  belonged  to  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Ireland.  Robert 
had  but  little  chance  of  atteading  school; 
his  father  died  when  he  was  small,  and,  at 
the  age  of  eleven,  he  had  to  take  charge  of 
the  family:  he  came  to  America  in  1831,  set- 
tling in  New  York  City,  whei-e  he  engaged  in 
weaving,  manufacturing  cotton  goods;  ho 
followed  weaving  for  twenty  years;  he  saved 
enough  aside  from  keeping  his  family  to 
have  $1,000  left  when  coming  to  Illinois. 
He  was  married,  in  1837,  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Murphey,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Shaw,  which 
union  blesssd  him  with  nine  children — 
Eliza,   the  wife  o£  D.   Morris;    John,    who 


died  in  the  late  war;  Robert,  wounded  on 
the  Red  River  expedition,  losing  his  right 
leg;  Thomas,  wounded  in  the  shoulder  at  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  taken  prisoner  by  the  rebels 
and  confined  in  the  hospital  at  Mobile,  Ala., 
and  Andersonville  for  nine  months;  Ann, 
Mary,  "William,  Ellen  and  Martha.  Mr.  H. 
bought  100  acres  of  land  in  Braceville  Town- 
ship on  coming  here,  for  $165,  which  he 
afterward  traded  for  160  acres  in  Greenfield 
Township,  which  he  still  owns;  this  land  is 
located  on  Section  14;  he  has  retired  from 
the  rural  pursuits  of  life,  being  located  in 
good  property  of  his  own  in  Gardner.  He 
and  wife  are  active  members  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  in  which  he  has  always  held  office, 
and  is  now  Deacon.  The  financial  interests 
of  said  organization  have  always  been  blessed 
by  the  relationship  of  Mr.  Houston,  he  hav- 
ing donated  largely  to  the  construction  of 
two  churches  at  this  place,  one  of  which  was 
consumed  by  tire.  He  is  an  unfaltering  be- 
liever in  the  Savior  of  mankind,  and  shows 
by  his  walks  his  faith.  He  votes  the  Repub- 
lican ticket. 

RICHARD  B.  HUSS,  merchant,  Gardner, 
was  born  June  24,  1836,  in  Hocking  Coun- 
ty, Ohio,  son  of  Jacob  and  Ellen  (Boyd) 
Hubs,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  he  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  dying  in  1841,  aged  sixty- 
three  years;  she,  in  1865,  aged  sixty- three 
years;  she  was  the  mother  of  nine  children. 
"When  our  subject  was  five  years  old,  he  was 
taken  by  his  mother  to  Wells  County,  Ind., 
where  he  learned  the  trade  of  harness-making. 
He  first  commenced  business  in  Newark,  Ken- 
dall Co.,  111.,  where  he  remained  seven  years. 
In  1863,  he  removed  to  Gardner  and  contin- 
ued in  the  harness  business  one  year,  and 
ttien  enlisted  in  Company  D,  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-sixth  Illinois  "Volunteer  Infantry, 
Capt.  Loveday;  he  remained  in  the  service 
ten  months,   and   then   resumed  his   former 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


93 


trade,  which  he  followed  until  180G,  when 
he  commenced  dealing  in  butter  and  eggs. 
In  1872,  he,  with  a  partner,  commenced 
general  merchandising,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Germain  &  Huss.  In  1874,  he  purchased 
Mr.  Germain's  interest,  and  continued  the 
business  on  his  own  account.  In  1879,  he 
sustained  a  loss  by  fire  of  about  S12,0(t0;  he 
does  a  business  of  about  $00,000  per  annum. 
Mr.  Huss  has  been  twice  married — first,  in 
1850,  to  Miss  Rachel  A.  Crumley,  who  died 
in  January,  1872,  leaving  six  children — El- 
len E.,  Huldah  A.,  Harriet  J.,  Nora  E.,  Cora 
A.  and  William  S.  Mr.  Huss  was  again 
married,  in  1871,  to  Miss  Frances  M.  Waters, 
born  in  Grundy  County  in  1852,  and  two 
children  have  been  born  to  them — Howard 
and  Maggie.  Mr.  Huss  is  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  and  a  Republican. 

STACEY  E.  HARTLEY,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Guernsey  County, 
jOhio,  June  1,,1839,  son  of  Stacey  and  Mary 
(Wait)  Hartley,  natives  of  Ohio;  he  died  in 
August,  1839;  was  a  hotel-keeper:  she  was 
born  in  1805,  and  is  still  living.  Our  sub- 
ject was  one  of  a  family  of  nine  children, 
and  received  such  an  education  as  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  native  place  afforded.  In 
1850,  he  came  to  Grundy  County  with  George 
Willis,  his  brother-in-law,  and  engaged  with 
him  three  years  in  farming,  after  which  he 
labored  on  the  railroad  for  one  year.  In 
1855,  he  went  to  Iowa,  whore  he  remained 
three  years,  then  settled  in  Gardner  and  en- 
gaged in  farming.  During  the  rebellion, 
our  subject  served  for  three  years  in  Com- 
pany D,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- seventh 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  Cajit. 
Chandler,  the  regiment  being  commanded  by 
Col.  Van  Amam.  After  returning  from  the 
war,  Mr.  Hartley  resumed  agricultural  pur- 
suits, near  Gardner,  where  he  has  remained 
since,  upon   his  farm  of   190  acres   of  good 


land,  all  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  He 
makes  no  specialties,  but  grows  the  usual 
farm  crops  and  raises  some  stock.  Mr. 
Hartley  was  married,  December  19,  1808,  to 
Rose  Butterfield,  born  in  Pennsylvania  April 
3,  18-17;  she  is  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Susan  Butterfield,  both  deceased.  By  this 
marriage,  there  is  one  child  -Carrie,  born 
October  25,  ]870.  Mi-.  Hartley  bas  been 
School  Director,  is  a  member  of  the  Repub- 
lican party. 

GEORGE  W.  HIBNER,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Richland  County, 
Ohio,  November  10,  1840,  son  of  John  and 
Nancy  (Kurtz)  Hibner,  he  a  native  of  Ohio, 
born  in  1814,  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
lives  near  Joliet,  111. ;  she,  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1810,  is  still  living  and  the  mother 
of  thirteen  children,  twelve  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing. Our  subject  came  to  Illinois  with  his 
parents  in  1847,  received  a  common-school 
education  and  assisted  his  parents  on  the 
farm.  In  1S7(),  he  came  to  Grundy  County, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  raising 
stock  and  carrying  on  general  farming.  He 
was  married,  in  Will  County,  111.,  April  12, 
1800,  to  Almeda  Elbe,  born  in  Will  County 
July  29,  1849;  she  is  a  daughter  of  George 
and  Mary  Ann  (Zumault)  Elbe.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hibner  have  been  blessed  with  seven 
children,  viz.,  Lewis  A.,  Clara  A.,  Mary  A., 
George  J.,  Emma  A.,  Virginia  I.  and  John 
A.,  the  latter  deceased.  Mr.  Hibner  has  been 
School  Director  about  twelve  years;  he  and 
wife  are  connected  with  the  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odist Church.  Politically,  Mr.  Hibner  has 
always  been  independent  until  latterly  he 
has  been  identified  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  commenced  life  a  poor  man,  and, 
by  his  industry,  has  accumulated  a  property  of 
400  aci-es  of  land,  well  stocked  and  cultivated. 

CHARLES  V.  HAMILTON,  hardware 
merchant,  Gardnei",  was  born  in  Fulton,  Os- 


94 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


wego  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  December  18,  1845,  son  of 
John  V.  and  Charlotte  H.  (White)  Hamil- 
ton, he  born  September  9,  1818,  at  Ira,  Ca- 
yuga Co.,  N.  Y. ;  was  a  ship  builder  by  trade, 
and  came  to  Illinois  iu  1860,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  a  carpenter  until  1809, 
when  he  removed  to  Wisconsin,  and,  in  1880, 
to  Dakota,  where  he  lives  in  retirement  from 
actual  labor.  The  mother,  also  a  native  of 
Ira,  N.  Y.,  was  born  May  23,  1826,  and  died 
in  Wisconsin  December  26,  1877;  she  was 
the  mother  of  five  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living — Charles  (our  subject),  Helen  H. 
aad  Edward  E.  Our  subject  availed  himself 
of  the  educational  privileges  of  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  place,  and,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  commenced  clerking  in  a  store  of 
general  merchandise,  which  occupation  he 
followed  in  different  localities  until  1876, 
when  he  came  to  Gardner,  111.,  and 'opened 
a  hardware  store.  June  17,  1874,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Ellen  Hustin,  who  was  born  in 
Grundy  County  February  21,  1853.  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Hustin,  of 
Gardner.  By  this  marriage  there  are  three 
children,  viz.,  Verner  E.,  born  April  9,  1875; 
Robert  J.,  July  16,  1877,  and  ChailotteM., 
Mai-ch  2, 1879.  IVIr.  Hamilton  has  been  more 
than  ordinarily  successful  in  his  business  as 
a  hardware  merchant,  and  his  trade  is  stead- 
ily increasing.  He  has  been  Village  Trustee 
one  term,  and  is  now  serving  his  third  term 
as  Township  Treasurer;  is  an  active  member 
of  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.  His  wife  is  a  member ^of 
the  Baptist  Church. 

HIRAJI  JONES,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gardner, 
was  born  in  Somerset  County,  Me.,  May  4, 
1840,  son  of  Thomas  J.  and  Harriet  (Small) 
Jon.^8,  natives  of  Maine.  The  father  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  died  in  April, 
1868.  The  mother  died  in  August,  1870. 
Our  subject  availed  himself  of  such  educa- 
tional advantages  as  his  native  place  afforded. 


and,  when  the  late  war  broke  out,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  E,  Seventeenth  Maine 
Volunteer  Infantry,  under  Capt.  Sawyer,  the 
regiment  being  commanded  by  Col.  West. 
After  serving  two  years  and  three  months  in 
the  army,  Mr.  Jones  engaged  in  farming. 
In  1867,  he  located  in  Highland  Township, 
Grundy  County,  where  he  remained  eight 
years;  he  then  came  to  Gardner,  where  he 
has  since  engaged  in  general  farming,  occa- 
sionally drilling  wells  and  sinking  coal  shafts. 
He  was  married,  in  Maine,  August  20,  1863. 
to  Hannah  N.  Collins,  born  in  Maine  October 
28,  1839.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with 
five  children,  viz.,  Leland  E. ,  Bertrand  P., 
Willie  B.,  Byron  C.  and  Luella  M.  Mr. 
Jones  is  a  Republican. 

C.  M.  KING,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Gardner  News,  Gardner,  was  born  at  Chani- 
bersburg,  Fenn.,  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Elizabeth  (CofTroth)  King.  Samuel  King,  sub- 
ject's father,  who  is  still  living,  is  a  merchant, 
and  was  born  at  Mercersburg,  Penn.,  in  1803  ; 
his  wife,  who  was  born  in  1804,  died  May  9, 
1882  ;  they  had  a  family  of  seven  children. 
Mr.  King  received  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Pennsylvania,  and  began  the 
business  of  life  as  a  teacher,  which  occupation 
he  followed  for  four  years,  1860  to  1864.  In 
the  latter  vear,  he  enlisted  in  the  regular  army 
was  detailed  to  the  Signal  Service,  and  served 
till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  married  at  Green- 
castle,  Penn.,  July  1,  1874,  to  Minnie  Hoke, 
and  by  this  union  they  have  one  child — Samuel, 
aged  four  years.  Mr.  King  learned  the  print- 
er's trade,  partly  in  Shirleysburg,  in  Hunting- 
don and  Altoona,  Penn.  He  has  been  engaged 
in  the  printing  business  for  fifteen  years,  and 
established  and  owned  the  following  papers  : 
The  Neponset  Gazette,  1868,  Prairie  City  (111.) 
Herald,  1870  ;  Chenoa  Times,  1872  ;  Lexing- 
ton Enterprise,  1872  to  1876;  Altamont  Tele- 
gram, 1876  to  1880,  and  in  1881  he  established 
the   Gardner  News,   which  he   now  publishes. 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


95 


The  Gardner  News  was  established  with  the 
printing  estal)lishment  of  the  late  Altamont 
Ttlajnim,  moved  to  Gardner  witii  fine  equip- 
ment of  material  and  power  cylinder  press. 
The  size  of  the  paper  is  28x45.  nine  column  folio. 
In  1882,  Mr.  King  established  the  Braceville 
Miner,  a  Republican  sheet,  which  is  printed  in 
the  office  of  the  Gardner  N'rws.  This  paper  is 
28x45  folio,  thirt>--six  columns.  Mr.  King  is 
a  Republican,  and  is  conservative  in  his  relig- 
ious views. 

I.  J.  KEEPERS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Gardner, 
was  born  in  Beaver  Count}-,  Penn..  in  March, 
1829,  and  settled  on  his  present  farm  in  April, 
1866.  When  he  was  but  a  small  boy,  his 
father  moved  to  Guernsey  County,  Ohio,  and 
there  he  lived  till  he  came  to  Gruudy  Count}'. 
He  received  his  education  chiefly  in  Ohio,  but 
attended  school  a  short  time  in  Pennsylvania. 
In  Guernsey  County,  Ohio,  August  22,  1850, 
he  married  Miss  Mary  Kimble,  a  native  of  that 
count}',  and  by  this  union  they  have  been 
blessed  with  sis  children,  all  of  whom,  save 
one,  were  born  in  Ohio.  Mr,  Keepers  has 
made  farming  his  chief  occupation,  but  he  fol- 
lowed saw-milling  in  Ohio  for  some  time.  In 
September,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Seventy-sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war,  the  regi- 
ment being  stationed  at  Nashville,  Tenn,,  the 
greater  part  of  the  time.  He  has  lately  sold 
his  farm  and  bought  another  of  IGO  acres,  locat- 
ed in  the  same  township,  three  and  one-half 
miles  west  of  Gardner,  He  began  life  without 
any  means,  renting  land  at  lirst,  and  by  indus- 
try and  economy  has  accumulated  his  present 
property.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Baptist  Church  ;  he  is  a  Republican  and 
been  one  ever  since  the  organization  of  that 
party.  Their  children  are  William  I..  ]\Iary 
J.,  Joseph  H.,  Caroline  0.,  Hannah  Myrtle  and 
Olive  W.  Mr.  Keepers  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Hannah  Keepers,  who  were  born  in  Chester 
County,  Penn..  where  thev  remained  for  some 


years,  and,  after  their  marriage,  moved  to 
Beaver  County,  Penn,  Joseph  Keepers  died 
in  Guernsey  County,  Ohio,  December  6,  1842  ; 
his  wife  came  to  Illinois  and  died  at  her  daugh- 
ter's house  in  Iroquois  County,  April  28,  1873, 
Subject's  wife  is  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Mary 
Kimble,  who  were  born  in  Pennsylvania;  came 
to  Ohio  when  young,  and  died  in  Guernsey 
County,  that  State, 

JACOB  C.  LUTZ,  general  merchant  and 
banker,  Gardner.  The  subject  of  this  sketch, 
whose  portrait  appears  in  this  history,  was 
born  in  Wurtemberg.  Germany,  February  13, 
1814.  He  was  the  son  of  Jacob  B.  and  Kath- 
arina  (Kern)  Lutz,  the  former  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, born  January  27,  1812,  the  latter  born 
in  1814,  To  them  were  born  three  children- 
Christina,  wife  of  John  Weber,  of  Kansas  ; 
Jacob  C,  subject ;  Carrie,  wife  of  Henry  Fey, 
of  Morris,  The  family  moved  to  this  country 
in  the  summer  of  1855,  stopping  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  six  months,  and  in  Chicago  one  year, 
when  they  moved  to  Minooka,  this  county. 
The  father  was  a  carpenter  by  occupation  ; 
limited  in  means  ;  died  in  Morris  in  1879  ;  the 
mother  is  still  living.  Our  lad  Jacob  was  put 
to  herding  cattle  for  R.  Gardner,  an  extensive 
farmer  and  merchant  of  Minooka.  The  second 
year,  he  hired  to  the  same  party  to  do  chores 
for  $70  ;  was  employetl  a  part  of  the  time  in 
the  store,  where  he  soon  became  very  efficient. 
So  competent  and  faithful  did  he  prove  that 
his  employer  retained  him  as  clerk  for  seven 
years.  When  twenty-one,  he  had  accumulated 
$500,  and  with  a  partner  opened  a  flour  and 
feed  store  in  Chicago.  This  proved  unprofita- 
ble, and  in  six  months  he  returned  to  Minooka 
with  only  $200.  He  took  his  old  place  in 
Gardner's  store  for  a  little  time,  when  he  went 
to  Morris  and  clerked  in  the  store  for  J.  J. 
Irwin.  In  March,  1867,  with  $475  of  his  own 
and  $1,000  borrowed  money,  he,  in  company 
with  Charles  Foote,  opened  a  "  general  store  " 
in    Gardner.     The   first   year's    receipts    were 


96 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


$32,000,  and  Lutz  paid  his  borrowed  money  in 
ten  inontlis.  After  four  j-ears,  he  was  able  to 
buy  out  his  partner's  interest,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  increased  competition,  his  first 
year's  sales  reached  $62,000.  Four  years  since, 
he  took  FAi  Eklred  as  partner,  and  with  a 
stock  of  $20,000  the  firm  is  commanding  a 
profitable  business.  A  few  years  since,  in 
company  with  C.  K.  Snyder  and  others,  he 
went  into  the  grain  and  lumber  trade,  and  is 
now,  in  company  with  Louis  Germain,  buying 
and  shipping  grain.  The  business  has  been 
well  conducted,  and  has  been  of  considerable 
profit.  With  the  means  he  had  saved  in  his 
business,  about  five  years  ago  he  began  buying 
real  estate,  adding  from  time  to  time,  until,  at 
this  writing,  he  has  2,180  acres.  His  lands 
are  in  Greenfield  and  Braceville,  and  comprise 
some  productive  farms,  which  are  being  hand- 
somely improved.  Two  years  since,  Mr.  Lutz 
started  the  Bank  of  Gardner,  making  W.  V.  D. 
Bishop  Cashier.  The  enterprise  is  yet  young, 
but  of  goodly  promise.  J.  C.  Lutz  was  mar- 
ried to  Annie  Bowers  at  Minooka  April  8, 
1868,  Leander  Smith,  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
making  the  nuptial  tie.  She  was  born  at  Clif- 
ton Springs,  N.  Y.,  February  5,  18-16  ;  was  the 
daughter  of  William  and  Martha  (Weston) 
Bowers,  of  English  nativity.  He  died  near 
Vicksburg,  while  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
She  is  still  living  at  Minooka.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lutz  have  six  children,  all  born  in  Gardner — 
Carrie  Louisa,  born  January  27,  1869  ;  Annie 
Katharina,  January  10,  1871  ;  Bernhardt  Otto, 
November  23,  1872;  Jacob  Charles,  August 
12,  1874 ;  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  March  18, 
1879  ;  Carl  Henry,  March  12,  1881.  Owing  to 
the  financial  condition  of  his  parents,  Mr.  Lutz 
had  early  in  life  to  depend  upon  his  own  labor 
for  support,  and  consequeutl}-  his  chances  for 
education  were  quite  limited.  Nature  gave 
him  a  mind  to  think  and  a  memor\-  to  retain. 
With  these  endowments,  coupled  with  industri- 
ous habits,  using  his  leisure  moments  for  read- 


ing, he  has  gained  a  very  thorough  knowledge 
of  business,  and  in  the  general  news  of  the 
day  he  is  well  versed.  Financially,  he  has 
been  successful  in  an  eminent  degree.  Begin- 
ning his  career  with  nothing  save  a  determina- 
tion to  win,  he  has,  while  j'et  but  middle-aged, 
made  an  ample  fortune.  While  desirous  of 
adding  to  his  estate,  he  is  hospitably  inclined, 
man}'  a  poor  unfortunate  receiving  aid  and 
comfort  at  his  hands.  Li  politics,  he  is  a  Re- 
publican, in  religion,  a  Liberal.  In  his  home, 
he  is  cheerful  and  aflfectionate,  in  health  gener- 
ously providing  for  every  want  of  wife  and 
children,  and  in  sickness  caring  for  them  with 
devoted  tenderness.  Mrs.  Lutz  is  a  woman  of 
pleasing  address  and  good  judgment,  caring 
but  little  for  society,  but  attached  to  husband 
and  children  by  the  strongest  ties.  The  will  of 
the  father  and  the  little  ones  is  the  mother's 
pleasure,  and  to  sacrifice  for  their  good  is  no 
discomfort.  Her  every-day  life  and  record 
prove  her  worthy  of  the  husband  she  has 
chosen  and  the  children  she  has  borne. 

J.  W.  LEWIS,  Superintendent  coal  mines, 
Gardner,  was  born  October  24,  1844,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, is  a  son  of  William  and  Catharine 
(Matthews)  Lewis,  natives  of  Wales.  The  par- 
ents emigrated  to  the  United  States  about  the 
year  1842.  They  had  seven  children,  viz., 
Winifred,  Margaret,  James,  J.  W.,  Albert, 
Lewis  and  Thomas.  The  mother  died  in  1846, 
and  the  father  was  married  to  Catharine  Har- 
ris. J.  W.  attended  school  in  a  log  cabin  in 
his  boyhood  days  and  labored  on  a  farm.  He 
began  learning  the  machinist's  trade  in  1855, 
under  Harry  Waters,  at  Tamaqua,  Penn,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  August  15,  1861, 
when  he  enlisted  in  Company  — ,  Twenty - 
eighth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
was  afterward  transferred  to  Company  C,  One 
Hundred  and  Forty -seventh  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  He  re-enlisted  at  Wauhatchie, 
Tenn.,  in  1863,  and  was  honorably  discharged 
July  15,  1865.     He  then  began  working  at  his 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


97 


trade  as  foreman  of  a  shop  at  Patten's  Valley, 
in  Scliuylkill  County,  Penn.  November  9, 
1867,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Bowen,  and,  in 
1868  they  moved  to  another  part  of  the 
count}-,  and  later  to  another  part  of  the  State. 
In  1870,  he  moved  his  family  to  Iowa,  where 
he  was  eraploj-ed  as  an  engineer  for  Ira 
Stockwell,  a  saw-mill  man.  Here  he  remained 
for  four  months,  and  engaged  in  the  Chicago  & 
North-Western  Railwa}-  shops  at  Clinton, 
Iowa.  Later,  he  was  employed  at  Cleveland. 
111.  November,  1870,  he  commenced  working 
in  a  coal  mine  for  Taylor  Williams,  and  con- 
tinued until  1871,  when  ho  transferred  to  the 
employ  of  the  Davenport  Coal  Compau}-  at 
Dayton,  Henr}'  Co.,  111.,  putting  up  machinerj-. 
October  31,  1871,  he,  left  there  and  engaged 
as  foreman  of  the  coal  mines  for  Taj-lor  Will- 
iams at  Rapids  City,  Rock  Island  Co.,  111.  In 
1874,  he  took  charge  of  the  machinery  until 
1878,  at  which  time,  he  with  Joseph  Ramsej' 
took  a  contract  to  run  the  Port  Byron  coal 
mines  of  Sterling,  Whitesides  Co.,  Ill,  owned  by 
T.  Williams,  at  a  stated  sum  per  ton,  until 
1870,  when  he  was  engaged  bj-  Mr.  W.  as 
Assistant  Superintendent  of  the  mines,  which 
position  he  held  until  January  31,  1880,  at 
which  time  he  went  to  Utah  Territor}-.  In 
Februarj-,  1880,  he  returned  to  Illinois,  and 
the  following  Ma}'  he  was  emplojed  by  the 
Carbondale  Coal  and  Coke  Companj^  as 
machinist,  which  position  he  held  until  1881, 
when  lie  moved  to  Gardner,  where  he  is  super- 
intending the  coal  interests  of  Ta\-lor  Will- 
iams. He  has  three  children,  viz.,  Ella,  born 
September  7,  1869 ;  Willie,  November  23, 
1872  ;  John,  March  28,  1874.  Mr.  Lewis  has 
served  the  people  as  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  and  School  Director.  He  has  good 
property  at  Murphysboro,  Jackson  Co.,  111.  It 
is  due  to  Mr.  Lewis  to  say  that  as  a  mechanic 
be  has  but  few  equals,  and  as  a  Superintendent 
he  is  courteous  and  kind  to  his  men,  and  is 
careful,  seldom  ever  having  any  accidents. 


HENRY  LEACH,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gardner, 
was  born  in  Kendall  County,  111.,  August  13, 
1S45,  son  of  Henry  and  Sarah  (Bacheshow) 
Leach,  natives  of  England.  The  father  was 
a  merchant  while  in  England,  but  pursued 
farming  after  emigrating  to  America;  he  was 
an  early  settler  of  Kendall  County,  111.,  and 
died  in  1851,  aged  thirty-eight  years.  The 
mother  died  in  ISSO,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven.  Our  subject  was  one  of  five  children; 
received  his  education  at  the  common  schools 
and  at  Fowler's  Institute.  At  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  lie  left  home  and  worked  at 
farming  for  six  years,  in  Livingston  County; 
he  then  removed  to  his  present  place  of  resi  - 
dence,  where  he  is  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing and  stock-dealing.  He  was  married, 
January  19,  18()9,  to  Miss  lona  Howland, 
born  in  Wayne,  N.  Y. ,  November  30,  1847, 
daughter  of  Stephen  and  Catharine  Howland, 
natives  of  New  York  State,  and  early  settlers 
of  Grundy  County,  111. ;  he  is  decease!;  she 
is  still  living.  This  marriage  has  resulted 
in  four  children — Henry  C,  Howard  E.,  Roy 
B.  and  Arthur.  Mr.  Leach  is  a  member  of 
the  order  of  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Gardner;  po- 
litically, he  is  a  Republican. 

ISAAC  B.  McGINNIS,  Notary  Public  and 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  Gardner,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey  August  31,  1815;  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Amelia  (Woodruff)  McGinnis,  na- 
tives of  New  Jersey;  the  father  was  a  car- 
riage manufacturer,  born  in  1789,  and  died 
in  18(38.  The  mother  was  b^rn  in  1795,  and 
died  in  1855;  they  had  ten  children,  of  whom 
our  subject  was  the  eldest.  He  attended  the 
commjn  schools  of  his  native  placo  until  six- 
teen years  of  age,  when  he  entered  a  tannery. 
This  business  he  continued  until  twenty- 
seven  years  of  age,  when  he  came  to  Illinois, 
located  at  Joliet  and  engage.l  in  buying  and 
sellintj  brick  and  lime.       In  lSfi4.  he  settled. 


98 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


in  Gardner  ami  engaged  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness. In  18G9,  he  was  elected  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  when  he  sokl  out  his  lumber  business 
and  gave  his  attention  to  the  duties  of  his 
office,  in  connection  with  his  agency  for  real 
estate.  In  1S70,  he  was  appointed  Notary 
Public,  and  has  filled  several  town  offices. 
He  was  married,  in  New  Jersey,  iu  1837,  to 
Miss  Rachel  Vanzandt,  born  in  New  Jersey 
May  1,  1820,  and  died  June  7,  1879;  she 
was  a  daughter  of  Richard  and  Rhoda  (Kay- 
wood)  Vanzandt,  natives  of  New  Jersey,  both 
deceased.  This  union  resulted  in  eight  chil- 
dren, viz.,  Eliza,  Martha.  John.  Amelia,  Ed- 
win, Isaac,  Kate  W.  and  Augusta  S. ;  live  of 
them  are  still  living.  Mi-.  McGinnis  is  a 
stanch  Republican. 

A.  S.  MARTIN,  agricultui-al  implements, 
Gardner,  was  born  October  4, 1836,  in  Ohio,  is  a 
son  of  Peter  and  Jane  A.  (Wells)  Martin,  natives 
of  New  York  and  Vermont,  respectively;  they 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children — J.  J., 
Maria.  N.  W.,  A.  S.,  Catharine.  Abigail  and 
Isabella;  the  parents  emigrated  from  Ohio  to 
Beloit,  Wis.,  in  1848,  and  thence  to  Green 
Bay,  where  they  are  living.  Mr.  Martin  at- 
tended school  and  farmed  during  his  younger 
days;  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  was  employed 
with  his  parents  in  a  hotel  at  Kaukauna, 
Wis.,  until  twenty  years  old,  when  he  left 
for  other  parts  of  the  State,  for  a  short  time, 
and  then  attended  school  at  Aurora,  111., 
afterward  teaching  until  1862,  when  he  en- 
listed in  Company  D,  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-seventh  Illiouis  Volunteer  Infantry; 
was  Sergeant,  and  served  till  the  close.  He 
then  resumed  teaching,  and  added  real  estate 
at  Gardner.  In  1875,  he  entered  into  the 
grocery  and  farming  implement  business. 
In  1879,  he  disposed  of  the  grocery  depart- 
ment and  has  since  continued  handling  all 
kinds  of  farm  implements  at  a  small  profit  on 
the  articles,  yet  aggregating  a  large  amount 


of  gain.  He  was  married,  in  1866,  to  Julia 
A.  Petit,  a  native  of  New  York,  the  result  of 
this  union  being  three  children,  two  of  whom 
survive — B.  A.  and  L.  A.  He  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Baptist  Church.  He  votes 
the  Republican  ticket. 

G.  W.  MELBOURN,  plasterer,  Gardner, 
was  born  in  England  March  23,  1835;  is  a 
son  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Smith)  Melbourn, 
also  natives  of  England,  where  they  died; 
they  were  the  parents  of  seven  chikhren,  viz. , 
Thomas,  William,  G.  W.,  James,  John,  Rob- 
ert and  Mary.  Our  subject  had  no  chance 
to  attend  school  in  his  native  country,  only 
Sunday  school,  his  father  having  died  when 
he  was  young.  He  came  with  his  brother 
William  to  New  Y'^ork,  landing  April  23, 
1853;  he  soon  engaged  with  a  farmer  by  the 
name  of  Remington,  whose  son  taught  him 
to  read,  write  and  cipher.  In  1858,  he  rent- 
ed a  farm  in  Michigan,  and  two  years  later, 
he  farmed  a  short  time  in  Missouri,  and  was 
driven  out  by  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  He 
came  directly  to  this  county,  and  when  ho 
arrived,  had  but  50  cents.  He  early  sought 
employment  by  the  d.ay  and  began  to  build 
up.  In  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  D, 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war;  he  was  slightly  wounded  in 
the  face,  the  buck-shot  yet  remaining  in  his 
jaw-bone.  On  his  return  from  the  war,  he 
labored  in  a  coal  mine  in  this  county  for  six- 
teen months,  after  which  he  engaged  with 
Henry  Eldred  in  the  mason  and  plastering 
business,  which  he  has  continued  mostly 
since,  and  now  ranks  among  the  best  plaster- 
ers in  the  county,  his  work  always  giving  en- 
tire satisfaction.  November  5,  1855,  he  was 
married  to  Liicy  Day,  the  result  of  the  union 
being  seven  children,  viz.,  William,  Katy 
(deceased),  David,  Charles,  Hella,  Hattie  and 
Carrie.       He    is   now    Road    Commissioner. 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


99 


By  economy  and  frugality,  he  secured  eighty 
acres  of  iine  land  in  Greenfield  Township, 
which  he  recently  sold  for  $4,000.  He  votes 
the  Republican  ticket. 

L.  A.  McCULLM,  hair  dresser,  Gardner, 
was  born  in  Magnolia,  Putnam  Co.,  Ill,  May 
20,  1852,  son  of  John  and  Prudence  (Ship- 
ley) McCullm,  he  born  in  Ireland  in  1801, 
was  a  Constable  for  twenty-live  years,  and 
died  in  Wenona,  Marshall  Co.,  111.,  October 
27,  1875;  she  was  born  in  Kentucky  Decem- 
ber 2,  1820,  and  is  living;  the  parents  had 
ten  children,  of  whom  our  subject  was  the 
eighth;  he  attended  school  in  Magnolia,  and 
began  life  as  a  farmer.  In  1870,  he  located 
in  Wenona,  and  worked  at  the  trade  of  a  bar- 
ber. In  December,  1881,  he  came  to  Gard- 
ner, where  he  has  since  carried  on  a  first-class 
barber  shop;  he  also  deals  in  cigars,  tobacco, 
candies  and  notions.  January  28,  1875,  in 
Wenona,  Mr.  McCullm  married  Emma  L. 
Carson,  born  September  25,  1860,  in  Bethany, 
Harrison  County,  Mo. ;  she  is  the  daughter 
of  Charles  aud  Nancy  S.  (Garner)  Carson, 
natives  of  Ohio,  he  dead,  she  living.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  McCullm  are  the  parents  of  two  children 
— Clara  B.  and  Mary  L.  Mr.  McCullm  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  a  Republican. 

TRUMAN  PHELPS,  general  merchant, 
Gaidner,  was  born  in  Herkimer  County,  N. 
Y. ,  April  11,  1837,  son  of  Isaac  and  Ruth 
(Vickery)  Phelps,  natives  of  New  York  State, 
both  deceased.  Our  subject  was  the  young- 
est of  a  family  of  five  children,  and,  when 
eighteen  years  of  age,  went  to  Trumbull 
County,  Ohio,  where  he  finished  his  educa- 
tion; he  was  engaged  in  teaching  school  and 
various  other  occupations  until  18(53,  when 
he  came  to  Grundy  County  and  engaged  in 
farming;  after  following  this  occupation  for 
about  ten  years,  he  located  in  Gardner"and 
engaged  in  merchandising.  In  1878,  the 
firm  of  Pratt,  Martin  &  Phelps  was  formed, 


and  continued  for  two  years,  when  Mr. 
Phelps  withdrew  his  interest  and  formed  a 
partnership  with  George  Lewis.  The  firm 
of  Phelps  &  Lewis  has  been  very  successful 
and  their  trade  is  steadily  increasing.  Janu- 
ary 2(5,  1862,  Mr.  Phelps  was  married  to  Car- 
rie Griswold,  born  in  Trumbull  County, 
Ohio,  September  20,  1843;  she  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jesse  Griswold,  a  native  of  Pennsj'l- 
vania,  who  died  about  1874.  This  union  has 
been  blessed  with  one  child — M'illiam  M., 
born  February  9,  1870.  The  Phelps  family 
are  of  English  descent,  and  some  of  the  an- 
cestry came  to  this  country  in  its  early  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phelps  are  Baptists;  he  is  a 
Republican. 

JOHN  F.  PECK,  builder,  Gardner.  Mr. 
John  F.  Peck  was  born  in  Addison  County, 
Vt.,  September  24,1836;  raised  and  educated 
in  Vermont;  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter 
and  joiner,  at  which  he  has  worked  for  many 
years  as  contractor,  working  in  his  native 
State,  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  in  Grundy  County, 
111.  Besides,  he  has  combined  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  moving  buildings,  which  occu- 
pies most  or  his  time  of  late  years,  moving 
more  buildings,  perhaps,  than  any  other  man 
in  the  State.  Was  in  the  Government  em- 
ploy during  the  war  as  foreman  of  a  \vreck- 
ing  train.  December  23,  1858,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Kellogg,  of  Ferrisburg, 
Vt. ;  she  was  born  September  23,  1838, 
daughter  of  Reuben  and  Elizabeth  Kellogg; 
they  came  to  Grundy  County  in  1865;  they 
have  a  family  of  four  children — Frederick  C. 
Peck,  accountant  in  Chicago;  Flora  E.  Peck; 
Edward  J.  Peck,  jeweler  by  trade,  and  Wal- 
ter F.  Peck.  He  worked  about  two  years  as 
traveling  agent  for  the  Ruttan  Heating  and 
Ventilating  Company.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity.  Knights  Templar. 
Residence  on  the  corner  of  Dwight  and  Jack- 
son streets,  Gardner. 


100 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


DENNIS  PETIT,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gardner, 
was  bom  in  Schoharie  County,  N.  Y.,  Octo- 
ber 20,  1832,  son  of  Chester  W.  and  Nancy 
(Collins)  Petit,  natives  of  New  York  State; 
he  is  a  farmer  by  occupation;  she  died  in 
August,  1873.  Our  subject  was  one  of  ten 
children;  received  a  common-school  educa- 
tion and  assisted  on  the  home  farm;  came  to 
Kendall  County,  111.,  in  1856,  and  to  Grundy 
County  in  1871;  here  he  has  since  resided  on 
a  well-cultivated  farm  of  eighty  acres.  Mr. 
Petit  was  married,  November  4,  1852,  to 
Catharine  Baxter,  who  was  born  in  Sharon, 
N.  Y.,  June  14,  1827;  this  union  has  been 
blessed  with  three  children — Charles,  Nancy 
and  Wesley.     Mr.  Petit  is  a  Republican. 

S.  M.  ROGERS,  hardware,  Gardner.  Mr. 
Rogers  was  bom  January  27,  1823,  in  Rensse- 
laer County,  N.  Y.  His  parents,  S.  G.  and 
Tenny  A.  (Armstrong)  Rogers,  were  natives  of 
the  same  State,  and  came  from  Wayne,  N.  Y., 
to  Illinois  in  1845.  Here  the  mother  died,  and 
the  father  died  in  California.  They  were 
blessed  with  ten  children — Mary,  S.  31.,  Will- 
iam A.,  Phoebe  K.,  Isaac  P.,  Daniel,  Martha, 
Jonn  H.,  George  M.  and  Eugene.  Mr.  R.  had 
some  good  school  advantages  and  applied  him- 
self at  rural  labors  in  his  younger  days.  He 
began  for  himself  at  the  age  of  thirty  running 
a  farm,  which  he  continued  until  1875,  when 
he  began  the  sale  and  repairing  of  wagons  at 
Gardner,  which  he  still  continues,  together 
with  a  general  stock  of  hardware.  His  part- 
ner is  George  Smith.  He  was  married,  No- 
vember 9, 1847,  to  M.  L.  Pond,  who  died  soon 
after,  and  he  was  again  married,  in  1852,  to 
Lucy  M.  Powers,  of  this  count}-,  the  result  of 
which  was  four  children — Ida,  wife  of  J.  H. 
Wheeler  ;  Effle,  wife  of  A.  Spalding  ;  Edith  M. 
and  one  deceased  when  an  infant.  He  has 
held  office  in  Livingston  County  ;  was  Deputy 
Sheriff  in  this  and  La  Salle  Counties.  In  1880, 
was  a  candidate  for  Sheriff  of  this   county.  ; 


Mr.  Rogers  possesses  some  excellent  property 
in  this  county,  the  result  of  his  own  energy. 
He  has  seen  some  of  the  hardships  that  make 
up  the  life  of  the  pioneer,  such  as  hauling 
grain  from  here  to  Chicago,  and  plowing  the 
soil  with  the  ancient  plows  and  ox  teams. 
Votes  the  Greenback  ticket. 

CHESTER  K.  SNYDER,  grain  dealer, 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Red  Creek,  Wayne 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  April  23,  1832;  is  the  son  of 
Amos  and  Sally  (Enos)  Snyder,  natives  of 
New  York  State;  the  former  was  born  in 
1801,  and  died  in  1875;  was  a  real  estate 
dealer.  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Judge  of 
Wayne  County,  N.  Y.  The  mother  was  born 
in  1806,  and  died  in  1873;  they  had  six 
children,  of  whom  our  subject  was  the  iifth; 
he  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  place,  and,  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
left  home  and  learned  telegraphy;  for  three 
years,  he  operated  in  New  York  State,  Cana- 
da and  Kentucky.  In  1854,  he  came  to 
Grundy  County  and  located  at  Gardner, 
where  he  was  the  first  telegraph  opera- 
tor. One  and  one-half  years  after  com- 
ing here,  he  piu"chased  a  farm,  and  a  year 
from  this  time  went  to  Williamsville  and  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  and  grain  business.  In 
1861,  he  returned  to  Gardner,  and  farmed 
for  one  and  one-half  years;  he  then  engaged 
in  the  railroad  business  for  one  and  one-half 
years,  when  he  again  engaged  iu  farming. 
The  latter  occupation  he  continued  until 
1874,  when  he  once  more  engaged  in  the 
grain  and  lumber  business  at  Gardner;  this 
he  still  continues.  While  farming,  he  bought 
and  shipped  stock  extensively;  he  now  owns 
a  farm  of  about  400  acres,  all  under  cultiva- 
tion, as  well  as  some  town  property.  Mr. 
Snyder  was  married,  November  17,  1857,  to 
Polly  J.  Holland,  born  in  May,  1836,  in 
Cayuga  County,  N.  Y. ;  they  have  two  chil- 
dren — Harry  and  Maggie.     Mr.  Snyder  holds 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


101 


the  position  of  Commissioner  of  Highways, 
and  is  independent  in  politics. 

G.  F.  SPENCER,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gardner, 
■was  born  December  7,  1822,  in  New  York, 
and  is  the  son  of  George  and  Laura  Hatzel 
Spencer,  natives  of  New  Hartford,  Conn., 
and  parents  of  six  children — Adaline,  Lydia, 
G.  F.,  Norton,  Anna  and  one  deceased.  Mr. 
Spencer's  mother  died  when  he  was  eleven 
years  old,  and  he  was  bound  out  to  Joseph 
B.  Koe  until  he  was  sixteen,  when  he  was 
employed  at  a  small  salary  by  Mr.  Roe.  At 
eighteen,  he  hired  outatSll  per  month.  In 
the  fall  of  1850,  he  came  to  Grundy  County, 
111.,  and  purchased  his  present  farm  of  160 
acres,  which  was  then  mostly  raw  prairia 
With  logs  from  the  grove  he  erected  a  cabin, 
about  10x24  feet,  in  which  he  lived.  Ho  be- 
gan breaking  the  soil  with  an  ox-team  and  the 
pioneer  breaking-plow.  "With  this  same 
team,  he  hauled  grain  some  distance.  He 
was  married,  in  1851,  to  Eliza,  daughter  of 
Mahlon  and  Abigail  Crane,  she  being  one  of 
nine  children — Mary,  William,  Henry,  Lu- 
cinda,  Thaddeus,  Edwin,  Harriet,  Howard, 
Eliza  and  Helen;  her  parents  were  Meth- 
odists: her  father  was  in  the  war  of  1812. 
Ml".  Spencer  has,  as  a  result  of  the  union, 
three  children — Alice,  the  wife  of  Reed 
Keepers;  Libbie;  and  Ida,  the  wife  of  Philip 
Southcomb,  of  Morris.  The  spring  after  his 
marriage,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  petit 
jiu'ors  for  this  county,  and,  after  having  been 
kept  two  weeks  at  Morris,  when  he  would  liked 
to  have  been  cultivating  his  crops,  he  was  dis- 
missed at  4  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening;  he 
walked  all  the  way  home;  when  he  came  to 
the  foot  log  across  the  stream  near  his  home, 
at  10  o'clock,  when  all  was  dark,  he  found 
that  the  rain  had  raised  the  branch  about 
two  feet  above  the  one  log  bridge;  he  knew 
from  the  channel  that  the  water  was  over  ten 
feet  deep,  and   that,   should  he  fall   in,   he 


would,  in  all  probability,  bo  drowned;  he  was 
bound  for  home,  and  at  once  "  cooned"  the  log 
on  all  fours,  his  head  only  being  above  the 
water  while  passing  over.  This  is  only  one 
of  many  such  scenes  which  this  pioneer  ex- 
perienced. When  he  built  his  cabin,  he  con- 
structed a  brick  chimney,  which  was  a  curi- 
osity to  the  neighbors,  who  often  called  out 
when  passing,  "  take  in  the  brick."  In  this 
building,  the  Methodists  and  other  organi- 
zations held  meetings.  Near  by  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's residence  was  located  one  of  tho  first 
schoolhouses  in  this  part  of  the  county,  the 
construction  of  which  was  largely  due  to  the 
efforts  of  our  subject.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Spencer  is  residing  with  them,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-eight.  Mr.  S.  has  been  Assessor  and 
Justice  of  the  Peace. 

JOHN  SPILLER,  retired  farmer,  Gard- 
ner, was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  No- 
vember 28,  1808,  son  of  Robert  and  Ann 
(Applin)  Spiller,  natives  of  England;  he  was 
a  farmer  by  occupation  and  died  in  1872,  at 
the  age  of  eighty  years.  The  mother  died  in 
1848,  aged  about,  sixty.  Our  subject  received 
a  limited  education,  and  assisted  his  parents 
upon  the  home  farm,  ixntil  he  was  thirty 
years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  farming  on 
his  own  account.  In  1851,  he  emigrated  to 
America,  locating  in  Kendall  County,  111. 
October  31,  1839,  Mr.  Spiller  was  maiTied,  in 
England,  to  Miss  Joanna  Wakley,  born  in 
Devonshire  June  24,  1819;  she  is  the  mother 
of  six  children,  viz.,  Ann,  William,  Joel, 
Thomas,  Mary  Jane  and  John.  For  eight 
months  after  landing  in  this  country,  our 
subject  was  ill,  and  the  entire  support  of  the 
family  devolved  upon  Mrs.  Spiller.  Upon 
regaining  his  health,  Mr.  Spiller  engaged  as 
j  a  farm  hand  until,  by  his  industry  and  econo- 
my, he  had  accumulated  sufficient  means  to 
purchase  eighty  acres  of  farm  land  in  Grun- 
dy  County;  this  he  added  to   until  he  had 


1U3 


BIOGRAPHICAL : 


168  acres,  upon  which  he  located  in  1858. 
In  the  spring  of  1875,  he  retired  from  active 
labor,  and  the  farm  is  now  managed  by  his 
son.  Thomas  Spiller,  one  of  the  sons  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  England  February  20, 
IB-IS.  When  six  years  of  age,  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  America,  and  located  in  Kendall 
County,  III;  received  a  common-school  edu- 
cation and  assisted  on  the  home  farm  until 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  In  1876,  he  came 
to  Gardner  and  engaged  in  harness -making, 
which  he  has  since  continued  and  at  which  he 
has  been  very  successful.  He  was  married,  in 
Grundy  County,  Januarj'  9, 1868,  to  Elizabeth 
Allen,  born  in  1846;  they  have  four  children 
— Walter,  Frank,  Clarence  and  an  infant. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Spiller  are  members  of 
the  M.  E.  Church.  Ho  is  a  Republican;  his 
father  also  a  Republican;  cast  his  first  vote 
for  Lincoln. 

CHARLES  H.  SHERWOOD,  dentist, 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Marshall  County,  111., 
October  15,  1853,  is  a  son  of  Lycurgus  and 
Rachel  B.  (Wilson)  Sherwood,  he  born  at 
Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  in  August,  1824,  a  retired 
farmer,  living  at  Normal,  McLean  Co.,  111.; 
the  mother  was  born  in  Delaware  County, 
Ohio,  October  24,  1832,  and  has  borne  five 
children,  of  whom  the  subject  is  the  eldest 
child.  When  ten  years  of  age,  he  removed 
with  his  parents  to  the  town  of  Wenona, 
where  he  received  a  common-school  educa- 
tion; attended  the  Northwestern  University 
at  Evanston,  one  year,  and  spent  four  years 
at  Wesleyan  University,  at  Bloomington, 
where  he  completed  the  junior  year.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  other  studies,  our  subject  had 
studied  medicine  and  dentistry,  which  sub- 
jects he  continued  prosecuting  after  leaving 
school,  with  Dr.  S.  C.  Wilson,  a  prominent 
dentist  and  politician  of  Bloomington.  In 
1879,  Dr.  Sherwood  entered  the  Philadelphia 
Dental  College,    from    which   he   graduated 


with  honors,  March  26,  1881,  as  surgeon  den- 
tist. After  nine  months'  practice  at  Gales- 
burg,  he  came  to  Gardner,  where  he  is  nicely 
located  and  doing  a  good  business.  He  is  a 
supporter  of  the  Republican  party. 

AARON  SCOGGIN,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gard- 
ner, was  born  in  Hamilton  County,  Ohio, 
February  23,  1809;  is  a  son  of  Eli  and  Eliza- 
beth (Meisner)  Scoggin;  the  former  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion, and  died  in  1852,  at  about  the  age  of 
sixty-five.  The  mother,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
died  in  1860,  aged  about  sixty -seven  years; 
she  was  the  mother  of  seven  children,  of 
whom  our  subject  was  the  third  child.  He 
received  a  common-school  education  and  com- 
menced his  business  career  as  a  trader  on  the 
Mississippi  River;  this  he  continued  seven 
years,  and  afterward,  for  about  six  years,  ran 
a  steam-mill,  in  Dearborn  County,  Ind.  In 
1856,  he  came  to  Grundy  County,  and  for 
two  years  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  at 
Gardner;  he  next  located  on  his  present  farm. 
July  4,  1851,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Kirk- 
patrick,  who  died  in  1853,  leaving  one  child, 
which  died  April  26,  1863.  Mr.  Scoggiu  was 
again  married,  in  1857,  to  Anna  B.  Weaver, 
born  in  Juniata  County,  Penn.,  in  1827; 
they  have  had  four  children,  one  of  whom  is 
dead.  Those  living  are  Lizzie.  Mary  and 
John.  Mr.  Scoggin  has  a  fa'-m  of  320  acres 
of  choice  land,  all  under  cultivation;  he 
handles  stock  as  extensively  as  his  farm  will 
permit,  and  also  carries  on  general  farming. 
He  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  party. 

FRED  G.  THOMPSON,  City  Marshal, 
Gardner,  was  born  ilarch  29,  1844,  in  Som- 
erset County,  Me.,  son  of  Osgood  and  Han- 
nah (Wentworth)  Thompson,  he  born  in 
Maine  December  81,  18l9,  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation; she,  also  a  native  of  Maine,  born 
in  1821,  and  the  mother  of  seven  children. 


GREENFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 


103 


of  whom  subject  was  tlio  second  He  re- 
ceived a  common- school  education;  enlisted 
in  Company  B,  Seventh  Maine  Volunteer 
Infantry,  under  Capt.  Albert  A.  Nickerson; 
regiment  commanded  by  Col.  E.  C.  Mason. 
Subject  remained  in  the  army  two  years  and 
four  months,  when  he  again  resumed  farm- 
ing, but,  owing  to  injuries  received  in  the 
war,  was  obliged  to  leave  the  service;  for  the 
ensuing  fourteen  years,  he  was  engaged  in 
photogi-aphy.  In  the  spring  of  1866,  he 
came  to  Grundy  Coimty,  and,  in  1867,  lo- 
cated in  Gardner.  In  1880,  Mr.  Thompson 
was  obliged  to  abandon  photography,  and  at 
present  is  City  Marshal,  which  position  he 
has  held  about  seven  years.  Ho  has  been 
twice  mai'ried^ first,  in  Grundy  County, 
April  7,  1867,  to  Miss  Nellie  A.  Locke,  born 
at  Harmony,  Me.,  and  died  October  21,  1871, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years,  leaving  one 
child — Inez  W.  Mr.  Thompson's  second 
marriage  occurred  June  26,  1872,  when  he 
united  with  Lina  W.  Briggs,  who  was  born 
in  "Wisconsin  May  20, 1854,  daughter  of  Enoch 
I.  an  Emma  (Winslow)  Briggs,  of  Gardner. 
By  this  second  marriage  there  was  one  child 
— Emma  Maud,  born  September  8,  1874, 
died  October  20,  1880.  Mr.  Thompson  held 
the  office  of  Town  Clerk  one  term,  and  has 
held  other  minor  offices.  He  is  an  active 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Gardner,  and 
is  a  Republican. 

JAMES  I.  TURNER,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Lake  County,  111., 
May  18,  1854,  eon  of  Richard  and  Sai-ah 
(Doaue)  Turner,  natives  of  Maine.  The 
father  was  born  in  1817;  is  a  stock-dealer, 
living  in  Kansas.  The  mother  died  in  1876, 
at  the  age  of  fifty  five;  she  had  two  children 
— Nellie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven, 
and  James,  our  subject.  He  came  to  Cook 
County  when  four  years  of  age,  with  his  par- 
ents; attended  the  common  schools  and  fin- 


ished his  education  at  Bryant  &  Stratton'e 
Business  College  in  Chicago.  In  1872,  he 
settled  in  Gardner,  where  he  pursued  the 
lumber  business  until  1877.      In   the  fall  of 

1872,  he  erected  the  grain  elevator  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Atkinson,  and  engaged  in  the 
grain  business,  in  connection  with  his  lumber 
trade.  In  1876,  he  sold  out  his  business  to 
Mr.  Atkinson,  and  the  following  year  went 
to  Sheldon,  111.,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
grain  business  a  year.  He  next  went  to  Min  - 
nesota,  where  he  engaged  i);i  farming  until 
1880,  when  he  returned  to  Grundy  County 
and  settled  on  his  present  place.  October  9, 
1880,  he  married  Miss  Jessie  Manegold, 
born  in  Kankakee  County,  111.,  in  1860;  she 
is  the  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Manegold, 
he  dead,  she  living  in  Gardner.  This  union 
has  resulted  in  one  child — Richard.  Mr. 
Turner  carries  on  general  farming  and  stock- 
dealing;  he  has  been  School  Director  one 
year,  and  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  A. ,  F. 
&  A.  M.  of  Gardner. 

ABRAHAM  TINS  MAN,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Gardner,  was  born  in  Biitler  County,  Penn., 
April  7,  1828,  son  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth 
(Sigler)  Tinsman,  he  born  in  October,  1802, 
and  died  in  July,  1882,  was  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation. The  mother  was  born  March  2, 
1806,  and  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  our 
subject  is  the  oldest.  He  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  and  worked  on  the  farm  in  his 
younger  days.  In  1858,  he  came  to  Grundy 
County,  and  located  where  he  now  lives. 
Mr.    Tinsman   was   married,   September   15, 

1873,  to  Susan  Williman,  born  in  Stark 
County,  Ohio,  Febiiiary  28,  1841;  she  is  the 
daughter  of  Jonas  and  Barbara  Williman, 
who  live  in  Grundy  County.  This  mar- 
riage has  resulted  in  three  children,  viz., 
Forney,  Adam  J.  and  Marlin.  Our  subject 
carries  on  general  farming,  and  has  held  the 
positions  of  Road  Commissioner  and   School 


104 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Director.     He  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
Church  of  God.      He  is  a  Republican. 

J.  B.  TAXIS,  physician  and  surgeon,  Gard- 
ner, was  born  October  22,  1833,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. Was  married  in  1860  to  Virginia  M. 
Hawley,  the  result  being  five  children,  three  of 
whom  survive,  viz.,  Howard  H.,  Herbert  J.  and 
Virginia  I.  He  came  to  Gardner  in  1859,  and 
has  built  up  a  lucrative  practice. 

JOEL  UNDERHILL,  physician,  Gardner. 
Prominently  identified  among  the  physicians  of 
this  county-  is  the  man  whose  name  heads  this 
article.  He  was  born  November  25,  1825,  in 
Dutchess  County,  N.  Y.  ;  is  a  son  of  Henry  N. 
and  Julia  A.  (Carpenter)  Underbill,  natives  of 
New  York,  and  the  parents  of  nine  children — 
Caroline,  Joel,  Louisa,  Henry  P.,  Ida,  only  sur- 
vive. The  parents  belonged  to  the  Cliristlan 
denomination  known  as  Priends.  The  Doctor 
had  but  little  chance  of  attending  school  in  his 
younger  days.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he 
started  for  himself.  While  at  New  Orleans,  he 
was  taken  with  the  yellow  fever,  and  returned 
home  when  onh'  partially  recovered.  He 
engaged  some  time  after  this  in  farming,  rent- 
ing of  his  father.  He  later  met  with  another 
misfortune,  that  of  the  erysipelas,  and  after 
recovering  he  began  reading  medicine  with  Dr. 
Galord,  and  remained  with  him  till  1849-50,  at 
which  time  he  attended  lectures  at  a  medical 
college,  New  York,  transferring  from  there  to 
Sodus  Ridge,  N.  Y.,  where  he  bought  a  drug 
store  with  Dr.  Galord,  and  remained  there  for 
two  years,  when  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Buf- 
falo, and  continued  his  studies  with  Dr.  Hill  for 
about  three  years,  after  which  he  attended 
three  courses  of  lectures  at  Buffalo,  at  which 
city  he  opened  up  an  office  for  three  years.  At 
this  period,  he  gave  up  his  practice  on  account 
of  poor  health.  He  made  some  changes  in 
locality,  and  finally  engaged  in  a  flouring  mill 
at  D wight,  this  State.  In  1864,  he  bought  a 
farm  in  Greenfield  Township,  this  count}',  and 
has  farmed  the  same  since  until  1872,  when  he 


resumed  practice,  taking  up  the  homoeopathic 
system.  Was  married,  in  1862,  to  Caroline 
Crouthei's.  His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  The  Doctor  votes  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket. 

JAMES  S.  WILSON  (deceased)  was  born 
in  Niagara  County,  N.  Y.,  December  12, 
1821,  son  of  William  and  Maggie  (Callard) 
Wilson.  Our  subject  came  to  Illinois  when 
eighteen  years  of  age,  having  but  50  cents  in 
his  pocket,  but  he  was  energetic,  and  wished 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  In  1854, 
he  came  to  Gardner  and  engaged  in  farming; 
previoita  to  this  time,  he  had  made  two  trips 
overland  to  California,  and  had  improved  two 
farms.  At  cue  time,  Mr.  Wilson  had  over 
1,000  acres  of  farm  land,  all  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  and  on  the  homestead 
farm,  which  contained  about  600  acres,  he 
sunk  a  coal  shaft,  which  he  managed  for  two 
years.  In  1871,  he  sold  out  his  entire  busi- 
ness interests  in  this  line.  He  next  pur- 
chased the  Commercial  House  and  its  sur- 
roundings, to  which  he  made  several  addi- 
tions by  way  of  improvement.  In  connection 
with  his  duties  as  landlord,  he  did  a  general 
real  estate  and  broker  business.  His  death 
occurred  January  1,  1877;  he  was  married 
twice,  his  first  wife  being  Jane  Freelove; 
she  died  in  1863,  leaving  seven  children- 
Andrew,  Mary,  Achsah,  Maria,  La  Fayette, 
Ida  and  Frank.  Mr.  Wilson  was  again  mar- 
ried, September  1,  1864,  to  Nancy  Ann 
(Thatcher)  Wheeler,  born  in  Essex  County. 
N.  Y.,  July  27,  1830;  she  had  by  her  first 
htishand  five  children — Nancy,  Julius  H. , 
Jennie,  Hattie  and  Frederick.  Mrs.  Wilson 
has  by  her  second  husband,  our  subject,  two 
children — Lucy  A.  and  Charles  J.  S.  At  Mr. 
Wilson's  death,  Mrs.  Wilson  became  admin- 
istratrix of  the  estate  of  her  husband,  and 
assumed  full  control  of  the  Commercial 
House. 


BRACEVILLE   TOWNSHIP. 


10!) 


DR.  A.  H.  WRIGHT,  dentist,  Gardner, 
was  bom  in  La  Porte  County,  Ind.,  Decem- 
ber If),  1S57,  son  of  Gideon  L.  and  Sarah  E. 
(Concannon)  Wright,  natives  of  Indiana. 
Our  subject  passed  through  the  common  and 
high  school  of  his  native  place,  and  spent 
two  years  in  college;  afterward  studied  den- 
tistry two  years  at  Valparaiso,  Ind. ,  where 
he  started  in  business  and  remained  one 
year.  He  then  went  to  Joliet,  where  he  re- 
mained a  year,  and.  in  January,  1882.  came 
to  Gardner,  where  he  has  a  lucrative  practice. 
He  votes  the  Republican  ticket.  Dr.  Wright 
is  the  eldest  of  three  children  born  to  his 
parents.  One  sister,  Millie,  is  living;  the 
other,  Hattie,  is  dead. 

EDWIN  B.  YOUNG,  editor  of  the  Gard- 
ner Enterprise,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Will- 
iam B.  and  Ellen  A.  Young;  he  was   born  in 


the  town  of  Chatham,  Middlesex  Co.,  Conn., 
May  22,  1858,  and  was  educateed  at  the  high 
school  in  his  native  town.  He  has  one 
brother,  Howard  P.  Young,  born  October  12, 
1870.  In  the  spring  of  1874,  the  family 
moved  West,  and  settled  in  Clifton,  Iroquois 
County,  this  State.  Here  the  Enterprise  was 
started  by  the  present  publisher  in  October, 
1876.  The  family  wishing  a  change  of 
country,  moved  to  Gardner,  in  the  fall  of 
1878,  where  the  paper  has  since  been  pub- 
lished. The  Enterprise,  which  started  as  a 
four-column  folio,  has  been  enlarged  from 
time  to  time,  and  is  now  a  large  sheet  of 
eight  columns  to  the  page,  enjoying  a  good 
run  of  advertising  and  a  large  subscription 
list.  Its  editor  is  unmaiTied,  and  resides 
with  his  parents  and  brother. 


BEACEVILLE    TOWNSHIP. 


GEORGE  P.  AUGUSTINE,  Postmaster, 
Braceville,  was  born  December  28,  1811,  in 
Stark  County,  Ohio ;  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Margaret  (Wishard)  Augustine,  natives  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  piirents  of  John,  George 
P.,  Mary,  Joseph,  Matilda,  ilargaret  and  Oliver 
P.  The  mother  died  in  1844,  and  the  father 
came  West  in  1852,  locating  640  acres  in 
Braceville  Township,  this  county,  as  a  land 
warrant  for  services  in  the  war  of  1812.  The 
father  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  here.  Super- 
visor, and  held  other  minor  offices.  While  in 
Ohio,  the  father  was  Sheriff  of  Stark  Count}-, 
and  was  eight  ^-ears  in  the  State  Legislature  ; 
he  died  in  1871.  Our  subject  closed  his  school 
da3's  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  at  which  time 
he  was  actively  engaged  on  a  farm.  When  he 
reached  his  majority,  he  begin  boating  on  the 
Ohio  Canal,  at  which  he  was  successful.  In 
1844,   he  entered  the  mercantile  business    at 


Waynesburg,  St,ark  County,  Ohio,  and  in  18G1 
he  closed  out  his  business  there  and  applied 
his  time  in  Grundy  County,  erecting  the  first 
house  in  what  is  now  the  present  site  of  the 
village  of  Braceville.  The  old  building  is  now 
known  as  the  Milwaukee  Hotel.  He  used  this 
building  as  a  warehouse  and  for  store  room  ;  he 
bought  corn  at  that  time  for  9  cents  per 
bushel,  and  eggs  at  3  cents  per  dozen.  In 
1876,  he  closed  out  said  business,  and  also  his 
coal  interests,  in  which  he  had  been  interested 
since  1865.  At  the  latter,  he  sustained  a 
severe  loss.  By  economj-,  he  had  accumulated 
a  fortune,  of  probably  $300,000,  the  greater 
portion  of  which  lie  lost  in  the  coal  business. 
In  1862,  he  was  commissioned  Postmaster  at 
Braceville,  which  position  he  holds  to-day. 
Was  married,  in  1847,  to  Julia  Fisher,  the 
result  being  one  child — Elizabeth,  who  married 
S.  B.  Holly  (deceased).     His  wife  died  in  1872 


106 


blOGRAPHICAL: 


and  since  then  he  has  resided  with  his  daugh- 
ter. In  the  spring  of  1382,  he  was  chosen 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  which  position  he  now 
holds.  He  was  identified  with  the  Whig  partj-, 
and  since  then  has  been  a  strong  Republican. 
GEORGE  W.  BOOTH,  farmer  and  stock- 
breeder, P.  0.  Gardner.  Among  the  leading 
farmers  and  stock-dealers  of  Illinois,  the  gen- 
tleman whose  name  heads  this  article  ranks 
second  to  none.  He  is  a  native  of  Trumbull 
County,  Ohio,  and  was  born  Januarj-  13,  1837. 
His  parents,  Moses  and  M3'ra  (Hubbell)  Booth, 
were  natives  of  Connecticut,  and  came  to  Ohio 
ai  an  early  daj',  where  the  father  died  Febru- 
ary, 1856,  and  the  mother  in  this  county  in 
1882.  The  parents  were  blessed  with  three 
children  bj'  their  union,  viz.,  George  W.;  The- 
resa, the  wife  of  Henry  Waters  ;  Emma,  the 
wife  of  Robert  Briscoe,  of  Marseilles,  111.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  was  the  second  wife  of 
Moses  Booth,  he  having  married  Sarah  Judson, 
the  result  being  several  children — Truman, 
Moses,  Samuel,  Eliza,  Laura,  Sallie,  et  al. 
Moses  B.  was  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  he  and 
wife  were  Presbyterians.  George  had  the 
chance  to  attend  the  district  schools  in  his 
younger  days.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  be- 
gan driving  cattle,  and  at  sixteen,  he  was  en- 
gaged with  F.  N.  Andrews,  of  Trumbull  Coun- 
ty. Ohio.  At  the  age  of  twenty,  he  had  saved 
some  means,  and  invested  the  same  in  hogs 
and  cattle,  which  proved  successful.  April, 
18fi3,  he  took  charge  of  a  stock  farm  for  Elias 
Trumbo,  of  La  Salle  Count}-,  III,  with  whom 
he  remained  five  years,  after  which  he  bought 
160  acres  of  land  in  Greenfield  Township,  this 
county.  He  owned  this  but  a  short  time,  and 
made  several  changes  before  he  finallj-  settled 
on  his  present  farm  in  Braceville  Township. 
Here  he  began  to  widen  in  his  stock  dealing, 
and,  in  1877,  he  took  in  full  partnership  his 
son-in-law,  L}-man  Hawley,  which  firm  name  of 
Booth  &  Hawley  still  exists.  Their  herd  of 
cattle  now  consists  of  the  following  noted  fam- 


ilies :  Rose  of  Sharon,  Pansy,  Dulci  Bella, 
Arabella  and  Seventeens,  a  class  of  the  first 
importation  from  Europe  by  the  Clays.  They 
are  also  breeding  the  registered  Poland-China 
hogs,  which  they  ship  to  different  parts  of 
Illinois,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Ohio  and 
Indiana.  The}'  are  stocking  about  eight  hun- 
dred acres  of  land.  Mr.  Booth  was  married, 
April  9,  1856,  to  Caroline  Rain}-,  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  (Taylor)  Rainy,  natives,  the 
father  of  Ireland,  and  the  mother  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  parents  were  blessed  with  three 
children — Nancy,  Mary  and  Caroline.  Her 
parents  were  members  of  the  Seceder  Church. 
Mrs.  B.  was  born  May  3,  1838,  and  her  union 
has  given  her  two  children — -Warren  (de- 
ceased) and  Mary,  who  has  one  child  by  her 
marriage  with  Lyman  Hawley — Maud.  Mr. 
Booth  has  served  his  township  as  Supervisor 
for  eight  years,  of  whicli  board  he  was  Chair- 
man seven  years.  He  has  also  been  chosen 
Town  Treasurer  of  Schools  for  nine  years,  and 
other  minor  offices.  His  estimable  lady  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Gardner. 
He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

JOHNSON  BABCOCK,  farmer,  P.  0.  Coal 
City,  was  born  August  12,  1800,  in  Rensselaer 
County,  N.  Y.,  is  a  son  of  Johnson  and  Zilpa 
(Green)  Babcock,  natives,  the  father  of  Con- 
necticut, and  the  mother  of  New  York.  The 
parents  had  eleven  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living.  Johnson  attended  school  awhile  dur- 
ing his  younger  days.  He  emigrated  to  Ohio 
in  1831,  and  in  1846  he  removed  to  a  farm 
near  Aurora,  111.,  where  he  rented  for  three 
years.  In  1848,  he  bought  land  where  he  now 
lives,  and  settled  on  the  same  in  1849,  where 
he  has  since  remained.  Was  married  October 
29,  1826,  to  Dorcas  Messinger,  who  blessed 
him  with  twelve  children,  six  of  whom  survive 
— Martin,  Mary  L.,  Eleanor,  Frederick,  Albert 
and  Henry.  His  wife  died  January  20,  1872. 
He  has  served  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Asses- 
sor, Town  Clerk  and  other  smaller  oflfices  with 


BRACEVILLE    TOWNSHIP. 


107 


credit  to  himself  aiul  Iiis  friends.  He  was  a 
Democrat  until  Buclianau's  campaign,  since 
wlien  be  has  been  a  stanch  Republican.  His 
son  Albert  married  Almira  Stallman,  the  result 
being  IMinnie  E.  and  Orin  E.  and  one  deceased. 
This  son  lives  with  his  fatlier  and  farms  the 
old  homestead.  Another  son,  T.  J.,  was  born 
October  29,  1837,  in  Ohio,  and  was  married 
December,  1862,  to  Martha  E.  Laj-mon,  the  re- 
sult being  four  children,  viz.,  William  A.  (de- 
ceased), Ralph  S.,  Maranda  A.  and  Thomas  T. 
This  son  has  eighty  acres  of  good  land,  which 
he  is  farming. 

SAMUEL  BRADBEER,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gard- 
ner. This  representative  pioneer  is  a  native  of 
England,  and  was  born  April  3,  1821.  His 
parents,  Samuel  and  Jane  (Lake)  Bradbeer, 
emigrated  to  Kendall  Countj-.  111.,  in  1853, 
where  the  father  died  in  1856.  The  parents 
were  blessed  with  eight  children,  viz.,  Robert, 
Mary,  Elizabeth,  Samuel  and  James,  and  three 
deceased.  Thej'  were  members  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church.  The  father  was  one  time  in 
excellent  circumstances  financially,  but  was 
made  to  sustain  quite  a  loss  by  some  illegal 
proceedings.  He  was  therefore  unable  to  give 
his  children  much  chance  to  obtain  an  educa- 
tion. Our  subject  had  the  advantage  of  the 
country  schools  until  he  was  eight  3^ears  old, 
at  which  time  he  engaged  on  a  farm,  herding 
cattle,  gathering  stones,  etc.,  for  which  he  re- 
ceived only  his  board  for  two  j-ears.  At  the 
age  of  ten,  he  was  called  home  to  take  his 
older  brother's  place,  he  having  hired  out  for 
long  time.  In  two  years,  he  was  set  free  again 
to  care  for  himself,  and  engaged  to  a  farmer 
for  his  board  and  clothing.  Later,  he  was  re- 
warded with  £2  of  English  money  per  year. 
In  one  j'ear  more,  he  received  £8,  or  $40,  per 
year.  Two  years  later,  he  withdrew  from  act- 
ive labor  and  prospected  for  awhile  in  London, 
and  finallj'  returned  to  his  parents,  and  soon 
engaged  to  a  doctor  for  about  six  months.  He 
was   then  employed  as  a  waiter  in  a  private 


family  at  Exmouth  for  ten  years,  receiving 
from  $80  to  $100  per  year.  He  was  married, 
April  11,  1851,  to  Sarah  Carter,  the  result  be- 
ing three  children — Susan  J.,  Alice  and  Sarah. 
Mrs.  B.  was  born  in  Somerset  County,  Eng- 
land, January  20,  1815  ;  is  a  daughter  of  Rob- 
ert and  Susannah  (Diment)  Carter,  natives  of 
the  same  countr}-,  and  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren— Sarah,  John  and  William.  Our  subject 
lived  in  Kendall  County,  III.,  for  nine  j-ears, 
and  then  came  to  Braceville  Township,  this 
county,  in  1863,  where  they  have  since  re- 
mained. The}'  possess  now  100  acres  of  fine 
laud,  the  result  of  their  own  labors.  He  is  a 
member  and  Pastor  of  the  Old  School  Baptist 
organization,  holding  at  present  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  Verona  church.  His  wife  and 
daughter  Sarah  are  Methodists.  In  the  person 
of  Mr.  B.  we  have  the  character  of  a  remarka- 
ble self-made  man.  The  first  penny  he  ever 
had  in  his  life  was  given  him  by  a  cattle 
driver  whom  he  helped  transfer  his  herd  a 
short  distance.  This  he  spent  for  two  English 
songs,  " Farmer's  Boy"  and  "On  Fox  Hunt- 
ing. When  twelve  years  old,  he  would  slip 
books  from  the  library  where  he  was  working, 
and  sit  by  his  bed  at  the  barn  and  read  nearly 
all  night.  At  another  place  where  he  worked, 
he  had  an  alarm  clock  which  he  arranged  to 
strike  at  three  o'clock,  at  which  time  he  would 
light  a  candle  and  sit  up  in  bed  and  read  some 
book  or  paper.  So  earnest  was  he  in  the  pur- 
suit of  knowledge  that  he  and  his  brother 
James  gathered  old  bones  and  broken  glass 
from  the  fields,  which  they  sold  in  order  to  se- 
cure the  SaturJai/  Magazine,  which  cost  6  d. 
per  month. 

W.  D.  BRIDEL,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mazon,  was 
born  June  5,  1826,  in  England.  Is  a  son  of 
Robert  and  Mary  (Diment)  Bridel,  who  came 
to  Pennsylvania  in  1841,  and  in  1845  to  Ken- 
dall County,  III.;  the  father  is  living  with  his 
second  wife,  Alice  SutliflF.  Our  subject  is  one 
of  five  living  children  from  a  family  of  eight ; 


108 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


William  D.,  Isabella,  Mary,  Rachel,  Robert  are 
the  names  of  those  living  ;  their  mother  died 
about  the  year  1858.  Mr.  Bridel  was  married, 
in  18G2,  to  Caroline  R.  Towns,  a  daughter  of 
Aaron  and  Mary  (Green)  Towns,  natives  of 
New  York,  and  the  parents  of  six  children,  viz., 
Joshua,  Clarinda.  Edward,  Sarah,  Caroline  and 
William.  Mr.  Bridel  has  sis  children — Will- 
iam, Mary  R.,  George  W.,  Robert  S..  Belle 
and  Lillie  E.  He  settled  on  his  present  farm 
about  185-1  ;  he  has  now  31G  acres  of  fine  land  ; 
has  been  in  small  offices  ;  was  drafted  and 
hired  a  suljstitute  ;  he  is  a  Democrat. 

WILLIAM  CAMPBELL,  Superintendent 
Wilmington  Star  Mining  Compan}',  Coal  Cit3'. 
Mr.  Campbell  was  l)orn  April  3,  1848,  in  Scot- 
land ;  is  a  son  of  William  and  Susan  (Melroy) 
Campbell.  William  began  mining  when  quite 
young,  and  had  followed  the  same  the  greater 
portion  of  his  life..  He  mined  at  Braidwood  as 
earl3'  as  18G7,  and,  iu  1879,  he  wa.s  appointed 
Superintendent  of  the  Wilmington  Star  Mining 
Company  at  Coal  City,  which  position  he  holds, 
and  through  his  management  these  mines  are 
turning  out  about  500  tons  daily.  He  was 
married  twice,  the  first  time  to  Isabel  Clombie 
(deceased),  and  the  second  time  to  Agnes  Pat- 
terson, the  latter  union  resulting  in  four  chil- 
dren— Ellen,  Arthur,  Laura  and  Fannie. 

ALEXANDER  CAMERON,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Braceville,  was  born  April  12,  1820,  in  Scot- 
land. Is  a  son  of  William  and  Jane  Cameron, 
natives  of  the  same  country,  and  parents  often 
children,  four  of  whom  are  living,  viz.,  Alexan- 
der, William,  Isabel  and  Archibald.  The  par- 
ents emigrated  to  Peoria  County,  111.,  in  1833, 
and  farmed  iu  said  county.  The  father  died 
in  1864,  and  the  mother  in  1867  ;  the3'  were 
Methodists.  Our  subject  never  attended  school 
a  single  day  in  his  life,  yet  he  has  picked  up  a 
fair  business  education.  Was  married,  June 
3,  1846,  to  Julia  A.  Morrison,  a  daughter  of 
William  H.  and  Barbara  (Usong)  Morrison. 
Mrs.    Cameron  was  born    March   28,    1825,  in 


Pike  County,  111.  She  and  her  husband  settled 
the  present  farm  in  1856  ;  they  have  250  acres 
of  fine  land,  the  result  of  their  own  efforts  ; 
they  have  no  children.  Mrs.  Cameron's  father 
left  his  family  in  Pike  County  when  she  was 
very  small,  and  traveled  along  the  river  looking 
up  land  to  purchase,  and  never  returned.  The 
partj'  who  went  with  him  said  he  died  with 
fever.  She  lived  for  some  time  with  Dr.  Henry 
Ross,  of  Pike  County,  until  twelve  3'ear.s  old, 
and  returned  to  her  mother,  she  having  married 
Ira  Ackley,  the  result  being  one  child  —Lydia 
E.,  and  b3'  the  former  union  two  children- 
Julia  A.  and  William.  Mrs.  Cameron's  educa- 
tion is  also  limited,  she  having  been  unable  to 
attend  school  in  her3'ounger  da3'S.  Mr.  Cameron 
votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

REUBEN  CARTER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Gardner, 
was  born  February  18,  1855,  in  England.  Is  a 
son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Chick)  Carter, 
natives  of  the  same  country,  and  parents  of 
nine  children,  eight  of  whom  survive,  viz., 
Sarah,  Susan,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Alice,  William, 
Reuben  and  George.  Our  subject  had  but  lit- 
tle advantage  of  school.  At  the  age  of  ten, 
he  took  active  labor  in  the  rural  pursuits  of 
of  life,  at  16  cents  per  day.  He  came  to 
America  in  1871,  settling  iu  Grund3'  County. 
Was  married  in  April,  1880,  to  Alice,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Bradbeer,  whose  sketch  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  His  union  has  resulted 
in  one  child — Mabel.  When  on  his  way  from 
his  native  countr3'  to  this  county,  the  train  on 
which  he  was  traveling  through  Michigan  was 
wrecked,  and  he  barely  escaped  from  sudden 
death,  with  the  loss  of  the  right  little  finger. 
He  owns  eight3'  acres  of  well-improved  land, 
which  he  bought  in  1881  of  James  Smith. 
This  is  the  result  of  his  own  labors,  he  having 
only  one  shilling  left  when  arriving  in  this 
county.     He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

HENRY  CASSINGHAM,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Gardner;  born  October  8,  1815,  in  England; 
son  of  Thomas  and  Phosbe  (Ford)  Cassingham, 


BKACEVILLE    TOWNSHIP. 


109 


natives  of  England.  The  parents  emigrated  to 
Muskingum  County,  Ohio,  where  they  died,  the 
mother  in  October,  1838,  and  the  father  in 
1845.  They  had  twelve  children,  all  of  whom 
grew  up  and  were  married,  nine  are  livings 
Thomas,  Richard,  James,  George,  John,  Henry, 
Phrebe  (deceased).  Elizabeth,  Sophia  (deceased), 
William,  Ford  and  Wary  (deceased).  The  par- 
ents belonged  to  the  Methodist  Church.  Our 
subject  attended  the  subscription  schools  in  the 
countr}',  getting  a  fair  business  education.  He 
worked  with  his  father  until  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  when  he  began  learning  the  carpenter 
trade,  which  he  continued  for  fourteen  years. 
He  moved  to  Kendall  County,  III,  iu  1845, 
where  he  carpentered  until  1849,  at  which  time 
he  came  to  his  farm  of  eighty  acres,  in  what  is 
now  ]Mazon  Township,  which  he  had  purchased 
of  the  Government  a  little  while  prior  to  his 
moving.  Here  in  this  neighborhood  he  has 
lived  and  now  possesses  240  acres,  the  result 
of  their  own  labors.  When  locating  in  Ken- 
dall County,  they  had  about  $300.  They  set- 
tled on  raw  prairie,  and  witnessed  the  scenes  of 
the  earlj'  pioneers.  Was  married,  in  1839,  to 
Jane  Osier,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Jane 
(HoUenback)  Osier,  the  father  a  native  of  Mary- 
land and  the  mother  of  Virginia,  and  the  par- 
ents of  four  children — Jane,  George,  John  and 
Nancy.  The  mother  was  married,  prior  to  that 
with  Mr.  Osier,  to  Nathan  Devore,  and  the  re- 
sult was  two  children — Elizabeth  and  David. 
Mr.  Devore  was  drafted  in  the  war  of  1812,  in 
which  service  he  died.  Her  mother  was  mar- 
ried, after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Cassinghara's  father, 
to  John  Hartford,  the  result  being  two  children 
— Eliza  A.  and  Sarah  E.  Mrs.  Cassingham's 
mother  was  a  church  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  organization  for  sixt\'  years  before 
her  decease,  to  which  the  father  belonged.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cassingham  have  been  blessed  with 
eleven  children,  viz.,  David  H.,  deceased  ;  Mar- 
shall, physician  at  Roberts,  Ford  Co.,  111.;  El- 
len, deceased  ;  David,  deceased  ;  Mary  E.,  de- 


ceased ;  Elvira,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Foster ; 
Arvillii,  the  wife  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Watson,  of 
Caberej',  111.;  Alice,  deceased  ;  Ora  W.,  drug- 
gist. Ford  County,  111.;  Clinton,  married  Me- 
lissa La  Force  ;  and  E.  W.  Mr.  Cassingham 
was  Supervisor  for  eight  terms,  Justice  of  the 
Peace  several  years,  and  other  small  offices  ; 
was  once  solicited  and  was  run  for  County 
Judge,  and  was  only  sixteen  votes  behind.  He 
and  wife  have  been  connected  with  the  Method- 
ist Church  for  over  forty-four  years.  He  was 
once  Whig,  and  joined  the  Republican  party 
at  its  organization.  A  brother  of  Mr.  Cassing- 
'ham  came  from  Ohio  to  this  count)-  on  horse- 
back, bringing  with  him  a  dog  to  hunt.  The 
first  chase  was  a  wolf,  which  they  caught. 
Ford,  the  brother,  took  the  hide  from  the  ani- 
mal, and  started  home  without  his  dog,  which 
he  thought  was  either  dead  or  stolen  When 
he  arrived  at  his  home,  he  found  his  faithful 
dog  awaiting  him. 

E.  H.  COTTON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Coal  City, 
was  born  December  3,  1835,  in  Montgomery 
County,  N.  Y.;  is  a  son  of  Nicholas  and  Eliza- 
beth (Sweet)  Cotton.  The  parents  were  mar" 
ried  January  15,  1815;  thej' removed  from  New 
York  to  Braceville  Township  in  1854,  at  which 
time  the  father  erected  a  blacksmith  shop,  on 
the  present  site  of  the  village  of  Braceville;  he 
lived  for  awhile  with  his  son-in-law,  Braugham, 
who  had  settled  here  about  1852.  The  father 
died  in  this  county  in  1870,  and  the  mother  in 
1872;  were  the  parents  of  Mary,  Sallie,  John 
R.,  Nicholas,  Garrett,  Lucinda,  James  P.,  David 
G.,  Calvin  H.  and  E.  H.  The  father  served  in 
the  war  of  1812.  Our  subject  attended  school 
some  during  his  younger  days,  and  has  alwa3-3 
been  a  farmer;  he  hauled  all  the  lumber  from 
Morris  by  ox  team,  from  which  his  father  con- 
structed his  first  house  in  this  county;  he  was 
married  September  15,  1855,  to  Elizabeth  J. 
Mitchell,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Lucj-  (Pat- 
terson) Mitchell;  she  was  one  of  seven  children, 
viz.,  Lydia,  James,  Elizabeth,  Margaret,  John 


no 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Lucy  aud  Mary.  Mr.  Cottou  settled  on  his 
present  farm  iu  1867,  buying  eightj-  acres  of 
James  Barrett,  and  has  since  added  until  he 
has  240  acres  of  fine  land.  His  union  gave 
him  seven  children  —  Mary  E.  (the  wife  of 
James  Sherry,  of  Iowa),  Sarah  J.,  Lida  (the 
wife  of  Jesse  Slutter,  of  Chicago),  John  J., 
Nicholas,  Anna  and  Lillie;  his  wife  died  Au- 
gust 20,  1879.  He  has  been  Assessor;  is  now 
Supervisor  of  Braceville  Township;  votes  the 
Democratic  ticket;  his  father  was  a  member  of 
the  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  was  buried  by  that 
fraternity. 

GEORGE  H.  CRAGG,  farmer,  P.  O.  Gard- 
ner, was  born  April  5,  1840,  in  Grundy  Coun- 
ty, 111.;  is  a  son  of  John  and  Agnes  (Litch- 
hult)  Cragg,  natives  of  New  Jersey;  they  came 
to  this  county  about  the  year  1832,  and  erected 
a  log  cabin  20x20,  which  is  still  standing;  here 
thev  witnessed  the  scenes  that  make  up  the  life 
of  the  actual  pioneer,  such  as  going  to  church 
in  a  wagon  or  sled,  drawn  bj-  ox  teams.  The 
father  was  consumptive,  and  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  labor  depended  upon  Mrs.  Cragg, 
which  she  performed  readil}'.  The  father  was 
of  English  descent,  and  e;irly  learned  a  trade. 
It  has  been  said  he  could  make  almost  an^-- 
thing;  he  was  born  March  6,  1803,  and  was  the 
father  of  seven  children,  three  of  whom  sur- 
vive, viz.,  Martin,  George  H.  and  Louisa.  The 
mother  is  living;  was  born  Januarj'  7,  1813, 
iu  New  Jersey;  she  yet  weaves,  having  a  loom 
which  she  used  about  the  time  she  settled  here. 
George  H.  had  some  chance  to  attend  school  in 
a  pioneer  cabin.  At  the  death  of  his  father, 
he  was  sent  to  school  at  Wilmington  for  six 
mouths;  was  married,  February  17,  18G1,  to 
Rachel  Bridel,  the  result  being  four  children — 
Alice,  Robert,  Cora  B.  and  Emma.  He  has 
fifty-five  acres  of  well-improved  land,  and  is 
farming  seventy-five  acres  which  belongs  to 
his  mother;  he  enlisted  in  Company  ^,  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty-six  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry; he  votes  the  Republican  ticket.   Further 


notice  is  given  of  the  Cragg  family  iu  the 
township  history. 

MARTIN  CRAGG,  farmer,  P.  0.  Gardner. 
Martin  Cragg  is  probably  the  first  white  child 
born  in  Braceville  Township,  the  date  of  his 
birth  being  January  21,  1836;  he  is  a  brother 
of  George  H.,  whose  biogrophy  appears  in  this 
book.  His  early  days  were  spent  as  much  as 
was  convenient  in  the  log  school  cabin;  he  was 
ver^'  fond  of  chasing  the  wild  animals  that 
were  so  numerous  when  he  was  a  iDoy.  On 
one  occasion  the  grey-hounds  caught  a  deer, 
and  Martin  was  a  little  swifter  on  foot  than  the 
other  boys  who  were  with  him  on  the  chase, 
and  on  arriving,  he  bounci'd  the  wild  animal, 
and  the  dogs  thinking  their  master  could  man- 
age it,  let  loose,  and  as  soon  as  they  did,  the 
deer  made  a  leap  with  Martin  on  its  back,  and 
away  it  went  for  the  thicket.  The  gritty  little 
fellow  was  going  backward,  and  hung  on  until 
the  brush  forced  him  off.  He  was  married,  De- 
cember 17,  1861,  to  Helen  N.  Caverly,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  and  Hannah  (Newell)  Caverly.  na- 
tives of  New  Hampshire,  and  parents  of  four 
children;  Helen  onl3-  survives;  her  mother  died 
when  she  was  six  ^-ears  old,  and  her  fathar  was 
married  a  second  time  to  Kate  Kipp,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Penn,,  the  result  being  two  children — 
William  and  Louisa;  her  father  died  in  1856, 
and  Helen  lived  with  her  uncle,  Robert  Newell, 
of  Boston,  until  she  was  fourteen,  when  she 
came  to  Gardner,  111.,  to  live  with  her  uncle 
and  aunt,  Sawyer;  her  marriage  with  Mr, 
Cragg  has  resulted  in  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  living,  viz,,  Edward  C.  and  Jennie. 
Mr.  Cragg  has  bjen  Constable  of  Braceville 
Township  two  terms;  he  owns  170  acres  of  fine 
land,  th3  most  of  which  is  the  reward  of  his 
own  labors.  He  is  raising  many  plants  for 
sale,  having  an  excellent  hot  garden;  grows  en- 
tirel}'  for  the  Braidwood  market;  votes  the  Re- 
publican ticket. 

OLIVER  DROWN,  farmer,  P.O.  Coal  City, 
was  born  October  23,  1823,  in  Canada;  is  a  son 


BRACEVILLE    TOWXSHIP. 


Ill 


of  Hiram  and  Susannah  (Stinson)  Drown,  na- 
tives, the  father  of  Connecticut  and  the  mother 
of  Ireland,  and  parents  of  ten  children — Oliver, 
Mar}'  A.,  Susannah,  Margaret,  James,  Jane, 
Rebecca,  John,  Thomas  and  one  died  j-oung; 
his  parents  were  Methodists.  Our  subject  at- 
tended the  district  schools;  has  alwaj's  worked 
on  the  farm;  was  married  in  1849,  to  Harriet 

A.  Thayer,  a  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Julia 
Thayer,  natives  of  New  York,  and  the  parents 
of  five  children,  viz.,  Harriet,  Alonzo,  Eliza, 
Emma  and  one  deceased  young.  His  union 
gave  him  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing^Julia,  Hiram,  Melvin,  Emma,  Frank,  Ella 
and  Jane  (deceased).  He  came  to  Illinois  in 
1858,  settling  for  awhile  near  Morris,  where  he 
engaged  in  a  brick-yard  and  other  vocations 
for  some  time.  In  1869,  he  bought  eight}' 
acres  where  he  now  lives,  of  L.  Crossley.  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  is  now  School  Trust- 
ee. He  votes  the  Republican  ticket.  His 
brother  Thomas  died  in  the  late  war,  member  of 
Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry. 

JOHN  F.  DUNLEAVY,  farmer,  P.  0.  Coal 
City,  was  born  November  22,  1845.  in  England; 
is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Sarah  Dunleavj',  na- 
tives of  Ireland  and  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren— Martin,  Michael,  William,  Daniel,  Jlary, 
John  F.  and  Ann.  The  parents  emigrated  to 
Wisconsin  in  1846,  and  in  1855  to  Illinois,  set- 
tling where  our  subject  now  lives,  where  the}' 
died,  the  father  in  1874  and  the  mother  in 
1876;  they  were  Catholics.  Our  subject  ob- 
tained  a  fair  education;  enlisted  in  Company 

B,  Fourth  Illinois  Volunteer  Cavalry,  on  Janu- 
ary 1,  1864,  and  remained  until  its  close;  was 
never  married:  has  a  family  keeping  house  for 
him;  owns  160  acres  of  fine  land.  He  is  rais- 
ing the  Holstein  cattle,  Poland-China  hogs  and 
Clydesdale  horses.  He  votes  the  Greenback 
ticket.  He  lost  his  health  to  some  extent  in 
the  war. 

CASSIUS  C.  EASTON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Gard- 
ner,   was     born    in    Trumbull     County,  Ohio, 


March  21,  1845,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Alex- 
ander and  Rhoda  Easton.  His  father  was  a 
carpenter  and  farmer,  born  in  Franklin  County, 
Mass.,  September  25,  1801.  Spent  his  last 
years  with  our  subject,  where  he  died  Novem- 
ber 1,  1880.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Rhoda  Plumb,  was  born  March  10,  1805  ; 
was  married  when  seventeen  years  old  to 
Joseph  Lee,  who  died  in  1843,  and  on  March 
27,  1844,  she  was  again  married  to  Alexander 
Easton.  She  died  in  Trumbull  County,  Ohio 
June  20,  1851  ;  such  was  her  life,  that  none 
knew  her  but  to  love  her.  C.  C.  received  his 
education  at  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
town.  Working  at  carpenter  work  some  with 
his  father,  he  became  quite  skilled  in  the  busi- 
ness, so  that  he  has  since  constructed  several 
houses.  When  sixteen,  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
hired  out  as  a  farm  hand.  In  the  spring  of 
1868,  he  bought  a  farm  of  100  acres  in  Norton, 
Kankakee  County.  In  1874,  he  rented  his 
farm  and  moved  to  Gardner,  where  he  lived  a 
year  or  so,  when  he  bought  120  acres,  where  he 
now  lives  ;  has  since  added  forty  acres  more 
and  all  is  under  a  good  state  of  cultivation. 
C.  C.  Easton  was  married  in  1860,  to  Mary 
Jane,  daughter  of  John  Spiller,  whose  sketch 
appears  elsewhere  in  the  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Easton  have  three  children,  two  boys  and  one 
girl^Addison  M.,  Rowland  J.  and  Rhoda  Belle. 
C.  C.  is  a  man  of  correct  habits  and  uncom- 
promising integrity,  warmly  attached  to  home 
and  its  environments,  for  which  he  amply  pro- 
vides. Mrs.  Easton  is  a  frugal,  industrious 
woman,  skillfully  conducting  her  household 
affiiirs,  always  ready  to  do  her  part  to  make  a 
home  and  make  it  happy. 

REV.  G.  R.  EVANS,  Braceville,  born  May 
20,  1821  in  North  Wales  ;  son  of  Richard  and 
Ellen  (Pryse)  Evans,  the  parents  of  G.  R.  Syd- 
ney, William,  Elizabeth,  Ellen,  Rees  and  Rich- 
ard. Our  subject  attended  school  in  the  coun- 
try and  city,  aside  from  his  labors  on  the  farm. 
At  the  age  of  twenty,  he  closed  his  school  days 


112 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


and  engaged  actively  in  farming  until  1850, 
when  he  was  married  to  Ellen  Jones,  a  native 
of  Wales,  and  soon  after  engaged  in  bu3-ing 
grain  on  his  own  resource  at  Anglesea,  Wales, 
for  ten  j'ears,  at  which  he  was  successful  for 
awhile,  and  then  sustained  some  losses.  In 
1861,  he  came  to  Racine,  Wis.,  where  he  bought 
wheat  for  two  j'ears  ;  transferred  from  there  to 
Arena,  same  State,  where  he  built  a  warehouse 
and  purchased  grain  for  two  years.  In  1849, 
he  began  in  the  ministrj-,  and  from  Arena  he 
went  to  Milwaukee,  where  he  took  charge  of 
the  Welsh  Congregational  Church  for  one  year  ; 
then  to  Watertown,  Wis.,  Ixonia  and  Emmet, 
and  was  pastor  of  a  church  at  each  place.      In 

1871,  he  located  in  Braeeville,  111.,  taking 
charge  of  the  Braidwood  and  Braeeville 
churches,  and  is  still  pastor  of  the  former.    In 

1872,  he  was  appointed  agent  for  the  American 
Express  Compan}'  at  Braeeville,  which  he  still 
holds.  He  is  Police  Magistrate  of  this  village. 
Ilis  marriage  gave  him  ten  children — Sydney, 
Griffith,  Ellen,  Kate,  Jeunie,  Richard  (sea  cap- 
tain in  Wales),  Eliza,  Susie,  Lydia  and  Zula. 
He  was  Supervisor  for  Braeeville  Township  in 
1878.     Votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

SOLOMON  HARRIS,  boots  and  shoes, 
Braeeville,  was  born  November  30,  1824,  in 
South  Wales,  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Ann  Har- 
ris, who  came  to  this  country  in  1863  ;  the  father 
died  in  1876.  The  parents  had  thirteen  children, 
ten  of  whom  grew  up — Solomon,  Joseph,  Eliza, 
Enoch,  Mary ,  Thomas,  Jemima,  Isaac  (deceased), 
Leah  and  Isaac.  Our  subject  attended  school 
but  little.  When  quite  young,  he  began  min- 
ing, which  he  followed  in  the  old  countrj-  until 
May  16,  1851,  when  he  landed  at  Philadelphia, 
where  he  dug  coal  till  January  24, 1862,  when 
he  came  to  Illinois  and  resumed  his  labors  in  a 
coal  mine.  In  1881,  he  engaged  in  his  present 
business,  that  of  boots  and  shoes,  at  which  he 
is  succeeding  well.  Was  married,  February  14, 
1845,  to  Martha  Watkins,  a  native  of  Wales, 
the  union  resulting  in  thirteen  children — Isaac, 


Valentine,  Jane,  Solomon,  William,  Thomas, 
William  W.,  Martha  A.,  Eliza,  Hannah,  Ann 
and  Annie,  Rebecca.  He  and  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  Church.  Votes  the  Repub- 
ican  ticket. 

C.  E.  HASTINGS,  merchant,  Braeeville. 
Prominent  among  the  leading  young  business 
men  in  Braeeville  is  C.  E.  Hastings,  of  the 
firm  of  Trotter  &  Hastings.  He  was  born  in 
1862,  in  Pennsylvania ;  is  the  son  of  Eli  and 
Rachel  (Karr)  Hastings,  natives  of  the  same 
State,  and  the  parents  of  Laura,  Catharine,  S. 
M.,  C.  E.,  Jessie  M.  and  Cora  B.  The  parents 
came  to  Illinois  in  1866,  settling  in  Gardner 
and  afterward  in  Morris.  Our  subject  attend- 
ed the  schools  of  Gardner  and  Morris.  He 
clerked  for  about  three  3-ears  in  Braidwood. 
August  2,  1881,  he  formed  the  partnership 
named  above,  and  is  meriting  a  fine  trade,  hav- 
ing at  tills  time  a  general  line  of  dry  goods, 
etc.  September  21,  1882,  he  was  married  to 
Lizzie  B.,  a  daughter  of  Capt.  L.  A.  Baker,  of 
Wilmington.  He  is  a  pleasant,  genial  felloif^ 
and  has  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  with 
whom  he  does  business. 

TALCOTT  HAWLEY,  deceased.  Mr.  Tal- 
cott  was  born  in  1800  in  the  State  of  New 
York;  was  a  farmer,  and  married  Elizabeth 
Mulford,  and  came  to  Lockport,  111.,  about 
1852,  and  a  few  months  later  the}-  bought  160 
acres  of  land  in  Braeeville  Township,  on  which 
farm  the  father  died  in  1859,  and  the  mother  in 
1874;  they  were  blessed  with  six  children — 
Ellen  and  Ljnnan  living,  and  Catharine,  Will- 
iam, Daniel  and  Davis  deceased.  The  deceased 
and  companion  had  but  little  means  when  they 
located  in  this  county;  they  used  ox  teams 
and  all  the  old  farming  implements.  Ellen 
owns  the  old  homestead,  and  is  living  with  Will- 
iam Vanhouton  and  family,  who  rents  the  farm. 
Mr.  V.  married  Brittanna  CuUen. 

JOSEPH  HOMAN,  hardware,  Coal  City, 
was  born  October  26,  1852,  in  Union  County, 
Ohio,  is  a  son  of  William  and  Martha  (Hill) 


BRACEVILLE    TOWNSHIP. 


118 


Homan.  The  father  is  a  native  of  Virginia 
and  tlie  mother  of  Ohio.  The3'  were  the  par- 
ents of  three  children — Joseph,  Emma  (de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  W.  S.  Keay)  and  W.  E. 
Joseph  attended  the  country  schools  as  much  ■ 
as  was  convenient.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  he 
engaged  actively  on  the  farm,  which  avocation 
he  continued  until  1879,  when  he  entered  his 
present  business,  and  is  carrying  a  fine  line  of 
hardware.  In  1880,  his  father  took  a  half- 
interest  in  the  same,  and  is  still  a  member  of 
the  firm.  Our  suljject  was  married  September 
14,  1881,  to  Isabel,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Ellen  (Keay)  Chadwick,  by  whom  he  has  one 
child — Herbert  W.  He  was  at  one  time  Treas- 
urer of  the  village.    Votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

WILLIAM  HOMAN,  farmer,  P.  O.  Coal 
City,  was  born  August  22,  1824,  in  Virginia;  is 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Martha  M.  Homan.  natives 
of  the  same  State.  The  parents  settled  in  Mus- 
kingum County,  Ohio,  in  1832,  where  they 
reared  nine  children,  five  of  whom  are  living — 
AYilliam,  John,  Walter,  Ira  and  Allen.  The  par- 
ents were  Presbj'terians.  Mr.  Homan  had  some 
school  advantages.  Was  married,  in  1849,  to 
Martha  Hill,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Esther 
(.Marsh)  Hill,  natives  of,  the  father  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  mother  New  York;  she  was  one 
of  eleven  children,  eight  of  whom  survive — 
Joseph,  Martha,  H.  D.,  Clarinda,  Lucinda,  Will- 
iam. Hugh  M.  and  Esther.  Mrs.  Homan  was 
born  May  22,  1824,  and  has  blessed  her  hus- 
band with  two  children  living  and  one  deceased 
— Joseph  and  William  E.;  Emma,  deceased. 
Mr.  Homan  settled  where  he  now  lives  in  1868; 
has  ICO  acres  of  fine  land;  has  held  some  small 
offices;  he  is  a  Democrat. 

FRANK  HORAN,  farmer,  P.  0.  Gardner, 
was  born  September  9,  1851,  in  Chicago;  is  a 
son  of  Owen  and  Mary  (Kernan)  Horan,  natives 
of  Ireland.  They  emigrated  to  Chicago  be- 
tween 1833  and  1840;  the  mother  was  one  of 
ten  children,  four  living — Mary,  Catharine 
(Mrs.    P.    A.   Fennerty,  of  Chicago),  B.  F.  and 


Ellen,  the  wife  of  A.  G.  Willard.  of  Chicago. 
Our  subject  was  one  of  five  children — P.  A., 
Frank,  Ellen,  John  and  Lettie.  The  father  fol- 
lowed engineering  of  lakes  and  farming,  hav- 
ing located  where  Frank  now  lives  in  1859.  At 
his  death,  he  owned  240  acres  of  well-improved 
land,  which  the  family  still  owns.  Frank  had 
some  school  advantages,  and  early  embarked  in 
farm  life.  Was  married,  1878,  to  Hannah 
Walsh,  a  daughter  of  Richard  and  Catharine 
(McNaraara)  Walsh,  natives  of  Ireland.  Her 
father  came  to  La  Salle  County,  111.,  in  1848, 
and  her  mother  in  1837.  Hannah  and  Ellen 
are  the  onlj-  ones  living  from  a  family  of  six 
children.  Mr.  Horan  is  now  Commissioner  of 
Highwaj's.  His  union  has  blessed  him  with 
three  children — Frank,  Henr3'  and  Lester  J. 
He  and  wife  are  Catholics;  he  votes  the  Repub- 
lican ticket.  His  father  died  August  20,  1862, 
and  his  mother  is  living  in  Ottawa,  III. 

0.  T.  HOUSE,  grocer,  Braceville,  was  born 
June  19,  1857,  in  Bristol,  Conn.,  is  a  son  of 
Alfred  and  Ellen  (Taylor)  House,  natives  of 
the  same  State,  and  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren—Ralph 0.,  Nettie,  Minnie  and  0.  T.  The 
parents  came  to  Beloit,  Wis.,  in  18G4,  and  are 
now  residing  in  Wilmington,  111.  O.  T.  attend- 
ed school  at  Rockton,  111.  He  began  the  gro- 
cery business  at  Braceville  November  20, 
1881,  and  has  a  large  stock  of  everything  that 
constitutes  a  flrst-class  retail  grocery.  Was 
married  June  19,  1882,  to  Lillian  Quacken- 
bush.  He  worked  for  some  time  in  the  paper 
mills  of  M.  D.  Keeney,  of  Wilmington,  by 
which  he  obtained  the  means  to  start  his  pres- 
ent fine  business.  Was  a  member  of  tlie  I.  0. 
0.  F.  of  Wilmington,  but  severed  his  connec- 
tion on  account  of  moving  away. 

GEOROE  LITTLEJOHN,  farmer,  P.O.  Gard- 
ner. 5Ir.  Littlejohn  was  born  Januar}-  17, 
1845,  in  Scotland;  is  a  son  of  Hugh  and  Eliza- 
beth (Wilson)  Littlejohn,  natives  of  Scotland 
and  parents  of  three  children — George,  Susan 
an<l  Jeanie;  the  fatiier  died  Auijust  18.  1869  : 


114 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


the  mother  was  born  Februarj-  12,  1810,  and  is 
living  with  the  subject;  she  and  her  husband 
helped  to  organize  the  first  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Ottawa,  La  Salle  Countj",  and  Gardner,  this 
count}-,  and  he  was  Elder  in  the  latter.  Their 
children  were  sent  to  school  at  a  pioneer  build- 
ing beyond  the  river,  and  were  compelled  to 
cross  the  same  with  a  boat,  or  on  the  chunks 
of  ice.  George  was  married,  Januar}-  15, 
1871,  to  Isabel  Smith,  a  daughter  of  James  and 
Jean  (Menzies)  Smith,  natives  of  Scotland;  her 
parents  emigrated  to  this  countrj'  in  1854,  and 
in  1858  they  settled  in  Greentield  Township, 
this  count}-;  they  were  blessed  with  six  chil- 
dren— James,  Isabel,  Alexander,  Robert,  Eme- 
lineand  Albert.  Her  mother  died  in  1861,  and 
her  father  was  subsequently  married  to  Mrs. 
Mary  Gleghorn.  The  parents  are  Presbyterians. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Littlejohn  have  three  children  as 
a  result  of  their  union — Hattie,  Mabel  and 
Hugh;  they  have  120  acres  of  fine  land.  He 
enlisted  in  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty- 
sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry:  votes  the 
Republican  ticket.  Mrs.  L.  was  born  !M:iy  21, 
1848. 

JAMES  M.  LAYMON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Coal 
City,  was  born  September  4,  1807,  in  Clermont 
County,  Ohio;  is  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Eliza- 
beth (Goodpaster)  Laymon,  natives  of  Tennes- 
see, and  the  parents  of  ten  children — James  M., 
Elias,  David,  Will,  Cynthia,  John,  Rachel, 
Frank,  Cornelius  and  Jesse.  The  parents  were 
Baptists.  Our  subject  took  chances  at  sub- 
scription schools,  and  worked  on  a  farm.  Was 
married,  in  1825,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  to 
Maria  Sloan,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Surah 
(Story)  Sloan,  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
parents  of  seven  children — Nellie,  Thomas, 
Mary,  Margaret,  John,  William  and  Maria ; 
her  parents  were  Methodists.  At  marriage, 
they  settled  in  Ohio,  ami  thence  to  Indiana  in 
1842,  settling  near  Crawfordsville,  where  they 
farmed  for  about  four  years,  and  then  continued 
the  same  in  Bartholomew  County,  the  same  State, 


and  from  there  to  Miami  County.  In  1859, 
they  left  Lee  County,  Ind.,  and  came  to  Grundy 
County,  111.,  settling  where  they  now  live.  Their 
union  gave  them  fifteen  children,  eight  living- - 
George,  Elizabeth.  Will,  John,  Thomas,  David, 
Martha,  Lida  J.  He  and  wife  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  He  votes  the  Repub- 
lican ticket.  Thomas,  the  fifth  child,  was  born 
May  15,  1840.  in  Bartholomew  County,  Ind.; 
was  married,  April  10,  1861,  to  Esther  Mor- 
rison, the  result  being  one  child — Elva  J.  He 
was  in  Company  K,  Illinois  Light  Rifles 
and  Company  K,  Illinois  Liglit  Artillery,  etc 
Lida  J.  married  Thomas  R.  Curran,  the  result 
being  Margaret  A..  Lydia  M.  and  James  H. 
Mr.  C.  has  been  Township  Clerk. 

LLOYD  &  REES,  merchants,  Braceville. 
Prominently  identified  with  the  business  firms 
of  Braceville  are  the  gentlemen  whose  names 
head  this  article.  John  Lloyd  was  born  De- 
cember 30,  1849,  in  Wales.  Is  a  son  of  David 
and  Sarah  (Buttrey)  Lloyd,  natives  of  Wales, 
and  the  parents  of  fourteen  children,  seven  of 
whom  survive,  viz.,  Mary,  Richard,  John,  Eliza- 
beth, Ann,  Davy  and  Abraham.     The  parents 

'  emigrated  to  America  in  1861,  settling  in  Penn- 
sylvania. In  1863,  the  family  came  to  Grundy 
County,  111.,  where  the  father  purchased  eighty 
acres  of  land  lying  within  the  corner  of  Will, 
Kankakee  and  Grundy  Counties,  after  having 
mined  for  many  years.     The  parents  are  living 

I  iu  Braceville,  retired  from  the  active  pursuits 
of  life.  John,  of  whom  we  write,  mined  until 
about  twenty-one  years  old,  when  he  engaged 
in  other  vocations.  He  began  his  present  busi- 
ness in  July,  1881,  and  on  March  13,  1882,  he 
accepted  Mr.  R.  Rees  as  a  full  partner,  which 
firm  name  still  exists,  having  at  this  time  a  full 
line  of  groceries,  dry  goods  and  notions.  He 
was  married  April  5,  1873,  to  Sarah  A.  Rees,  a 
sister  of  his  partner,  which  resulted  in  four 
children,  two  of  whom  are  living,  viz.,  John 
and  Daniel.     Mr.  Lloyd  was  a  Justice  of  the 

I  Peace  in  Braidwood  ;  is  a  member  of  Braid- 


BKACEVILLE    TOWNSHIP. 


115 


wood  Lodges,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.  and  U.  0.  F.,  and 
of  Braceville  Lodge  K.  of  P.,  and  is  D.  D.  (>. 
C.  in  the  latter.  Rees  llees,  the  junior  member 
of  tlie  firm,  was  born  November  28,  1854,  in 
Wales,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Sarah 
Rees,  natives  of  the  same  countrj-,  and 
the  parents  of  a  large  family".  His  parents 
emigrated  to  Illinois  in  1SG4,  and  in  1865  they 
came  to  Braceville,  and  are  now  residing  at 
Braidwood.  At  the  age  of  nine,  our  latter 
subject  of  this  sketch  began  mining,  which  he 
has  worked  at  more  or  less  since.  He  had 
some  experience  as  a  clerk  in  a  grocery  store 
before  forming  his  present  partnership.  He 
had  some  good  school  advantages.  Was  mar- 
ried, January  27,  1877,  to  Mary  Oliver,  of 
Braidwood,  Will  County,  which  union  has  re- 
sulted in  two  children — Lillie  and  Emma  H. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Braceville  Lodge,  K. 
of  P. 

A.  J.  LAGERQUIST,  contractor  and  l)nilder, 
Braceville,  was  born  January  8,  1840,  in  Swe- 
den. Is  a  son  of  Jonas  and  Corrie  Lagerqui.st, 
natives  of  Sweden,  and  parents  of  five  children, 
viz.,  Jonas,  Katy,  Elias,  A.  J.  and  Corrie.  Mr. 
Lagerquist  attended  school  but  little,  and  at 
the  age  of  thirteen  he  began  the  tailor's  trade, 
and  soon  after  worked  at  carpentering  at  very 
small  wages.  At  the  age  of  twenty- two,  he 
engaged  in  farming,  together  with  his  trade. 
Was  married,  in  1859,  to  Caroline  Lagerquist, 
and  in  the  same  j-ear  he  came  to  America,  set- 
tling in  Kansas,  where  he  farmed  until  1864, 
when  he  engaged  in  carpentering  in  Gardner, 
this  county.  In  1875  he  settled  in  Braceville, 
where  he  has  since  carpentered,  and  has  added 
the  lumber  trade  and  house-moving.  He  owns 
some  good  property  here  His  union  blessed 
him  with  four  children — Anna,  Anders  (furni- 
ture dealer  at  this  place),  Charles  and  Caroline 
L.     He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

JE.-^SE  MILL,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Coal 
City,  was  born  January  10,  1840,  in  England. 
Is  the  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Fulford)   Mill, 


the  parents  of  James,  John,  Joshua,  Jonathan, 
Jesse,  Jemima,  Julia,  Jethro,  Jabez,  Josiah  and 
Joce.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  this  entire 
famil}'  of  eleven  children  possesses  a  name 
commencing  with  J.  Our  subject  attained  an 
excellent  education.  He  graduated  in  a  law 
school  in  his  native  country,  and  came  to  Wis- 
consin in  1864,  and  in  1 865  to  Braceville  Town- 
ship, this  county,  where  he  farmed  and  mined 
for  several  j^ears.  In  1863,  he  was  married  to 
Kate  Pomero}',  resulting  in  seven  children — 
William,  Jerome,  Augustus,  Jessie,  Bertie, 
Charles  and  Sealey.  He  was  elected  Justice 
of  the  Peace  in  1877,  which  position  he  holds 
yet,  together  with  Township  Clerk  and  Treas- 
urer, Village  Clerk,  and  about  ten  other  minor 
offices. 

THOMPSON  MARTIN,  retired  farmer,  P.  0. 
Gardner,  was  born  August  28, 1832,  in  New  York 
City.  Is  son  of  Alfred  and  Hannah  (Cox)  Martin, 
natives  of  New  Jerse}',  and  the  parents  of  nine 
children — John,  Mary,  Thompson,  Henry  L., 
William  K.,  Harriet  D.,  Jane  M.,  George  W. 
and  James  P.  Our  subject  attended  school 
considerably.  At  the  age  of  six,  he  fell  from 
a  mill  and  injured  his  skull,  which  impaired 
his  mental  powers.  Was  with  his  parents  till 
nineteen,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  on  a  hunt- 
ing spree,  and  finally  made  a  settlement,  his 
father  buying  him  eighty  acres  of  land  in 
Braceville  Township,  which  was  mostly  tim- 
bered. Was  married  to  Amanda  Cairns,  the 
result  being  two  children — William  and  Char- 
lie. In  1873,  he  left  his  farm  and  came  to 
Gardner  on  account  of  poor  health,  where  he 
has  since  remained.  He  enlisted  in  Company 
I,  Fifty-eighth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantr3',  in 
1861,  and  w.-is  out  over  three  years.  His  wife 
died  June  28,  1858,  and  he  was  again  married, 
November  14,  1865,  to  Huldah  Sutton,  the  re- 
sult being  six  children — Harriet  A.,  Alberta, 
Alfred  N.,  John  B.,  Helen  E.  and  Llewellyn. 
The  present  Mrs.  Martin  is  a  daughter  of  Na- 
than and   Martha  Sutton,  settlers  here  about 


116 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


1861  ;  her  mother  is  living  with  them,  and  is 
hale  and  hearty  at  eightj-seven  years.  He 
has  served  in  some  small  township  offices  ;  was 
Deputy  Postmaster  once,  and  carried  the  mail 
from  Braceville  to  Craigs.  Our  subject  owned 
the  first  log  cabin  ever  built  on  the  prairies  in 
this  part  of  the  country  ;  it  was  built  by  Wood- 
ward in  1847.  The  building  was  used  for  fire- 
wood and  hitching- posts  in  Gardner. 

JAMES  McKINLEY,  boarding,  livery  and 
undertaking,  Coal  City,  was  born  October  1, 
1830,  in  Scotland,  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
garet (Brown)  IMcKinle}',  also  natives  of  Scot- 
land. The  parents  had  ten  children — Jane, 
Margaret,  Mary,  James,  John,  Elizabeth,  Will- 
iam, Robert,  Jesse,  Elam.  Mr.  McKinlej' 
began  coal  mining  when  ten  years  old.  In 
1852,  came  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  miued 
for  four  years,  transferring  then  to  La  Salle, 
La  Salle  Co.,  Ill,  and  following  the  same  avoca- 
tion. In  the  fall  of  1856,  he  was  employed 
for  a  few  months  at  Morris,  Grundy  County, 
after  which  he  farmed  in  De  Kalb  County  for 
five  years.  He  abandoned  farming  there,  and 
after  laboring  a  few  months  at  Morris,  he  went 
to  Belleville,  St.  Clair  Co.,  111.,  and  mined  for 
two  years,  and  from  there  to  Vermillion 
County,  where  he  mined  and  bossed  the  miners 
for  about  three  years.  His  next  transfer  was 
to  Braidwood,  Will  County,  at  which  place  he 
took  an  interest  in  some  mines,  which  proved 
unsuccessful,  and  he  invested  what  means  he 
had  in  a  restaurant,  which,  with  other  prop- 
erty, he  traded  for  land  in  Biaeeville  Town- 
ship, where  he  farmed  until  1882,  when  he  left 
his  farm  of  240  acres  and  engaged  in  his  pres- 
ent business,  that  of  boarding,  livery  and 
undertaking,  having  the  only  establishment  of 
the  latter  two  businesses  in  the  village.  Was 
married  August,  1856,  to  Margaret  Haughy, 
which  resulted  in  six  children,  four  of  whom 
are  living — John,  James,  Margaret  and  Nellie. 
Has  served  as  Commissioner  of  Highwa3's  and 
School  Director.     Votes  the  Republican  ticket. 


THOMAS  MORGAN,  blacksmith  and  wag- 
on shop,  Braceville,  was  born  October  15, 
1825,  in  Wales,  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Mar- 
garet (Evans)  IMorgan,  also  natives  of  Wales, 
and  the  parents  of  seven  children,  viz., 
Thomas,  Evan,  Jacob,  John,  Mary,  Margaret 
and  William.  Mr.  Morgan  attended  school 
until  eleven  3'ears  old,  when  he  took  sick  with 
a  fever,  and  was  unable  to  labor  until  he  was 
twelve,  at  which  time  he  commenced  learning 
the  trade  of  a  blacksmith,  which  he  has  fol- 
lowed during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In 
1868,  he  emigrated  to  New  York,  and  there 
worked  at  his  trade.  In  one  year,  he  trans- 
ferred to  a  shop  near  Akron,  Ohio,  and  from 
there  to  Racine,  Wis.,  where  he  was  employed 
by  Mitchell  Bros,  in  the  manufacture  of  wag- 
ons for  six  years.  He  came  to  Dwight,  111.,  in 
1880,  and  a  little  later,  to  Braceville,  where  he 
is  doing  a  good  business.  Was  married,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1850,  to  Maria  Williams,  who  blessed 
him  with  tight  children,  namely,  John,  Thomas, 
Evan,  William  (deceased),  Catharine,  William 
(deceased),  Maggie  and  Jane.  He  has  been  no 
office-seeker,  and  has  given  his  time  to  his 
business.  He  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
Welsh  Methodist  Church,  in  which  he  is  Treas- 
urer and  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School. 
He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

E.  J.  MYERS,  livery,  Braceville,  was  born 
January  29,  1844,  in  Du  Page  County,  111.  He 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Elovina  (Rhodes)  Myers, 
natives  of  Lancaster  County,  Penn.  The  fam- 
ily came  to  Du  Page  County  at  an  early  day. 
Our  subject  is  one  of  seven  children,  viz., 
Mary,  the  wife  of  F.  Renter;  E.  J.;  Albert; 
Eliza,  the  wife  of  George  Hullinger  ;  Maria, 
the  wife  of  B.  T.  Harlej-  ;  Jacob  and  Oscar. 
Mr.  M.  attended  school  some  after  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  pa3-ing  his  way  by  taking  care  of 
horses  for  Dr.  Bell,  of  Naperville.  After  leav- 
ing the  Northwestern  College,  he  engaged  as  a 
clerk  for  Kline  &  Rickert,  commission  mer- 
chants  of    156  and  158  South  Water  street 


BRACEVILLE    TOWNSHIP. 


117 


Chicago.  At  the  expiration  of  six  months,  he 
began  tanning  for  liis  undo,  Elias  M3ers,  of 
Will  County,  which  he  continued  for  two 
years,  and  then  rented  a  farm  in  Do  Kalb 
County.  One  year  later,  he  rented  south  of 
Joliet.  January  26,  1881,  he  was  married  to 
Frantie  Ramer.  of  De  Kalb  County,  III.,  which 
resulted  in  one  child — Floyd.  He  came  imme- 
diately after  marriage  to  Braceville,  and  opened 
up  a  liverj'  business,  renting  an  old  building. 
He  has  continued  the  same,  and  has  lately 
constructed  a  fine  stable,  to  which  he  has  add- 
ed a  fine  line  of  buggies  and  first-class  driving 
horses.     He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

JOHN  MATHIAS,  saloon,  Braceville,  was 
born  in  1830,  in  Wales,  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Mary  (Lewis)  Mathias.  The  parents  came  to 
this  countr}-,  the  father  in  1862,  and  the 
mother  in  1863.  Thej'  were  the  parents  of 
four  children,  viz.,  Ann,  John,  Margaret  and 
Martha.  Our  subject  attended  school  until 
thirteen  years  old,  when  he  began  mining, 
which  he  followed  the  greater  portion  of  his 
life  since.  He  came  to  Youngstown,  Ohio,  in 
1860,  where  he  mined  for  one  year,  and  then 
came  to  Morris,  111,,  and  there  engaged  with 
Steel  in  a  mine.  He  worked  at  the  same  busi- 
ness at  Braceville  for  some  time.  He  settled 
here  when  there  were  but  three  houses  to  be 
seen  on  the  present  site  of  the  village.  He 
took  an  interest  in  mines  in  Kankakee  Countj-. 
In  1868,  he  closed  his  mining  career  at  Gard- 
ner, III.  Was  married  January  31,  1869,  to 
Elizabeth  Williams,  a  native  of  Wales,  which 
union  resulted  in  five  children — John,  Mary, 
Thomas,  Lottie  and  Elizabeth.  The  latter  two 
only  survive.  He  was  Police  Magistrate  of 
this  village  for  two  years,  and  is  now  in  his 
second  term  as  Tax  Collector,  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Braceville  Lodges,  I.  0.  0.  F,  and  K,  of 
P.,  and  A.,  F.  &  A.  M,,  of  Gardner.  He  is 
holding  oflBce  in  the  first-named  lodge. 

J.  E.  PAGE,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mazon,  was  born 
June  21, ,  in  Cook  County,  III.;  is  a  son  of 


T.  N.  and  Belinda  (Noyes)  Page,  natives  of 
New  Hampshire.  They  came  to  Illinois  be 
tween  1833  and  1837  ;  they  emigrated  West 
with  a  wagon  ;  the  mother  died  March  6,  1880, 
having  blessed  her  husband  with  eight  ciiil- 
dren,  seven  of  whom  are  living,  viz.,  J.  E,, 
Elizabeth,  Ellen,  Hannah  L.,  Hiram  A,,  Fred 
W,  (deceased),  Mattie  and  George  R,  The 
father  is  living  in  Cook  County,  where  he  first 
settled  ;  is  a  Methodist,  to  which  organization 
his  consort  belonged  ;  he  was  Postmaster  at 
Elk  Grove  for  many  years.  Our  subject  at- 
tended school  some  in  the  country,  W^as  mar- 
ried, December  28,  1859,  to  Laura  J.  Thomas, 
a  daughter  of  Josephus  and  Affy  (Dyer) 
Thomas,  Her  parents  came  to  Illinois  in 
June,  1850.  settling  in  Elgin,  Her  father  died 
January  18,  1882,  and  her  mother  is  living  in 
Chicago,  Laura  J,  and  Milo  are  the  onlj-  chil- 
dren living,  Mrs,  P.'s  parents  united  earlj- 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  The 
great-grandfather  Thomas  was  born  in  1736,  in 
Providence,  R,  I.;  was  married  to  Sarah  Emer- 
son, of  Uxbridge,  Mass,  He  was  one  of  the 
first  legislators  of  Vermont,  Mr.  P.'s  grand- 
father Page  was  Governor  of  New  Hampshire 
two  terms,  and  his  uncle,  John  Page,  was 
Treasurer  of  said  State  for  ten  years.  Our 
subject  made  a  few  ditferent  settlements  during 
his  sojourn,  until  1882,  when  he  located  on  his 
present  farm  of  IGO  acres  in  Braceville  Town- 
ship, His  union  has  blessed  him  with  seven 
children,  six  of  whom  are  living,  viz.,  Helen 
M,  (graduated  at  the  grammar  schools  of  Chi- 
cago, and  has  taught  ten  terms),  John,  Ed  L,, 
Charles  D,,  Fred  W,  and  Gracie  A.  He  is  an 
active  Republican, 

CHARLES  PRICKETT,  farmer,  P,  0.  Coal 
City,  was  born  October  16,  1829,  in  Logan  Couu- 
t}',  Ohio  ;  is  a  son  of  James  and  Rebecca  Prick- 
ett.  The  parents  came  to  Kendall  Countj',  III,, 
in  1833,  They  had  seven  children,  viz,,  Elijah, 
Joel,  Charles,  John,  Aaron,  Elizabeth,  Jane, 
He  has  alwaj's  been  a  farmer.     Was  married, 


118 


BIO(}RAPHICAL: 


February  6,  1858,  to  Adaline  A.  Holderman, 
the  result  being  twelve  children,  viz.,  Jane  E., 
George,  Byron,  Jacob,  Rhua,  Melissa,  Joel, 
Nellie,  Burton  C,  Rose.  Elizabeth,  Anthony 
He  settled  at  his  marriage  near  Morris,  this 
county,  and  in  1864  he  bought  his  present 
farm  of  160  acres,  and  has  lived  on  the  same 
since.  He  has  been  Highway  Commissioner, 
Tax  Collector  and  Constable  ;  votes  the  Re- 
publican ticket ;  takes  an  interest  in  educating 
his  children. 

RICHARD  RAMSEY,  Superintendent  coal 
mines,  Braceville,  was  born  November  22' 
1842,  in  England  ;  is  a  son  of  William  and 
Ann  (Hackles)  Ramsey,  the  parents  of  seven 
children  —  Margaret,  William  T.,  Richard, 
George,  Mary  A.,  Joseph,  John.  The  suliject 
attended  school  until  eleven  years  old,  and 
then  began  laboring  in  coal  mines.  He  came 
to  America  in  1863  with  his  mother,  settling  in 
Morris,  this  county.  He  soon  after  began 
mining  at  Pekin,  Tazewell  County.  In  1873) 
he  located  at  Braidwood,  and  was  made  gen- 
eral pit  boss,  and  in  1881  he  was  appointed 
Superintendent  of  the  mines  at  Braceville, 
which  position  he  now  occupies,  having  under 
bis  charge  about  a  thousand  men  and  three 
shafts.  Was  married  in  1?67,  to  Mar^'  A.  Bar- 
ly,  of  Morris,  the  result  being  six  children — Z. 
B.,  William,  Sarah,  Laura  L.,  Clara  M.  and 
Richard.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Braidwood 
Lodge,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Knights  Templar  of 
Joliet.  Votes  the  Republican  ticket.  As  a 
Superintendent,  Mr.  Ramsey  has  but  few  supe- 
riors ;  he  is  careful,  and  is  respected  by  his 
entire  class  of  men. 

H.  C.  RICHEY,  clerk  coal  company,  Brace- 
ville, was  born  January  7,  1841,  in  La  Salle 
County,  111.,  and  is  a  son  of  W.  W.  and  Maria 
(Thompson)  Richey,  natives,  the  father  of 
Ohio  and  the  mother  of  Norway.  The  father 
settled  in  La  Salle  County  in  1829,  and  the 
mother  in  1838.  The  parents  had  but  one 
child — H.  C.     The  father  was  married  a  second 


time  to  Eliza  Horton,  the  result  being  two  chil- 
dren— William  F.  and  Cora  A.  Our  subject 
attended  school  in  the  pioneer  cabins,  with  slab 
seats,  slab  writing-desks,  etc.  When  fifteen, 
he  began  clerking  in  a  store  for  his  father  at' 
Marseilles,  and  in  1862  he  enlisted  in  Compan}- 
C,  Seventy-seventh  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantrv, 
and  was  out  until  the  close.  Was  in  the  Quar- 
termaster's Department.  Was  captured  at  La 
Grange,  Tenn.,  and  taken  to  St.  Louis,  and  was 
afterward  exchanged.  On  his  return  from  the 
war,  he  was  with  his  father  for  two  years,  and 
then  built  bridges  with  Alex  Bruce,  of  Jlar- 
seilles,  for  four  years.  Came  to  Braceville  in 
1871,  and  kept  books  for  the  Braceville  Coal 
Company  ;  theuce  to  Henry,  Marshall  County, 
engaging  with  Nicholson  &  Bruce  for  three  and 
one-half  3-ears  ;  from  there  to  Florida  for  two 
years,  to  recruit  his  health.  In  1878,  he  re- 
turned to  Braceville,  where  he  engaged  as 
Superintendent  of  the  Braceville  Coal  Mines 
until  the  company  sold  out,  when  he  was  re- 
tained as  clerk  for  the  present  Superintendent. 
Was  married  in  18G1  to  S.  A.  Day,  the  result 
being  three  children — F.  L.,  A.  D.  and  Gertie. 
His  wife  died  in  1868,  and  he  was  again  mar- 
ried in  1871,  to  51.  E.  Tremaine,  the  result 
being  two  children — Hattie  and  Belle.  Is  a 
member  of  Marseilles  Lodge,  No.  418.  A.,  F.  & 
A.  M.     Votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

E.  H.  ROBINSON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Coal  City, 
was  born  April  11.  1834,  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  is 
a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Hayes)  Robin- 
son, who  came  from  an  English  ancestry. 
Thej'  were  natives  of  England,  and  landed  in 
America  the  day  before  the  falling  of  the 
meteors  in  the  year  1833.  They  remained  in 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  till  June,  1834,  when  they 
settled  in  Delaware  County,  Ohio,  on  the  line 
between  that  and  Union  Countj'.  Here  the 
mother  died  May  10,  1879,  aud  the  father  is 
still  surviving.  The  parents  reared  seven  chil- 
dren— E.  H.,  Alfred  J.,  Reuben,  Arthur,  Mar}-, 
Edward  and  Guido.     The  father  was  a  wood- 


BRACEVILLE  TOWNSHIP. 


119 


carver,  and  left  his  farm  under  the  manage- 
ment of  his  energetic  sons,  who  received  for 
their  iudustrj^  about  one  hundred  acres  of 
land.  E.  H.,  of  whom  we  write,  received  a 
liberal  education  from  his  father,  who  was  a 
graduate  of  the  Old  French  College  of  Lon- 
don, England,  founded  b}-  the  French  Hugue- 
not refugees  in  that  citj-  after  their  escape 
from  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  of 
whom  the  Robinsons  are  descendants.  Our 
subject  was  married,  September  16,  1858,  to 
Lucinda,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Esther  Hill. 
Her  parents  are  of  German  origin,  their  ances- 
tors having  emigrated  to  Penn.sylvania  some 
time  before  the  American  Revolution,  in  which 
struggle  thev  figured  prorainentl}',  A  pair  of 
the  second  and  a  pair  of  the  third  generation 
removed  from  Westmoreland  Count}',  Penn.,  to 
Ohio  about  the  year  1811.  The  younger  pair, 
Stephen  and  Mariam,  reared  a  large  famil}-, 
the  descendants  of  whom  are  scattered  over 
man}-  States.  The  Hills  noted  in  jBracevilie 
and  Wauponsee  Townships  are  descended  from 
this  pair  mentioned  above.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Robinson  have  two  sons  as  the  result  of  their 
union,  viz.,  Alfred  D.  and  William  R.,  both  of 
whom  are  at  home.  They  came  to  Grundy 
County  March  21,  18(55,  and  bought  a  farm  in 
Braceville  Township,  where  they  are  located, 
and  are  the  possessors  of  a  beautiful  home, 
containing  240  acres.  His  rare  business  talent 
soon  won  for  him  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
w!io  soon  placed  him  in  their  service  as  Asses- 
sor, Trustee  of  Schools,  and  other  offices,  all  of 
which  he  has  held  several  terms  with  honor  to 
himself  and  those  who  placed  him  there.  He 
votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

FREDERICK  SEEK,  farmer,  P.  0.  Gard- 
ner, was  born  September  7,  1843,  in  Baden, 
Germany  ;  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Catharine 
Seek,  natives  of  Germany.  The  parents  came 
to  Louisiana  in  1853,  where  the  father  died, 
and  the  mother  is  living  in  La  Salle  Countyi 
III.     Our  subject  worked  upon  a  farm  when 


quite  young.  Enlisted  in  Company  C,  Eighty- 
eighth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  re- 
mained in  the  service  two  years,  a  part  of 
which  time  he  was  a  sharpshooter.  He  was 
shot  through  the  top  of  the  skull.  lie  helped 
to  capture  Mission  Ridge,  and  was  with  Gen. 
Sheridan  nearl}'  one  year.  Was  married, 
October  27,  1866,  to  Louisa  Colwell,  and  has 
six  children — Lillie,  Frederick,  Willie,  Minnie, 
Louisa  and  Arthur.  He  settled  on  his  present 
farm  of  eighty  acres  in  1876>;  came  to  this 
county  in  1868,  and  rented  for  several  j-ears  of 
Cameron.     He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

JAMES  SHORT,  merchant,  Coal  City.  Mr. 
Short  was  born  November  14,  1874,  in  Grundy 
County,  111.  Is  one  of  five  children  by  Lemuel 
and  Sarah  (Burr)  Short,  viz.,  James,  W.  B.,  Al- 
vina,  Lemuel  and  William.  Mr.  Short  had  but 
little  advantage  of  school,  owing  to  the  scarcitj' 
of  school-buildings  in  his  younger  days.  At 
the  age  of  nine,  he  was  put  to  herd  cattle  on 
the  wild,  unbroken  prairie,  which  was  covered 
with  stones.  This  he  followed  until  about 
twenty-one  years  old.  He  can  recall  many  in- 
teresting reminiscences  of  his  early  "cow-boy  " 
life.  Ou  one  occasion,  he  scared  up  a  wolf,  and 
made  chase  with  his  pony,  and  finally  drove 
the  wild  animal  to  a  thicket.  When  he  alighted 
from  his  horse,  he  noticed  that  the  wolf  had 
bitten  the  pony's  legs,  which  were  bleeding 
freely.  This  sad  sight  aroused  Mr.  Short's 
temper,  and  awakened  his  love  for  his  prairie 
companion,  which  he  mounted,  and  returned  to 
the  thicket  with  a  full  determination  to  destroy 
the  beast  that  had  so  shamefully  lacerated  his 
horse's  forelegs.  He  either  found  the  same 
wolf  or  another,  and  chased  him  for  about 
four  hours  over  the  prairie,  whipping  and  lash- 
ing him  with  his  large  cow-whip  until  he  had 
put  out  one  eye  of  the  wild  animal,  and  cut 
his  head  so  badly  that  it  was  covered  with 
blood,  and  it  lay  down  to  rest,  at  which  junc- 
ture of  the  race  our  little  hero  alighted,  and 
with  stones  beat  the  wolf  to  death.     From  this 


120 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


time  on  the  faithful  horse  would  run  any  wolf 
that  aroused  from  his  lair.  This  was  not  all 
that  our  subject  amused  himself  at.  Every 
cattle  dealer  that  came  along  had  with  him  a 
fast  horse,  which  he  would  bet  on,  and  ever}' 
wager  was  proraptl}'  accepted  by  Mr.  Short,  and 
his  ponj*  always  won  the  race.  Over  the  prai- 
rie, where  rocks  were  as  thick  as  hail  after  a 
hard  storm,  would  this  wirj'  little  chap  run  his 
horse  and  secure  the  booty.  In  1875,  he  en- 
gaged in  cattle  dealing  for  himself,  which  he 
has  continued  since  with  good  success  ;  he  was 
for  awhile  in  the  meat  business  at  Coal  City, 
and  in  1880  he  opened  up  a  line  of  dry  goods, 
which  he  is  still  running.  Was  married,  in 
1874,  to  Frances  Lattimer,  the  result  being  one 
child — Frances.  His  wife  died  in  1876,  and  in 
1881  he  was  married  a  second  time  to  Mrs. 
Caroline  Clark,  a  daugliter  of  William  Moore, 
an  old  settler  of  this  county.  She  was  married 
to  Loren  G.  Clark,  resulting  in  four  children — 
Ettie,  Gertrude,  Henry  and  Alia.  Mr.  Short 
was  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  when 
the  village  of  Coal  City  was  organized.  He 
votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

T.  T.  SMITH  &  CO.,  hardware  merchants, 
Braceville.  Mr.  T.  T  Smith  of  the  above  firm, 
was  born  September  8,  1846,  in  Michigan, 
is  a  son  of  T.  and  Esther  A.  (Bashford) 
Smith,  natives  of  New  York,  and  the  par- 
ents of  five  children — Oliver  N.,  Harriet  A.,  T. 
T.  and  two  deceased  when  young.  Our  subject 
obtained  a  fair  education,  and  spent  his  young- 
er days  on  a  farm.  In  1864,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth 
Illinois  Infantr}-,  and  remained  until  the  war 
closed.  On  his  return  from  the  war,  he  en- 
gaged in  the  grocery  business,  together  with 
dry  goods,  at  Braidwood,  with  L.  H.  Goodrich. 
After  severing  his  connection  with  Goodrich, 
he  engaged  with  C.  W.  &  V.,  at  same  village 
for  two  years  ;  afterward  he  managed  a  farm 
for  Homes  &  Cod}'  for  two  yeai's,  and  then  was 
with  J.  L.  Swanburg  in  the  hardware  business. 


which  he  bought  April  4,  1882,  and  has  since 
continued  the  same  at  Braceville,  having  at 
this  time  a  full  line  of  hardware,  etc.  He  has 
a  fine  business  room  with  a  good  hall  above, 
which  is  used  for  general  meetings.  Was  mar- 
ried, in  1870,  to  Jennie  Bennett,  of  Wilming- 
ton. She  lived  but  a  short  time,  and  he  was 
again  married,  in  1874,  to  Lucy  Leatherman, 
the  result  being  Roy  L.,  Zula  M.  and  Oliver  T. 
He  is  now  President  of  the  Village  Board,  and 
is  Trustee  of  the  Methodist  Church  ;  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  and  is  Master  of  the 
same  ;  is  a  member  of  the  Braidwood  Lodge, 
A.,  F.  &  A.  M.;  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

ALFRED  VIXCENT,  blacksmith,  Braceville. 
Mr.  Vincent  was  born  July  5,  1861,  in  Montreal, 
Can.,  and  is  a  son  of  Julian  and  Asena  (La 
Rock)  Vincent,  natives  of  Canada.  The  family 
came  to  Illinois  in  1865,  settling  at  Man'eno, 
Kankakee  County.  The  parents  had  nine 
children— Frank,'  Will,  Ed,  Julian,  Alfred, 
Lillie,  Agnes,  Lina  and  Xapoleon.  Our  subject 
attended  school  but  little,  and  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade,  beginning  it  when  about  ten 
years  old.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  began 
learning  the  blacksmith's  trade  with  Thomas 
O'Neal,  of  Braidwood,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  about  three  years.  In  1882,  he  began  his 
present  business,  that  of  a  general  blacksmith 
and  wagon,  buggy  and  repair  shop,  at  which  he 
is  succeeding  admirably,  having  in  his  employ 
two  men  of  experience. 

F.  S.  WATKINS,  attorney  at  law,  Braceville, 
born  September  13,  1810,  in  Maryland  ;  son  of 
Lafayette  and  Lydia  (Stringer)  Watkins,  na- 
tives of  Maryland  and  parents  of  six  children 
— Richard  G.,  George  W.,  John  G..  Edward, 
Rachel  and  our  subject,  who  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  until  ten  years  old,  when  he 
engaged  as  a  clerk  for  J.  Merrill  at  $10  per 
month  ;  here  he  remained  for  five  years,  after 
which  he  farmed.  In  1831,  he  came  to  Pekin, 
where  he  clerked,  and  afterward  worked  on  a 
i  farm  in  Tazewell  County,  thence  to  La  Salle 


BRACEVILLE  TOWXSHIP. 


121 


Count}-,  engaging  in  farming,  and  from  there 
into  the  same  business  in  De  Kalb  Count}', 
thence  to  Grundy  County  in  184G,  and  has 
lived  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  since  in 
Morris.  In  1851.  he  was  elected  Treasurer  of 
this  county,  whicli  position  he  filled  with  credit. 
Was  a  member  of  the  committee  on  Imilding 
the  court  house.  He  moved  to  Hoyworth, 
McLean  County,  in  18GG,  where  he  remained 
until  1877,  at  which  period  he  returned  to 
Morris,  or  rather  to  his  fine  farm  near  Morris, 
which  he  sold  in  1882,  and  has  since  been 
located  at  Braceville,  wliere  he  applies  his  time 
in  some  legal  business.  Was  married,  in  1832, 
to  Augusta  Young,  the  result  being  five  chil- 
dren— Frederick,  Richard  G.,  Augusta,  Sarah 
and  Lydia.  His  wife  died  in  1844,  and  lie  was 
again  married,  in  1846.  to  Mrs.  Joannah  Phin- 
ney,  the  mother  of  eight  children  by  her  first 
marriage — Lydia,  Joseph,  Chester,  William, 
Martha,  Adelia,  Emerson  and  James  L.  Mr. 
W.  has  been  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  many 
years,  and  has  served  as  Town  Supervisor. 
Votes  Democratic  ticket. 

JONAS  WATERS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mazon, 
was  born  February  22,  1851,  in  Mazon  Town- 
ship, Grundy  County,  111.;  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Bethemia  (Booth)  Waters,  who  came  to  this 
county  in  1848,  settling  in  Mazon  Township, 
where  the}-  remained  until  death.  Henry, 
Jonas  and  George  are  the  only  ones  living 
from  their  large  family  of  children.  Jonas 
was  left  without  parents  when  quite  young, 
and  was  compelled  to  work  for  his  own  suste- 
nance. Was  married,  December  3,  1872,  to 
Alvaretta,  a  daughter  of  John  N.  and  Susan- 
nah (Truby)  Whitsel,  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  residents  of  Goodfarm  Township,  this 
county.  Her  parents  have  seven  children  liv- 
ing from  a  family  often,  viz.,  Mary  E.,  Laboua 
C.,  Jonathan  L.,  Joannah,  Alvaretta,  Melinda 
E.,  Jane.  Christopher  T.,  John  E.,  and  William 
C.  Our  subject  has  one  child,  the  result  of 
his  union,  Clarence  B.     He  has  100  acres  of 


land  lying  in  Braceville  and  Mazon  Townships, 
the  result  of  his  own  labors.  He  bought  the 
same  in  1874  of  B.  A.  Crister,  who  entered  it 
from  the  Government.  He  votes  the  Republi- 
can ticket. 

A.  G.  WATSON,  agent  for  Allen  Bros  ,  lum- 
ber dealers,  Braceville,  was  born  October  4, 
1855,  in  Center  County,  Penn.;  is  a  son  of 
James  B.  and  Elizabeth  (Hess)  Watson,  natives 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  are  living,  viz.,  A.  G., 
Belle  and  R.  L.;  Blanche,  deceased.  The  moth- 
er died  in  1865,  while  the  father  was  in  Com- 
pany G,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry  ;  he 
was  Orderly  in  Company  B,  Forty-eighth  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteer  Infantry,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war.  The  father  died  in  1878  ;  he  and 
consort  were  Presbyterians.  Our  subject,  by  ap- 
plying his  spare  moments  to  his  books,  became 
able  to  teach  in  the  country  schools,  and  with 
the  means  obtained  in  that  way  he  was  eflabled 
to  attend  the  Miller.sville  Academy,  where  he 
received  a  good  grade.  After  closing  his  school 
days,  he  began  learning  car-building  at  Altoona, 
Penn.,  which  he  continued  for  five  years.  He 
then  came  West,  and  worked  at  house  carpen- 
tering at  Joliet  for  six  months.  In  1879,  he 
did  some  carpentering  at  Braceville  for  D. 
Winters,  a  contractor  of  Joliet.  In  January, 
1881,  he  took  charge  of  the  lumber  business  of 
Allen  Brothers  at  this  place,  which  he  still  con- 
tinues. He  is  serving  the  people  as  Village 
Trustee,  and  is  a  Notary  Public  ;  is  a  charter 
member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  Braceville  ;  is 
a  stanch  Republican.  He  was  married  Janu- 
ary 18,  1881,  to  Kittle  W.  Thornton,  of  Joliet. 

S.  J.  WARNER,  boot  and  shoe  dealer, 
Braceville.  This  energetic  young  man  was  born 
in  1858,  in  Kankakee  County,  111.  He  is  a  son 
of  Jerome  and  Helen  M.  (Ladd)  Warner,  the 
former  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  lat- 
ter of  Vermont.  They  emigrated  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Will  County.  They  were  blessed 
with  three  children  who  grew  up  and  three  who 


122 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


are  deceased.  Those  living  are  Jay,  Adelbert 
and  S.  J.  The  latter  attended  school  at  Wil- 
mington and  Naperville.  He  clerked  some  be- 
fore coming  here ;  was  in  the  post  ofBce  at 
Wilmington,  111.,  for  some  time,  and  was  em- 
ployed in  the  fire  insurance  business  at  Chica- 
go. February  1,  1882,  he  opened  up  a  line  of 
boots  and  shoes  at  Braceville,  and  is  doing  a 
fine  business,  giving  his  own  personal  attention, 
and,  like  all  who  love  their  vocation,  is  success- 
ful. 

T.  A.  YOUXG,  merciiant,  Braceville,  was 
born  January  19,  1837,  in  Pennsylvania.  Is  a 
son  of  Aaron  and  Martha  (Harrison)  Young, 
natives  of  England,  and  the  parents  of  six 
children — T.  A.,  John,  Mary,  Martha,  Joseph 


and  Albert.  In  1862,  subject  came  to  Braceville, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  mines.  In  1866,  he 
opened  the  first  coal  shaft  in  Kankakee  County, 
on  what  is  known  as  the  ■'  Hook  farm;  "  he  later 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Young  &  Price.  In  three  years 
Price  withdrew,  and  our  subject  has  continued 
the  same  since,  having  now  a  full  line  of  dry 
goods,  notions,  groceries,  etc.  Was  married,  in 
1865,  to  Martha  Williams,  the  result  being  five 
children — John,  William,  Thomas,  George  and 
Mary.  He  was  once  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
here  ;  is  now  a  member  of  the  Town  Board.  Is 
a  member  of  Braceville  Lodge,  No.  679,  I.  0. 
0.  F.,  and  Gardner  Lodge  A.,  P.  &  A.  M.;  votes 
the  Republican  Ticket, 


FELIX   TOWNSHIP. 


JOSHUA  R.  COLLINS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mor- 
ris. The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of 
Grundy  County,  bom  November  13,  1854  ;  son 
of  Jeremiah  and  Maggie  (Widie\')  Collins. 
Raised  and  received  the  elements  of  an  English 
education  at  the  common  schools  of  the  county  ; 
took  a  course  at  the  Morris  Classical  Institute. 
Afterward  graduated  at  the  Grand  Prairie 
Seminar}'  and  Commercial  College.  Married, 
November  27,  1879,  in  Grundy  County,  to  Miss 
Anna  Holroyd,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and 
Susan  Holroyd,  of  Grundy  County,  living  in 
Wauponsee  Township.  Mrs.  Collins,  born  in 
Will  County,  111.,  April  3,  1855,  and  educated 
in  AVill  County.  They  have  one  son — Frank 
W.  Collins,  born  in  Grund}'  County  February 
26,  18S2.  Mr.  Collins  is  among  the  leading 
stock-raisers  of  the  county,  and  has  a  vast 
farm  of  valuable  land  1n  Felix  Township 
known  as  the  Samuel  Holdermaa  farm,  resi- 
dence four  and  a  half  miles  southeast  from 
Morris. 

SILAS  LATTIMER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Wilming- 
ton.    The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of 


Athens  County,  Ohio,  born  April  17, 1821  ;  son 
of  Isaac  and  Jane  Lattimer.  Raised  and  edu- 
cated principally  in  Mercer  County,  Ohio.  In 
18-15,  he  with  his  mother  removed  to  Marion 
County,  Ind.,  his  father  having  died  in  Ohio. 
Subject  was  married,  in  Indiana,  April  30, 
1846,  to  Miss  Mar}-  Schro3-er,  daughter  ot 
Joseph  and  Eliza  Schroyer.  She  is  a  native  of 
Wayne  Couuty,  Ind.,  born  October  3,  1826. 
They  remained  in  Indiana  until  1854,  engaged 
in  farming.  At  this  time,  he  removed  to  Illi- 
nois and  settled  in  Felix  Township,  near  where 
he  now  lives.  He  here  owns  a  farm  of  280 
acres  in  Sections  15  and  22  of  Felix  Township, 
residence  nine  miles  southeast  from  Morris. 
Value  of  land,  $30  per  acre.  They  have  ten 
children — Eliza  J.  Lattimer,  born  in  Indiana 
April  28,  1847,  married  to  C.  C.  Massey  in 
December,  1866 ;  Clarissa  C.  Lattimer,  born  in 
Indiana  November  22,  1848,  married  to  Silas 
W.  Gibson,  of  Mazon  Township  ;  Malinda  F. 
Lattimer,  born  in  Indiana  December  17,  1850, 
married  June  11,  1874,  to  James  Short,  died 
July  1,  1876  ;  Charity  C.  Lattimer,  born  No- 


FELIX   TOWNSHIP. 


183 


vember  6,  1853,  and  dieil  November  5,  1855  ; 
James  X.  Lattimer,  born  in  Grundj-  County, 
111.,  March  31,  185G,  married  Miss  Caroline 
Rodee  April  23,  1879 ;  Laura  A.  Lattimer, 
born  in  this  count3-  February  7,  1858,  mar- 
ried to  Horace  Severus  December  22,  1880; 
Johnson  W.  Lattimer,  born  in  Grundy 
County  November  23,  18G0;  Tedee  Latti- 
mer, born  in  Grundy  County  January  12, 
1863,  died  at  the  home  in  Felix  Town- 
ship December  17,  1866;  Sarah  E.  Lattimer, 
born  in  Grundy  February  21,  1865  ;  Ida  May 
Lattimer,  born  in  Grundj'  Count}"  March  19, 
1869.  Mr.  Lattimer  is  a  Democrat  politicallj^i 
and  has  been  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Town- 
ship otBcial  for  many  years.  Engaged  in  stock 
raising  and  general  farming. 

DAVID  MACKIE,  miner,  Diamond.  The 
subject  of  these  lines  is  a  native  of  Ayrshire,  in 
Scotland,  born  within  eighteen  miles  of  Glas- 
gow, January  1, 1837  ;  son  of  David  and  Janet 
(Barkley)  Mackie.  Raised  and  educated  in 
Scotland,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1869.  Mr.  Mackie  is  a  practical  miner,  having 
worked  at  this  business  since  nine  j'ears  old. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  was  put  in  charge 
of  a  series  of  mines  as  assistant  superintendent, 
which  position  he  held  until  coming  to  this 
connty  in  1869.  First  located  in  Wisconsin 
and  engaged  to  a  farmer  daring  his  harvest, 
afterward  employed  in  the  Prairie  du  Chieu 
Machine  Shops  as  a  machinist.  In  October, 
18  j9,  he  came  to  Braidwood,  Will  County,  and 
engaged  his  services  to  Messrs.  Bennett  &  Tur- 
ner, working  at  dumping  mud  from  shaft  about 
the  time  of  the  completing  of  the  sinking  of 
No.  1  shaft  ;  afterward  ran  the  engine  for  about 
six  months.  Afterward  took  position  as  min- 
ing boss  ;  was  then  promoted  to  the  position 
now  held,  that  of  Superintendent  of  Wilmington 
Coal  Mining  &  Manufacturing  Company.  Mar- 
ried in  Scotland,  October  18,  1860,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Kerr,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane 
(Pringle)    Kerr.      She    was   born    in    Scotland 


June,  1841.  They  have  a  family  of  four  sons 
and  two  daughters — David  Mackie,  born  in 
Scotland  June  20,  1862  ;  Thomas  Mackie,  born 
in  Scotland  November  9,  1869  ;  Janet  Mackie, 
born  in  Scotland  September  6,  1865 ;  George 
B.  Mackie,  born  in  Scotland  December  3,  1868  ; 
Jane  P.  Mackie,  born  in  Felix  Township, 
Grundy  County,  July  25,  1872  ;  John  W. 
Mackie,  born  in  Grundy  Count}-  December  9, 
1877.  Mr.  Mackie  is  superintending  a  force  of 
about  400  men,  the  monthly  pay-roll  amount- 
ing to  $17,931  for  the  month  ending  October 
31,  1882.  Their  average  capacity  is  about 
500  tons  per  day.  The  company  own  a 
tract  of  1,040  acres  of  coal  land  in  Felix  and 
Braceville  Townships. 

THOMAS  PATTISON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Coal 
City.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of 
Grundy  County,  111.,  born  April  8,  1847 ;  son 
of  William  and  Martha  Pattison,  who  were 
among  the  first  settlers  of  this  county.  Sub- 
ject was  educated  in  Grundy  County,  and  at 
the  Fowler  Institute  of  Kendall  County,  and 
married,  March  24,  1870,  to  Miss  Martha  E. 
Struble,  daughter  of  Elias  Struble.  She  was 
born  in  New  Jersey  September  10,  1850,  and 
came  to  Grundy  County  when  about  sixteen 
years  old.  They  have  a  family  of  two  chil- 
dren— Bertha  E.  Pattison,  born  in  Grundy 
County  September  6,  1872  ;  Ev^  M.  Patti- 
son, born  in  Grundy  County  June  13,  1878. 
Mr.  Pattison  owns  a  farm  of  120  aeres 
of  improved  land  in  Section  31  of  Felix 
Township,  residence  nine  and  a  half  miles 
southeast  from  Morris.  Value  of  land,  $40 
per  acre.  Mr.  Pattison's  father,  William  Pat- 
tison, died  in  Grundy  County  March  8,  1882. 
His  mother  has  been  dead  since  he  was  a  mere 
boy.  Has  one  brother  in  the  county — J.  H. 
Pattison,  present  County  Treasurer.  Politics, 
Republican. 

LEMUEL  SHORT,  Sr.,  farmer,  P.  0.  Wil- 
mington. The  subject  of  these  lines  is  a  native 
of  Allegheny  County,  Penn.,  born  August  15, 


124 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


1819  ;  son  of  James  and  Ellen  (McFarland) 
Short,  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  When  subject 
was  five  3'ears  old,  his  parents  removed  to  what 
IS  now  Ashland  County,  Ohio,  where  his  mother 
died.  His  father  died  in  the  same  county  in 
1863.  In  1836,  subject  came  to  Michigan  and 
spent  one  summer,  then  returned  to  Ohio,  but 
came  to  Illinois  in  1838,  and  located  in  Lake 
County.  Here  he  soon  purchased  land  and 
engaged  in  farming,  hunting  and  trapping,  the 
latter  business  aifording  money  to  pay  on  land. 
Subject  first  came  to  Grundy  County  for  per- 
manent residence  in  1856.  He  was  married, 
December  31,  1815,  to  Miss  Sarah  Burr,  daugh- 
ter of  Warham  and  Nancy  (Cummins)  Burr, 
her  father  formerly  of  New  York,  and  her 
mother  formerly  of  Ohio.  Mrs.  Short  was 
born  in  Shelby  County,  Ind.,  February  10, 
1826,  and  came  to  Will  County,  111.,  with  her 
parents  in  1833.  They  have  a  family  of  five 
children — James  Short,  born  in  Will  County, 
111.,  November  11,  1817 — married  to  Miss  Ma- 


linda  F.  Lattimer  June  11,  1874,  his  second 
wife  was  a  Widow  iMoore,  married,  August  3, 
\  1881  ;  Warham  B.  Short,  born  in  Will  County 
August  9,  1819 — married,  January  1,  1878,  to 
Miss  Mary  Heydecker  ;  Alvina  Short,  born  in 
Lake  County  May  25,  1852 — married,  July  1. 
1871,  to  M.  Gassny ;  Lemuel  Short,  liorn  in 
Lake  County  January  24,  1855 — married, 
May  1,  1876,  to  Miss  Clara  Heydecker;  Will- 
iam Short,  born  in  Lake  County  July  17,  1856, 
died  in  same  county  February  1,  1859.  Mr. 
Short  now  owns  about  2.400  acres  of  land  in 
Felix  Township  of  Grundy  County,  and  a  farm 
of  373  acres  in  Lake  County,  111.  His  resi- 
dence is  ten  miles  southeast  from  Morris.  He 
has  been  among  the  leading  stock-raisers  of 
the  county,  and  is  too  well  known  as  a 
thorough  business  man  to  need  especial  men- 
tion in  that  particular.  Politics,  Republican. 
Mrs.  Short's  father  died  in  Will  County  Sep- 
6,  1861,  and  her  mother  in  the  same  county 
March  31,  1862. 


SARATOGA   TOWNSHIP. 


WILLIAM  H.  AYRES,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  New  Canaan,  Conn.,  June  17, 
1811,  son  of  Frederick  and  Rebecca  (Seymour) 
Ayres.  Frederick  was  born  in  New  Canaan  in 
1781,  and  died  in  1853.  Rebecca  was  born  in 
same  place  in  1783,  and  died  in  1845.  After 
obtaining  his  education  in  his  native  place, 
William  learned  the  trade  of  tanner  and  cur- 
rier. In  1834,  he  married  Eliza  J.  Benedict, 
who  was  born  in  New  Canaan  October  12, 
1813.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Caleb  and  Alice 
Benedict,  natives  of  New  Canaan.  In  1846, 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  moved  to  Grundy 
County,  since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  is  a  Republican 
and  a  member  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
Has  been  School  Director  in  Saratoga  Town- 


ship. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ayres  are  the  parents  of 
six  children,  of  whom  Henry  G.,  James  S., 
Rebecca  A.  and  William  E.  are  dead.  Lou- 
vica  and  Frederick  H.  are  living. 

JERRY  COLLINS,  farmer,  P.  0.  xMorris, 
was  born  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  September,  1820, 
son  of  Joshua  and  Margaret  (Row)  Collins,  the 
former  born  iu  Rhode  Island  about  1776  ;  was 
well  educated,  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  township. 
Margaret,  his  mother,  a  native  of  New  York, 
was  the  mother  of  nine  children,  of  whom 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  the  fifth.  His 
first  business  enterprise  was  the  purchase  of 
80  acres  of  land  in  this  township,  which  he 
has  added  to  until  he  now  owns  800  acres  of 
good   farming  land,   well  improved.     He   was 


SARATOGA  TOWNSHIP. 


125 


married  in  this  county,  in  1848,  to  Miss  Han- 
nah Cryder,  who  lived  but  eighteen  months 
after  her  marriage.  His  second  wife,  Margaret 
Widney,  was  born  about  1833,  and  is  the 
mother  of  three  children.  Joshua,  the  eldest, 
is  married,  and  a  man  of  family  ;  Hannah 
May,  the  second,  is  dead  ;  Oscar,  the  youngest, 
lives  with  his  parents.  Mr.  Jerr}"  Collins  was 
but  thirteen  years  of  age  when  brought  to  this 
township.  His  mother  and  the  children  came 
from  Chicago  in  a  wagon  driven  by  Charlie 
Smith.  Our  subject  handled  the  logs  for  the 
first  house  erected  in  the  town  of  Morris,  so  he 
has  been  the  witness  and  assistant  of  vast  im- 
provements in  this  part  of  the  countrj-.  His 
political  faith  is  Republican. 

CRYDER  COLLINS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Saratoga  Township,  Grundy  Coun- 
ty, Apnl  13,  1855.  He  is  the  son  of  Joshua 
and  Harriet  (Cryder)  Collins  ;  his  mother  is 
still  alive  ;  his  parents  had  six  children.  Our 
subject  received  his  schooling  in  Morris,  this 
countj',  and  commenced  life  as  a  farmer.  He 
has  been  and  is  at  present  engaged  in  stock- 
raising.  In  March,  1880,  he  was  married  in 
this  township  to  Lilly  Nelson,  who  was  born  in 
Norway.  They  have  one  child — Isaac.  Mr. 
Collins  has  948  acres  of  laud.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican. 

JOSHUA  E.  COLLINS,  former,  P.  0.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Grundy  County,  111.,  October 
7,  1859,  and  is  the  youngest  son  of  Joshua 
Collins,  Sr.,  and  Harriet  Crj^ier.  He  received 
his  early  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  the  country,  and  finished  at  the  high  school 
at  Morris.  He  took  charge  of  the  home  place 
after  the  death  of  his  father,  which  he  now 
owns,  and  from  surroundings,  it  would  impress 
one  that  he  is  quite  energetic  and  practical  in 
all  his  operations.  He  handles  a  great  deal  of 
stock  and  raises  large  crops  of  grain.  His 
mother  still  lives  with  and  keeps  house  for 
him,  as  he  is  still  unmarried.  Politically,  a 
Republican.      His    father   started   quite    poor 


and  accumulated  quite  a  large  and  valuable 
property,  which  his  widow  and  children  are 
now  enjoying,  and  his  grandfather  was  one 
among  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  county. 

HENRY  R.  CONKLIN,  farmer,  P.  O.  Morris, 
was  born  in  New  York  in  1823;  son  of  Henrj^and 
Emma  (Bristol)  Conklin.  the  former  was  born 
in  New  York  about  1793;  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion, and  was  engaged  in  the  war  of  1812;  he 
died  about  1872;  his  wife  was  born  in  New 
York  in  1803,  and  was  the  mother  of  four 
children,  of  whom  our  subject  was  the  second. 
During  his  boyhood,  Mr.  Conklin  worked  on 
his  father's  farm,  and  attended  the  common 
countrj'  schools.  In  1851,  he  moved  to  this 
State,  and  settled  on  his  first  purchase  of  100 
acres  of  land.  This  was  unimproved,  and  had 
no  buildings  upon  it,  excepting  one  small 
shanty,  which  would  hardly  warrant  the  name 
of  a  house.  He  now  owns  200  acres  of  good 
tillable  land,  upon  which  he  has  erected  good, 
substantial  buildings  of  all  kinds,  necessary 
for  a  well-regulated  farm.  In  New  I'^ork  State, 
in  the  }"ear  1848,  he  married  Miss  Mahala 
Westfall,  a  native  of  New  York,  born  in  June, 
1821,  and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Poll}-  (Tur- 
ner) Westfall;  the  former  was  born  in  New  York 
in  1797;  he  is  still  living  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. The  latter  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in 
1799,  she  died  in  May,  1871.  The  subject  and 
his  wife  are  the  parents  of  two  living  children 
— Etta,  the  oldest  daughter,  is  married  to  a 
Mr.  McGrath,  and  resides  in  Kansas;  they  have 
two  children,  Henry,  the  only  son,  was  born  in 
this  count}-  about  1857,  and  has  one  child. 
Mr.  Conklin  and  his  family  are  members  of 
the  Congregational  Church. 

M.  H.  CRYDER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris,  was 
born  in  Ohio  March  21,  1820,  son  of  Henry 
and  Mary  A.  (Hess)  Cryder.  Henry,  his  father, 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about  1779;  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  died  in  1835.  Mary, 
his  mother,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about 
1777,  and  is  the  mother  of  eight  living  chil- 


126 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


dreu,  the  subject  being  the  sixth.  He  received 
a  good  common-school  education,  which  was 
commeuced  in  Ohio  and  finislied  in  this  countj', 
to  the  latter  of  which-  his  parents  came  October 
25,  1833.  His  marriage,  which  was  one  of  the 
first  on  the  records  of  this  count}^  occurred 
March  7,  1847,  when  he  was  united  to  Miss 
Eachael  Thomas,  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  about 
1818.  Her  parents  came  to  this  countj*  from 
Ohio.  She  is  the  mother  of  three  children — 
Edwin  T.,  Blariett  and  Eugene.  The  daughter 
is  married.  The  sons  are  engaged  in  farming 
on  the  homo  place.  Mr.  Cryder  is  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  intelligence,  and  has  served 
the  public  in  a  number  of  important  capacities, 
such  as  Assessor,  Commissioner,  Supervisor 
and  Collector  for  Au  Sable  Township.  He  is 
influential  and  highly  respected  in  the  commu- 
nitj-  where  he  lives. 

K.  M.  J.  GRANVILLE,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Norway  May  17,  1827,  son  of 
John  and  Belle  (Mulster)  Granville.  He  was 
born  in  Norway  in  1804,  and  died  in  1857;  was 
County  Clerk  in  his  county,  and  followed  the 
occupation  of  a  farmer.  His  wife  was  born  in 
Norway  in  180G,  and  died  in  1881.  Our  sub- 
ject received  his  education  in  Norway,  and 
taught  school  there.  He  there  married  his 
first  wife,  Carrie  Kythe,  b}'  whom  he  had  two 
children.  After  his  removal  to  this  country, 
he  taught  school  in  Kendall  County,  111.,  where, 
iu  1858,  he  mai-ried  his  second  wife,  Martha 
Anderson,  who  was  born  in  Norway  December 
16,  1840.  She  is  the  mother  of  nine  children, 
viz.,  Caroline  J.,  Christina,  Isabella,  Andrew, 
Edward,  Albert,  Malinda  Ann,  Franklin  and 
Martha.  Mr.  Granville  taught  school  in  Grun- 
dy County,  and  was  afterward  School  Director. 
He  has  been  interested  in  the  erection  of 
churches  in  both  Kendall  and  Grundy  Counties, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Po- 
litically, he  is  a  Republican. 

PELEG  T.  HUNT,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  New  Lebanon,  N.  Y.,  August  10, 


1823,  son  of  William  F.  and  Betsy  (Tabor) 
Hunt.  He  was  bom  in  Columbia  County,  N. 
Y.,  February  25,  1798.  Was  a  farmer,  and 
died  March  22,  1869.  His  mother,  Betsy, 
was  born  in  Rensselaer  County,  N.  Y.,  Septem- 
ber 22,  1801,  and  died  August  26,  1879.  Mr. 
Peleg  Hunt  received  his  education  in  Nassau, 
N.  Y.,  and  began  life  as  a  farmer.  In  1855, 
March  15,  he  came  to  Grundy.  He  has  filled 
the  position  of  School  Director.  His  wife, 
Mary  S.  Cummings,  a  native  of  New  York,  was 
born  February  9,  1827.  She  is  the  daughter 
of  Russell  D.  and  Sophia  Cummings.  Her 
father  was  born  April  28,  1801,  and  died 
August  29,  1856.  Her  mother  was  born  April 
5,  1803,  and  is  still  living.  They  are  both 
natives  of  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hunt  have 
four  children  as  follows — George  W.,  Lenora 
J.,  Fannie  M.  and  Emma  L.  Mr.  P.  F.  Hunt's 
paternal  grandfather,  William  Hunt,  was  born 
in  Norwich,  Conn.,  November  5,  1768,  and 
died  October  8,  1852.  His  paternal  grand- 
mother, Susanna  Hunt,  was  born  at  Long  Point, 
Conn.,  May  9,  1768,  and  died  August  18, 1854. 
Mr.  Peleg  Hunt  is  a.  Republican. 

GBRSHOM  HUNT,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  New  Lebanon,  N.  Y.,  January  18, 
1828,  son  of  William  F.  and  Betsy  (Tabor) 
Hunt.  The  former  was  born  in  New  York 
February  25,  1798,  and  died  March  22,  1869. 
The  latter  was  born  in  New  York  September 
22,  1801,  and  died  August  26,  1879.  His 
grandparents  were  William  and  Susanna  Hunt. 
The  former  was  born  in  Norwich,  Conn., 
November  5,  1768,  and  died  October  8,  1852. 
The  latter  was  born  at  Long  Point,  Conn.,  May 
9,  1768,  and  died  August  18,  1854.  Gershom 
Hunt  obtained  his  education  in  Rensselaer 
Count}-,  N.  Y.  Began  to  till  the  soil  in  New 
York,  which  occupation  he  continues  in  Illi- 
nois, to  which  latter  State  he  came  in  Febru- 
ary, 1856.  He  was  married  in  Columbia 
County,  N.  Y.,  September  15,  1855,  to  Miss 
Hannah  Smith,  born  in  Columbia  County,  N. 


SARATOGA    TOWNSHIP. 


127 


Y.,  April  30,  1826.  She  is  the  daughter  of 
Frederick  and  Catharine  Smith,  natives  of  Co- 
himhia  Count}-,  N.  Y.  Her  fatlier  was  born  in 
1790,  and  her  mother  in  1799.  Our  subject 
has,  since  his  residence  here,  held  the  positions 
of  Township  Supervisor,  Township  Clerk  and 
School  Director,  He  belongs  to  the  Repub- 
lican part}-. 

JAMES  A.  HUNT,  farmer,  P,  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  New  Lebanon,  Columbia  Co,,  N.  Y., 
September  10,  1838,  and  is  the  son  of  William 
F.  and  Betsey  (Tabor)  Hunt.  He  was  born  in 
Columbia  County,  N.  Y.,  February  25,  1798, 
and  died  March  22,  1869  ;  his  occupation  was 
farming.  The  mother  of  our  subject  was  born 
in  Rensselaer  County,  N.  Y.,  September  22, 
1801,  and  died  August  26,  1879.  Mr.  James 
Hunt's  grandfather,  William  Hunt,  was  born 
in  Norwich,  Conn.,  November  5,  1768,  and 
died  October  8,  1852.  His  grandmother,  Su- 
sanna Hunt,  was  born  at  Long  Point,  Conn., 
May  9,  1768.  and  died  August  18,  1854.  Mr, 
Hunt  obtained  his  schooling  in  New  York 
State,  and  there  commenced  farming.  He  re- 
moved to  Illinois  in  April,  1 859,  and  in  Mor- 
ris on  August  20,  1862,  was  married  to  Laura 
Bristol,  a  native  of  Rensselaer  County,  N.  Y., 
born  February  2,  1838,  Her  parents,  Asa  and 
]Maria  Bristol,  are  both  natives  of  New  York, 
Mr.  and  Mrs,  Hunt  have  one  child,  William  E., 
born  June  14,  1864.  Mr.  Hunt  has  been 
School  Director  and  Township  Trustee.  In 
politics,  he  is  a  Republican. 

FRANK  HUNT,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris,  was 
born  in  Nassau  County,  N.  Y.,  November  12, 
1843,  son  of  William  F.  and  Betsy  (Tabor) 
Hunt.  The  former  was  born  in  Columbia 
County,  N.  Y.,  February  25,  1798,  and  died 
March  22,  1809  ;  was  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
Betsy  Hunt,  his  mother,  was  born  in  Rensse- 
laer County,  N.  Y.,  September  22,  1801,  and 
died  \ugust  26,  1879.  His  grandfather,  Will- 
iam Hunt,  was  born  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  Novem- 
ber 5,  1768,  and  died  October  8,  1852.     His 


grandmother,  Susanna  Hunt,  was  born  at  Long 
Point,  Conn.,  May  9,  1708,  and  died  August 
18,  1854,  Mr.  Frank  Hunt  received  his  educa- 
tion in  Nassau  County,  N.  Y.  While  in  New 
York,  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farming, 
which  he  has  continued  to  gootl  advantage 
since  his  settlement  in  Illinois,  January  16, 
1868,  he  married  Frances  A.  Waterbury,  boru 
in  Nassau  County,  N,  Y.,  August  26,  1846. 
Her  parents,  Sylvester  and  Permelia  Water- 
bury,  are  natives  of  the  same  place.  From 
this  marriage,  there  are  two  children — William 
W,,  born  May  18,  1872,  and  Alice  M.,  Septem 
her  10,  1876,  Mr.  Hunt  has  filled  the  position 
of  School  Director.     He  is  a  Republican. 

John  JOHNSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Norway  in  1806,  son  of  John  and 
Sarah  (Benson)  Johnson.  His  father,  who  was 
a  farmer,  was  born  in  Norway,  and  died  there 
in  1849.  Sarah,  his  mother,  was  born  in  Nor- 
way in  1783,  and  died  in  1879,  Our  subject 
availed  himself  of  such  educational  privileges 
as  were  at  hand  and  worked  at  farming  while 
in  Norway,  He  tliere  married  his  first  wife 
Gustie  Nutson,  who  died  before  he  came  to 
this  country.  By  her  he  had  two  children — 
Sarah,  deceased,  and  John,  who  still  survives. 
He  nest  married  Annie  Larson,  a  native  of 
Norway,  born  in  1807,  Her  parents,  Lewis 
and  Tena  Larson,  were  also  natives  of  Norway. 
As  a  result  of  this  second  union,  there  are  four 
children — Lewis,  Gostey,  Tena  and  John,  Since 
his  residence  in  this  country,  Mr.  Johnson  has 
continued  his  occupation  of  farming.  He  is  a 
Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

ADMOND  JOHNSON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Norway  June  24,  1818,  son  of 
John  and  Sarah  (Benson)  Johnson.  The  for- 
mer was  a  native  of  Norway,  where  he  died  in 
1849.  The  latter,  also  a  native  of  Norway, 
was  born  in  1783,  and  died  in  1879.  Our  sub- 
ject received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  countrv,  and  worked  at 


138 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


farming  until  he  came  to  America.  In 
1858,  at  Lisbon,  III,  he  was  married  to  Sarah 
Halgeson,  a  native  of  Norway,  born  in  1837. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  Henrj-  and  Carrie  Hal- 
geson, both  natives  of  Norway.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Johnson  have  had  eight  children,  of  whom 
Carrie  is  dead.  Sarah,  Henry,  John,  Carrie, 
Halver,  Thomas  A.  and  Anna  H.  are  living. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  lias  acted  in  the 
capacity  of  School  Director.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  political  tenets,  and  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

ERIK  JOHNSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Norway  July  24,  1828,  the  young- 
est of  three  children,  son  of  John  and  Anna 
(Swensen)  Olston.  He  was  born  in  Norway 
about  1788,  and  died  about  1830.  His  moth- 
er, a  native  of  Norway,  was  born  in  1786,  and 
died  in  1862.  Mr.  Johnson  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  of  his  native  country  ; 
worked  for  a  time  at  shoemaking.  He  came 
to  this  country  when  twenty-six  years  of  age  ; 
landed  first  at  Quebec  ;  remained  there  a  short 
time  and  then  came  to  this  county.  Settled 
first  in  Nettle  Creek  Township,  where  he 
worked  on  a  farm  eighteen  months.  He  then 
moved  to  Saratoga  Township  and  continued 
farming  a  few  3-ears.  Although  he  commenced 
without  a  dollar,  he  had  sufficient  means  to 
purchase  sixty-six  acres  of  unimproved  land,  a 
part  of  his  present  homestead.  This  he  has 
added  to  and  improved  until  now  he  has  a  fine 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirtj--two  acres.  In 
1852,  in  Norway,  he  was  married  to  Tennie 
Michleson,  who  was  born  in  that  countr}'  Jan- 
uary 1,  1829.  Her  father  and  mother  were 
natives  of  the  same  place.  By  this  union, 
there  were  seven  children.  Mr.  Johnson,  in 
1864,  joined  the  Thirty-sixth  Illinois  Regiment, 
Company  A,  and  was  in  the  battles  of  Colum- 
bia, Spring  Hill,  Franklin  and  Nashville,  Tenn, 
During  the  war,  he  received  a  wound  from 
which  he  has  never  recovered,  being  now  una- 
ble to  work.     He  contributes  toward  the  sup- 


port of  the  Gospel,  is  a  faithful  Christian  and 
respected  citizen.  He  belongs  to  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  is  a  Republican, 

GUNNER  JOHNSON,  farmer,  P,  0,  Morris, 
was  born  in  Norwaj'  December  19,  1835,  son  of 
John  Peterson  and  Annie  Gunderson,  both  of 
Norwaj',  The  former  was  born  about  1790, 
and  was  a  farmer  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  18G5,  The  mother  of  our  subject 
was  born  in  1794,  and  died  in  1876,  In  Mor- 
ris, III,,  August  16,  1870,  Mr,  Johnson  married 
Caroline  Johnson,  a  native  of  Norway,  born  in 
1850,  She  is  the  daughter  of  John  and  Julia 
Peterson,  and  the  mother  of  four  children,  viz., 
John  0,  and  Annie,  deceased  ;  George  and 
Annie  J,  still  living,  Mr,  Johnson  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  Church  and  a  Republican, 

STORY  MATTESON,  farmer,  P,  0,  Morris, 
was  born  in  Michigan  February  15,  1838,  and 
is  the  second  son  of  Beriah  H.  a,nd  Susan 
(Jones)  Matteson.  Beriah,  who  resides  at  Mor- 
ris, Grundy  County,  was  born  in  New  York  in 
1812.  Susan  was  born  in  New  York  in  1812, 
and  is  the  mother  of  nine  children,  our  subject 
being  the  second.  Our  subject  attended  the 
country  schools  and  worked  at  farming  until 
he  became  twenty-two,  when  he  started  for 
Illinois,  He  arrived  here  without  friends  or 
money,  but  was  soon  employed  by  a  farmer 
named  Bartlett,  for  whom  he  worked  industri- 
ously three  years.  His  employer  then  allowed 
him  to  work  on  shares,  which  opportunity  he 
eagerly  improved.  As  he  cleared  $1,200  the 
first  year,  this  enabled  him  to  do  business  for 
himself  His  first  purchase  was  160  of  land, 
for  which  he  gave  $40  per  acre  ;  he  now  owns 
1,500  acres  of  finely  improved  land.  In  1866, 
he  married  Miss  Virginia  Collins,  who  was 
born  in  this  county  September  3,  1846,  and  is 
the  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Harriet  (Cryder) 
Collins.  The  former  was  born  in  New  York 
September  19,  1802,  died  June  19,  1879,  The 
latter  was  born  in  Ohio  August  4,  1822,  and  is 
the  mother  of  six  children,  of  whom  Mrs,  Mat- 


SARATOGA   TOWNSHIP. 


129 


teson  is  the  eldest.  >Ir.  and  Mrs.  Matteson  are 
the  parents  of  six  children,  viz.,  TVilli.ain, 
Story,  Gracie,  Cora,  Cryder  and  Hattie.  Mr. 
Matteson  is  a  Republican. 

HALVER  OSMONSEN,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mor- 
ris, was  born  in  Norway  Ma}'  26,  1825.  his 
parents  being  natives  of  that  countrj-.  In  his 
youth,  he  assisted  on  the  home  farm,  and  at- 
tended the  common  schools.  In  1849,  he  emi- 
grated to  this  country,  arriving  in  New  York 
July  3.  He  first  went  to  Morris,  where  he  re- 
mained but  a  short  time,  soon  settling  near 
Lisbon,  wliere  he  engaged  iu  farming  for 
a  period  of  eight  years,  although  he  started 
without  a  dollar,  he  now  had  sufficient  means 
to  purchase  sixt}'  acres  of  land ;  after  adding 
one  hundred  acres  to  this,  and  improving  the 
whole,  he  sold  it  for  a  good  profit.  He  then 
came  to  Grundy  Count}'  and  purchased  lauds 
about  three  miles  north  of  Morris,  here  he  re- 
sided about  ten  j'ears,  making  great  improve- 
ments. He  next  bought  land  a  few  miles 
further  north,  where  he  now  resides;  owns  in 
all,  924  acres  of  well-improved  land.  He  is  a 
large  grain-raiser  and  dealer,  also  raises  some 
stock.  In  the  fall  of  1849,  in  Kendall  County, 
he  married  Miss  Engeri  Olsen,  a  native  of  Nor- 
way, born  in  1822,  her  parents  being  natives  of 
the  same  country.  There  are  two  children  by 
this  marriage,  viz.,  Halver  Osmonseu,  Jr.,  and 
Ole  11.  Osmonsen,  both  married.  Mr.  Osmon- 
sen  and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  he  being  one  of  the  leading  men  who 
raised  funds  for  the  erection  of  the  fine  struct- 
ure of  that  denomination  which  they  attend. 
He  espouses  the  Republican  cause. 

OLIVER  H.  OSMONSON,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Morris,  was  born  in  Lisbon,  Kendall  Co.,  Ill, 
January  14,  1850.  His  parents  had  two  chil- 
dren, of  whom  he  was  the  elder.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  Saratoga  Town- 
ship, and  began  life  as  a  farmer.  Mr.  Osraou- 
son  is  a  School  Director.  He  was  married  in 
Saratoga  Township,  March  1,   1870,  to  Susan 


A.  Johnson,  who  was  born  Juno  10,  1852.  She 
is  the  daughter  of  Oscar  and  Annie  Johnson. 
Mr.  and  Mrs  Osmonson  have  had  six  children 
— Halver,  Oscar,  Annie,  Severt,  .Joseph  (de- 
ceased), and  Joseph.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Osmonson 
are  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Mr.  Os- 
monson belongs  to  no  secret  societies.  He 
votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

OLIE  OS.MONSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Otter  Creek  Township,  La  Salle 
Co.,  Ill,  December  1,  1852.  His  parents  had 
two  children,  of  whom  he  was  the  younger. 
Mr.  Osmonson  received  his  education  in  the 
normal  school  at  Morris,  111.  He  was  married 
in  Saratoga  Township  January  27,  1878,  to 
Maggie  E.  Craig,  wlio  was  born  June  25,  1858, 
in  Lisbon,  Kendall  County.  Mrs.  Osmonson's 
father,  Samuel  Craig,  was  born  November  7, 
1824,  in  County  Antrim,  Ireland.  Her  mother 
was  born  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  May  22, 
1833.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Osmonson  are  members 
of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Mr.  Osmonson  votes 
the  Republican  ticket. 

WIER  PETERSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Lisbon, 
was  born  in  Norway  May  28,  1829.  His  father, 
Wier  Peterson,  was  a  farmer,  and  was  born  in 
Norway  in  1789,  and  died  March  4,  1871.  His 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Julia  Nelson, 
was  born  in  Norway  in  1791,  and  died  Febru- 
ary  28,  1873.  Our  subject  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  Norway,  and  began  life 
as  a  farmer.  He  came  to  Grundy  County  in 
1856,  and  has  been  School  Director.  He  was 
married  in  Lisbon,  111.,  on  July  4,  1857,  to 
Annie  Thompson,  who  was  born  in  Norway 
January  6,  1837.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Torkel 
and  Julia  Thompson.  Mr.  and  Jlrs.  Peterson 
have  nine  children — William  P.,  born  Septem- 
ber 12, 1858;  Julia  A.,  October  18,  1860;  Sarah, 
July  18,  1862;  Mary  E.,  January  1,  1865; 
Thomas  O.,  July  2,  1868;  Edwin  F.,  Septem- 
ber 16,  1870;  Eli  F.,  August  13,  1871;  John, 
November  20,  1874,  and  Annie  M.,  April  22, 
1877.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peterson  are  members  of 


130 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


the  Lutheran  Church.     Mr.  Peterson  is  a  Re- 
publican. 

ANDREW  SOREM,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Norwa}-  March  25,  1830  ;  son  of 
Nels  Michaelson  and  Brita  Larsdottor.  Nels, 
by  occupation  a  farmer,  was  born  in  Norwaj-  in 
1784,  and  died  in  the  same  place  in  1874. 
Brita  was  born  in  that  countrj-  in  1796,  and 
died  there  in  1871.  Andrew  attended  school 
in  Norway,  and  was  married  there  June  24, 
1861,  to  Carrie  Gregoriusdotter,  who  was  born 
in  Norway  February  2,  1825.  Her  parents, 
Gregorious  and  Brita  Anderson,  were  both 
natives  of  Norwaj-.  Andrew  was  a  farmer  in 
Norway,  and  since  his  residence  in  this  country 
has  followed  tiie  same  pursuit.  Andrew  and 
his  wife  Carrie  are  the  parents  of  eight  chil- 
dren—Nels,  Andrew,  Betsy,  Tena,  Bell.  Carrie, 
Michael  and  Emma.  Mr.  Sorom  has  been 
School  Director  in  Saratoga,  Grundy  County. 
He  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

MONS.  N.  SOREM,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Norway  May  12,  1840.  His  edu- 
cation was  received  in  the  schools  of  that 
country.  He  was  married  in  Norway  May  6, 
1864,  to  Sarah  Ostrom,  a  native  of  that  coun- 
try, who  was  born  March  28,  1838.  They  have 
had  nine  children — Nels  N.,  born  September 
11,  1864;  Severt,  born  September  30,  1866; 
Nels  Michael  born  December  12,  1868,  de- 
ceased; Nels  Michael,  born  June  4,  1870; 
Isabel  S.,  bom  May  22,  1872;  Ben  L.,  born 
April  16,  1874;  Lomis,  born  February  29, 
1876;  Mous.  0.,  born  October  31,  1878;  and 
Betsy  E.,  born  July  30,  1881.  Mr.  Sorem 
began  life  as  a  farmer.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. Mr.  and  Mr.  Sorem  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  Church.  They  came  to  this 
county  in  1867.  j 

WALTER  S.  SMITH,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris,  j 
was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  N.  Y.,  August 
24,  1843.     He  is  the  fifth  child  of  Eleazer  and 
Maria  (Derby)  Smith,  who  were  the  parents  of  : 


ten  children.  His  father,  who  is  still  alive,  is 
a  farmer,  and  was  born  in  Rutland  County,  Vt., 
September  21,  1807.  His  mother  was  born  in 
Chittenden  County,  A^t.,  August  28,  1815.  Our 
subject  went  to  school  in  New  York,  and  after- 
ward in  Morris,  111.,  and  began  life  as  a  farmer. 
He  has  been  School  Director  and  Road  Super- 
visor. In  1862,  he  enlisted  in  the  militia,  but 
did  not  enter  into  action.  He  was  married,  in 
Morris,  111.,  June  9,  1875,  to  Annie  Colwell, 
born  in  England  in  1854,  the  daughter  of  Will- 
iam and  Ann  Colwell.  They  have  had  four 
children — Mabel  A.  (deceased),  Clara,  Jessie 
'(deceased)  and  Irwin.  They  are  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics. 

JOHN  STEEL,  coal  miner,  Morris,  was  born 
near  Durham,  England,  March  16,  1812  ;  son 
of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Enus)  Steel.  Joseph 
was  born  in  Cumberland,  Eng.,  in  1812,  and 
died  in  1866.  He  was  a  gardener.  Elizabeth 
was  born  in  Stockton,  Eng.,  in  1812,  and  died 
in  1854.  John  attended  school  in  England  for 
a  time,  and  then  went  to  work  in  the  coal 
mines.  About  1850,  he  married  Elizabeth 
Humble  at  Lockport,  111.  She  was  born  July 
6,  1813.  Mr.  Steel  is  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  England. 

NATHANIEL  H.  TABLER,  retired  farmer, 
P.  0.  Morris,  was  born  March  13, 1809,  in  Berke- 
ley County,  Va.  He  is  the  son  of  Henry  and 
Mary  (Oiler)  Tabler.  Our  subject's  grand- 
father, George  Tabler,  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  in  that  country,  having  come  from 
Germany  and  settled  in  Berkeley  County,  Va., 
shortly  after  the  the  Revolution.  He  had  five 
children — Michael,  Henry  (subject's  father). 
Christian,  William  and  one  daughter,  whose 
name  is  unknown,  all  of  whom  settled  in  Vir- 
ginia. To  our  subject's  grandfather,  on  his 
mother's  side,  were  born  John,  Jacob,  George, 
Peter.  Betsey,  Catherine.  Mary,  and  another 
daughter  whose  name  is  unknown,  all  of  whom 
were  born  in  Virginia.     The  children  of  our 


SAKATOGA  TOWNSHIP. 


131 


subject's  parents  were  Nathaniel  H.,  Joshua, 
Levi  Harrison,  Peter,  Mar}-  and  Anna.  His 
father  was  a  farmer,  and  !\Ir.  Tabler  remained 
under  the  parental  roof  until  he  was  twenty-one 
}-ears  of  age,  when  he  started  alone  for  Dela- 
ware County,  Ohio,  and  settled  on  the  Scioto 
River  about  the  year  1830.  His  father  bought 
200  acres  of  land,  but  did  not  himself  come. 
Subject  moved  on  to  this  land  which  was 
mostly  wooded,  and  immediately  commenced 
improvements.  While  here,  in  November, 
1830,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Crj-den 
daughter  of  Henry  Cryder.  In  October,  1  83 
he  came  to  this  county,  and  settled  on  Sec- 
tion 8,  iu  Au  Sable  Township.  At  that  time 
there  were  no  improvements  on  the  place 
Three  families  -the  Wollys,  Cryders  and  N. 
H.  Tabler — constituted  the  population  of  the 
coiintj-  at  that  time.  Remaining  on  his  farm 
until  1876,  he  went  to  Miuooka,  this  count}', 
and  lived  there  till  the  fall  of  1882.  His  chil- 
dren !)}•  liis  first  wife  weie  Joseph,  David  C., 
Elias,  Matthew,  Ezra,  and  Mary,  who  was  the 
wife  of  John  McCloud.  His  second  marriage 
was  with  Hannah  Marie,  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Betsey  Cryder.  Their  children  were  Je- 
rome, William,  Lewis  and  Anna.  He  was  mar- 
ried a  third  time  to  Susan  Paulding,  who  was 
born  near  Wa3'uesboro,  Franklin  Co.,  Penn. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Frank  M.  and  Sarah 
(Rogers)  Paulding.  Joseph,  Mr.  Tabler's  son 
b}-  his  first  wife,  lives  in  Florida,  and  the  others 
are  in  Au  Sable  Township.  Edward  was  all 
through  the  war,  afterward  coming  home,  and 
was  killed  in  1866  by  the  kick  of  a  mule.  Mr 
Tabler  was  for  the  fourth  time  united  in  mar- 
riage, this  time  to  Mrs.  William  Johnson,  by 
whom  he  has  one  child — Farada,  born  July  4, 
1881.  Mr.  Tabler  has  been  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  for  about  fourteen  years.  He 
was  a  Democrat  up  to  the  time  of  Lincoln, 
since  which  he  has  voted  the  Rcpuliliean 
ticket.  Since  coming  to  Morris,  Mrs.  Tabler 
has    been    running    the   Cottage    Hotel,   and 


boards  the  students  attending  the  Normal 
School. 

SENECA  TUPPER,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Genoa,  Cayuga  County,  N.  Y., 
October  6,  1826  ;  his  father,  Benjamin  Tupper, 
was  a  farmer,  and  was  born  in  Bennington 
County,  Vt,  August  28,  1790,  and  died  Octo- 
ber 21,  1874;  his  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Philinda  Cutter.  They  had  eight  children. 
The  subject  came  to  this  county  in  February, 
1857;  he  received  his  education  at  the  Genoa 
Academj-,  N.  Y.,  and  began  life  as  a  farmer  ; 
he  has  filled  many  and  various  offices,  having 
been  Sheriff,  Township  Treasurer,  School  Direc- 
tor, and  Township  Supervisor.  November  21, 
1854,  Mr.  Tupper  was  married,  in  Venice,  Ca- 
yuga County,  N.  Y.,  to  Sarah  Nelson,  who  was 
born  May  5,  1833,  in  Sing  Sing.  Westches- 
ter Co.,  N.  Y.;  she  was  the  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph G.  and  Pamela  Nelson.  Her  father  was 
born  in  Westchester  County,  N.  Y.,  in  1792, 
and  died  in  the  fall  of  1863;  her  mother  was 
born  in  New  York  City  in  1804,  and  died  in 
1859.  Mr.  Tupper  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  and  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

ALEXANDER  TELFER,  miner,  Morris,  was 
born  at  Musselburg,  Scotland,  November  1, 
1826;  raised  and  educated  in  his  native  country. 
In  1852  (September),  he  came  to  the  United 
States  ;  located  at  Pittston,  Penn.,  working  in 
the  mines  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company 
until  January.  185.");  he  then  came  to  Morris, 
Grundy  Co.,  Ill,  and  wrought  in  the  mines 
of  Oliver  and  Alexander  Telfer  (the  latter  a 
cousin  of  subject),  for  three  j'ears.  In  1858,  he 
bought  some  land  and  opened  a  mine  for  him- 
self, and  has  been  in  the  business  ever  since  ; 
he  is  also  engaged  in  farming,  having  a  farm  of 
200  acres,  besides  his  coal  lands,  valued  at 
$50  per  acre.  Since  1865,  he  has  been  in  the 
brick  business  in  connection  with  coal,  and  in 
this  department  is  associated  with  Henry  Biir- 
rell.  Subject  was  married  June  18.  1849,  to 
Miss  Agnes  Kerr,  of  Scotland.     She  was  born 


las 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


October  6,  1826.  They  have  six  childrea — 
Christina,  born  in  Scotland;  Janet,  born  in 
Penus3ivania;  William,  born  in  Morris;  Alex- 
ander, born  in  Morris;  John,  born  in  Morris; 
Mary  Jane,  born  in  Morris.  Subject  and  wife 
are  members  of  the  Presbj'terian  Church  ;  he 
is  also  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  and  Masonic 
fraternities  and  Knights  Templar;  residence 
one  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  Morris. 

JOHN  TREDINNICK,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mor. 
ris,  was  born  in  Ashwater  Parish,  Devonshire 
England,  Januar}-  15,  1831,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Susan  (James)  Tredinnick.  Thomas,  who  pur- 
sued farming,  was  born  in  Devonshire  in  1801, 
and  died  in  1871.  Susan,  mother  of  subject, 
was  born  in  the  same  place  about  1804,  ajid 
died  about  1868.  Our  subject  attended  school 
in  Saratoga  Precinct,  where  he  has  since  been 
School  Director.  At  Morris,  111.,  October  18, 
1863,  he  married  Ann  Horrie,  by  whom  he  had 
three  children — Franklin  R.,  James  F.  and 
Wm.  C,  all  of  whom  are  dead.  Mrs.  Tredinnick 
was  born  in  tiie  Orkney  Islands,  Scotland 
about  1831;  she  was  the  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Jane  Horrie,  natives  of  the  same  place. 
Mr.  Tredinnick  came  to  Grundy  County  in 
April,  1856,  since  which  time  he  has  pursued 


his  occupation  of  farming.     He  is  a  member  of 
the  Republican  party. 

A.  F.  WATSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris,  was 
born  in  Northumberland,  England,  Februarj' 
17,  1833,  son  of  George  and  Ann  (Foster)  Wat- 
son; his  father,  who  was  a  coal  miner,  was 
born  in  Northumberland,  England,  in  1809,  and 
died  in  1875.  His  mother  was  born  in  the 
same  place  in  1811,  and  died  April  10,  1857. 
Our  subject  was  one  of  a  family-  of  nine  chil- 
dren, and  received  his  education  in  England. 
While  in  that  country,  he  was  a  farmer  and 
coal  miner.  In  Statsworth,  Durham,  England, 
October  29,  1855,  lie  married  Nellie  A.  Humble, 
who  was  born  in  Durham,  England,  October  24, 
1882  ;  she  was  the  daughter  of  George  and 
Mary  Ann  Humble;  her  father  was  a  native  of 
England,  born  July  17,  1805,  and  died  July 
17,  1870;  her  mother  of  the  same  place,  was 
born  in  1807,  and  died  December  18,  1871. 
Mr.  Watson  and  wife  are  the  parents  of  ten 
children  —  Susana,  George,  Elizabeth,  Ann, 
Mary  J.,  John,  Alice,  Isabella,  Sarah  and  Mar- 
garet. Mr.  Watson  settled  in  Grundj'  County 
in  1853;  has  been  School  Director.  Politically, 
he  is  a  Greenbacker,  and  is  connected  with  the 
Methodist  Church. 


ITETTLE   CREEK  TOWI^SHIP. 


ISAAC  N.  BROWN,  farmer,  P.  0.  Nettle 
Creek,  was  born  in  Saratoga  Count}-,  N.  Y., 
August  15,  1817;  he  is  the  son  of  David  and 
Mary  (Brownell)  Brown.  Our  subject  was 
among  those  who  came  to  this  township  in 
1849';  his  father  was  born  in  Queensbury 
Township,  Washington  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1794;  his 
mother  was  born  in  Pittstown,  Rensselaer  Co., 
N.  Y.,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Simeon  and 
Sarah  (Hoag)  Brownell.  Our  subject's  grand- 
father, Justus  Brown,  married  Desire  Mosher, 
who  bore  him    eleven  children  of  whom  our 


subject's  father  was  the  ninth.  To  Simeon  and 
Sarah  Brownell  were  born  fifteen  children,  all 
of  whom  save  one,  lived  to  raise  families.  The 
great-grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Benedict 
Brown;  he  was  the  father  of  nine  children,  all 
of  whom  lived  to  good  age.  Justus  was  his 
second  child,  and  was  l)orn  March  5, 1749.  The 
famil}-  were  great  hunters,  and  were  remark- 
ably large  men,  weighing  as  high  as  300  pounds. 
His  wife  was  born  in  1757.  They  had  eleven 
children — Stejihen,  Phebe,  Deborah,  Lydia, 
Hannah,   Abigail,  Benjamin,    Richard,    David, 


NETTLE  CREEK  TOWNSHIP. 


ia3 


Annie  and  Justus.     Of  these,  David  and  Jus- 
tus are  living.     Simeon  Brownell  was  born  in 
1759,  and  liis  wife,  Sarah  Hoag,  in  1764.    Their 
fifteen  cliildren   wore   Alice,  Joseph,  Stephen, 
Daniel.  Simeon,  Meria,  Sarah,  Benjamin,  Mar}', 
Nathan,  Isaac,  John,  Supham,  Phebe  and  Henry 
H.     To  David  and   Mary    Brown   were   born 
Isaac  N.  (our  subject),  Simeon,  Sarah,  Mary  A., 
Edwin    and   Phebe.     These  lived  and   raised 
families.     Mr.  David  Brown  is  still  living,  his 
wife   died    February    15,    1877.     Our   subject 
lived  with  his  parents  until  coming  AVest.     In 
1818,  he  removed  to  Chautauqua  County,  N.  Y., 
and  settled  there  with  his  parents,  living  there 
until   the  spring  of  1844,  when  he  came  and 
settled  in  Big  Grove  Township,  Kendall  Co., 
111.,  where  he  remained   until  1840,  when   he 
came  to  this  county;  he  began  by  renting  land 
in  Kendall  County.     When  he  arrived  in  this 
county,  he  bought  eighty  acres,  where  he  now 
lives,  in  January,   1846.     It   was  situated    on 
Section  4,  and  cost  10  shillings   per  acre;  he 
soon  added  fort}-  acres  more,  at  a  cost  of  $6.25 
per  acre;-  there  were  no  improvements  on  it.    In 
1857,   he  purchased  eighty  acres  at  S15    per 
acre,  and  fort}'  acres  more  in  1866,  at  a  cost  of 
$37.50  per  acre;  he  has  now  240  acres  of  well 
improved    land.      In   1849,   be  built  his   first 
house.      March  22,    1840,  he   married   Phebe 
Ann,  daughter  of  Seth  and  Content  (Ingraham) 
Clark.     She  was  born  May  13,  1819,  in   Chau- 
tauqua Count}-,  N.  Y.     Mr.  and   Mrs.  Brown 
have  had  nine  children,  of  whom  six  are  living 
—David  N.,  Mary  C,  Harriett   A.,   Edie  A., 
Piiebe  I.  and  Edwin   L.     Isaac   C.  died,  aged 
eighteen,  and  the  other  two  died  when  young. 
Mr.   Brown   was  first   elected  Justice   of  the 
Peace  in  1849,  and  has,  with  the  exception  of 
a  year  or  two,  served  continuously  ever  since, 
having  held  a  commission  from  every  Governor 
since  that  time;  he  has  been  Supervisor,  Col- 
lector and  School  Trustee  for  fourteen  years, 
and  has  been  Township  Treasurer  since   1875; 
he  taught  school  for  ten  terms.     Mr.  Brown 


and  wife  have  been  members  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  for  over  twenty  years;  he  is  at 
present  Postmaster  of  Nettle  Creek,  which 
office  has  been  running  about  three  years. 

OLIVER  DIX,  farmer,  P.  0.  Nettle  Creek, 
was  born  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  January  5, 
1822;  he  was  the  only  child  of  Ara  and  Lydia 
(Richards)  Dix;  his  father  was  born  in  Pitts- 
field  County,  Conn.,  July  14,  1793,  and  was  the 
son  of  Charles  Dix,  also  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  who  married  a  Miss  Wells.  The  Dix 
family  were  of  Welsh  descent.  Mr.  Ara  Dix 
was  married,  December  31, 1816,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 4,  1826,  in  Vernon,  Oneida  Co..  N.  Y. 
Our  subject's  mother  was  born  in  Litchfield, 
Conn.,  June,  1792,  and  died  September  19, 
1881.  Mr.  Ara  Dix  emigrated  from  Counecti- 
cut  to  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  about  the  year 
1808;  he  was  a  tanner  and  currier.  Our  sub- 
ject was  about  four  years  old  when  his  father 
died,  and  he  still  lived  with  his  mother  until 
he  was  fourteen.  She  had  married  some  time 
previously,  John  E.  Waterman,  and  they  came 
out  and  settled  in  Lislwn,  Kendall  Co.,  III. 
Mr.  Dix  stayed  with  them  until  he  was  of  age, 
when  he  started  and  worked  for  himself;  he 
came  to  this  township  in  1845,  having  pur- 
chased land  here  in  the  spring  of  1843,  for 
about  $12  per  acre;  he  also  bought  160  acres 
for  $300.  In  the  fall  of  1844,  he  entered  eighty 
acres  of  Government  land,  on  which  he  still 
resides,  having  built  on  it  during  the  summer 
of  1845.  February  2,  1848,  he  married  Lydia, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Brownell) 
Wing.  She  was  born  in  Chautauqua  County, 
N.  Y.;  her  father,  Thomas  Wing,  was  born  in 
Dutchess  County,  N.  Y.,  April  27,  1789,  and 
died  in  1856,  in  Kendall  County;  he  married 
Sarah  Brownell,  July  29,  1810,  who  was  born 
January  15,  1792,  in  Rensselaer  County,  N. 
Y.,  and  who  died  March  4, 1827,  in  Chautauqua 
County.  Mr.  Thomas  Wing  came  to  Kendall 
County,  111.,  about  the  year  1845.  Our  sub- 
ject's wife  died  December  23,  1857.    By  her  he 


134 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


had  two  children — Ara  W.  and  Orville  E.  Ara 
W.  resides  on  Section  9,  this  township,  and  Or- 
ville lives  near  Cresent  City,  Iroquois  Co.,  111.; 
January  5,  18G0,  he  married  Louisa  McKiuzee, 
born  in  Alleghauj-  Count}-,  Md.,  daughter  of 
William  and  Ann  S.  (Spellman)  McKinzee,  na- 
tives of  the  same  State.  Mr.  McKinzee  was 
born  ^Februarj'  2,  1798,  and  died  March  25, 
1874;' his  wife  died  April  1,  1874.  They  re- 
moved to  Shelby  County,  Ind.,  in  1838,  where 
they  lived  till  the  fall  of  1851,  when  they  came 
and  settled  in  La  Salle  Count}',  III.,  where  thej- 
resided  for  three  years,  afterward  removing  to 
the  town  of  Manlius,  111.,  and  finally  coming  to 
this  township  in  1865,  where  the}-  both  died. 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  girls,  all  living 
and  married — Mary  A.,  wife  of  S.  A,  Summers, 
of  Iowa;  Louisa  (Mrs.  Dix);  Susanna  M.,  wife 
of  J.  W.  Small,  of  Iowa;  Harriet,  wife  of 
James  Ashton,  of  this  county,  and  Nancy,  wife 
of  Peter  Eckersley,  of  this  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dix  have  five  children — Lydia  B.,  William 
Ettie  M.,  Susan  L.  and  George  R.  Lydia  B.  is 
now  the  wife  of  John  W.   Johnson,   of  this 


county.  Mr.  Dix  taught  school  for  three  terms 
in  Kendall  County,  111.;  he  was  elected  Justice 
of  the  Peace  about  1849;  he  owns  700  acres  of 
land  ;  he  is  Republican  in  politics. 

SEVERT  OSTROM,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
was  born  in  Norway  July  14,  1848.  He  is  the 
fifth  child  of  Severt  'and  Engebor  J.  (Rygh) 
Ostrom.  His  parents  had  nine  children.  His 
father  was  born  in  Norway,  in  March,  1810,  and 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  His  mother  was 
born  in  Norway  in  January,  1817.  Our  subject 
received  his  schooling  in  his  native  land,  started 
in  life  as  a  soldier,  and  afterward  turned  his 
attention  to  farming.  At  one  time  he  was  a 
Sheriff  in  Norway,  and  he  has  been  Township 
Collector  for  Saratoga  Township,  this  county. 
March,  14,  1874,  he  was  married  in  Saratoga 
Township  to  Julia,  a  daughter  of  Tollef  and 
Magele  Thompson.  She  was  born  in  Norway, 
11,  1848.  They  have  six  children — Eliza  0., 
Joseph,  Maggie,  Louis,  Isabel  and  Theodore. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ostrom  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  Church.  He  votes  the  Republican 
ticket. 


EEIENNA    TOWNSHIP. 


ABRAHAM  HOLDERMAN,  Sr.,  Seneca. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Abraham  Holder- 
man,  is  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Charlotte  Kol- 
derman,  who  came  to  what  is  now  Grundy 
County  in  the  fall  of  1831,  the  year  before  the 
Black  Hawk  war.  Subject  was  then  nine  years 
old,  being  born  in  Ross  County,  Ohio,  January 
22,  1822.  At  the  time  of  his  first  recollection 
of  this  county  there  were  but  two  houses  be- 
tween the  Ilolderman  Grove  and  Chicago,  and 
no  house  from  them  to  Bloomington.  Went 
to  mill  over  thirty  miles.  Nearest  trading 
point  was  Chicago.  Their  first  school  was 
taught  in  the  winter  of  1834,  obtaining  a 
teacher  for  $10  per  month.     At  this  time  there 


was  not  a  sawed  board  nor  a  nail  in  any  of  their 
buildings.  Some  years  they  lost  all  their  hay 
and  grain  from  prairie  fires.  Subject  was  mar- 
ried in  Grundy  May  4,  1847,  to  Miss  Mary  E. 
Hoge,  daughter  of  William  and  Rachael  Hoge. 
She  was  born  in  Loudoun  County,  Va.,  August 
17,  1827,  and  came  with  her  parents  to  this 
county  the  fall  of  1831.  They  were  the  first 
family  in  the  county.  Her  brother  James 
Hoge  being  the  first  white  child  born  in  the 
county.  Subject  has  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  are  dead — William  Hol- 
derman,  born  July  3,  1848  ;  Joseph,  February 
11,  1850,  and  Hendley,  December  11,  1851,  all 
deceased  ;  Abram  J.  Holderman,  whose  biog- 


ERIENNA    TOWNSHIP. 


135 


raphy  appears  on  another  page  ;  Albert  H.  Hol- 
derman,  April  19,  1856;  Martha  J.  Holder- 
man,  bom  March  16,  1858 ;  Laudy  S.  Hoi- 
derman,  born  November  8,  1859,  and  Samuel 
D.  Holderman,  born  July  21,  1865.  Mr.  Hol- 
derman  now  owns  about  5.000  acres  of  land, 
principally  in  one  bodj',  besides  giving  his  chil- 
dren 2,000  acres.  Engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising.  Politics,  Republican  ;  seventy- 
three  voters  in  the  township  when  organized, 
seventj'-one  of  whom  were  Irish  canal  hands  ; 
subject  being  the  only  one  left  in  the  town- 
ship. 

ABRAM  J.  HOLDERMAN,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Morris.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of 
Grundy  County,  111.,  born  May  17,  1853,  son  of 
Abram  and  Mary  E.  Holderman,  who  are 
among  the  first  settlers  of  the  county.  Edu- 
cated in  his  native  county,  and  married,  March 
6,  1876,  to  Miss  Josephine  V.  Bashaw,  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  and  Virginia  Bashaw.  She  was 
born  in  Rappahannock  County,  Va.,  September 
14.  1855,  and  came  to  this  count}-  in  1873. 
Her  mother  is  dead,  the  father  living  in  Vir- 
ginia. They  have  a  family  of  three  children — 
Mar}'  V.  Holderman,  born  in  Grundy  County 
March  28,  1877  ;  Walter  T.  Holderman,  born 
in  Grundy  County  September  29, 1878  ;  Robert 
J.  Holderman,  born  in  Grundy  County, February' 
11,  1882.  Subject  now  owns  a  farm  of  640 
acres  in  Sections  11, 12,  13  and  14,  of  Erienna 
Township ;  residence  four  and  one-half  miles 
west  from  Morris.  Ensfaged  in  stock-raising  ; 
politics,  Republican. 

JOSHUA  HOGE,  Jr.,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  the 
county  of  Grundy,  111.,  born  July  25,  1850, 
son  of  Samuel  and  Matilda  Hoge,  of  Nettle 
Creek  Township.  Raised  in  Grundy  County 
and  educated  in  the  State  Normal  Lombard 
University,  and  took  a  course  in  Brj'ant  &  Strat- 
ton's  Commercial  College  of  Chicago.  .Mar- 
ried, February  19,  1876,  in  Morris,  to  Miss  Lora 


E.  Quigley,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Matilda 
Quiglej-,  formerly-  of  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Hoge 
was  born  in  the  vicinitj-  of  Moadville,  Craw- 
ford Co.,  Penn.,  December  11,  1859.  They 
have  a  family  of  two  children — Samuel  Hoge, 
born  in  Grundy  Count}-,  August  12,  1877  ;  un- 
named, born  August  25,  1882.  Subject  owns  a 
farm  of  560  acres  of  valuable  land  in  the  town 
of  Erienna,  Sections  1  and  6,  of  Erienna  ;  resi- 
dence, four  miles  west  from  Morris.  Value  of 
land,  S50  per  acre  ;  engaged  in  stock-raising 
and  mixed  husbandry  ;  politics,  Republican. 
Mrs.  Hoge's  father  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, born  1812,  and  died  in  Crawford  Coun- 
ty, Penn.,  1866.  Her  mother  is  now  living 
with  her  son,  E.  H.  Quigley,  of  Morris,  in  her 
fifty-seventh  year. 

WILLIAM  KENNEDY,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mor- 
ris ;  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of 
county  of  Queens,  Ireland,  born  December  1  4, 
1820,  son  of  John  and  Hanora  Kennedy;  raised 
and  educated  in  his  native  country.  Came 
to  United  States  in  1839.  landing  at  New  York 
City  August  9,  of  that  year  ;  vessel,  "  Margaret 
Scott,  of  Liverpool."  Located  in  Ohio.  1840  ; 
engaged  on  public  works  for  about  eighteen 
months  and  came  to  Illinois  in  the  fall  of  1841 ; 
assisted  in  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  & 
Michigan  Canal ;  was  book-keeper  for  Walter  D. 
McDonald.  Subject  was  married  in  May,  1842, 
to  Miss  Mary  Kenrick,  of  Ireland,  County 
Limerick.  About  1849,  he  bought  canal  land 
and  engaged  in  agriculture  which  he  has  fol- 
lowed since.  He  now  owns  a  farm  of  280  acres 
in  Sections  1  and  2  of  Erienna  Township;  resi- 
dence four  miles  west  from  Morris  ;  land  valued 
at  $50  per  acre.  Subject  also  owns  a  hand- 
some store  building  and  some  residence  houses 
on  Washington  street,  in  Morris  ;  they  have  no 
family.  Politics,  Democrat,  and  is  among  the 
standard  element'  of  Grundy  County.  They 
are  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Morris. 


136 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


NORMAN    TOWNSHIP. 


HENDERSON  BUNCH,  farmer,  P.  O.  Mor- 
ris. The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of 
Tennessee,  born  July  27,  1825.  He  is  the 
second  of  a  family  of  four  children  of  David 
and  Nancy  Bunch.  David  Bunch  was  a  native 
of  Tennessee,  and  his  mother,  Nancj"  (Hart) 
Bunch,  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  When  sub- 
ject was  quite  young  his  parents  removed  to 
Kentuck}-,  where  they  lived  but  few  j  ears,  and 
came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
Grundy  County-,  Norman  Township,  about  1834. 
Subject  remembers  vividly-  the  Indians  that 
were  camped  within  one  mile  of  his  father's 
house  for  two  years,  500  in  number.  They 
often  traUicked  with  them,  exchanging  pork  for 
honey,  etc.  David  Bunch  located  on  Section 
27,  of  Norman  Township,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  June  29, 1873,  in  his 
seventj"-eighth  3'ear.  His  mother  died  in  Au- 
gust, 1875,  in  her  sixty-eighth  year.  The  first 
school  attended  by  H.  Bunch  was  conducted  in 
a  log  house,  built  where  Jonas  Newport  set- 
tled, built  bj-  an  Englishman  named  Ford;  the 
first  house  erected  in  Vienna  Township.  The 
school  was  composed  of  the  children  of  David 
Bunch  and  Jonah  Newport.  Subject  remem- 
bers when  there  was  but  one  house  where  Ot- 
tawa now  stands.  Mr.  Bunch  was  married, 
March  30,  1850,  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Doty,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Sarah  (Williams)  Dot}-,  who 
were  among  the  pioneers  of  Grund}'  County. 
John  Doty  died  February  19,  1872,  in  his 
seventy-ninth  year,  and  her  mother  October  24, 
1874,  in  her  sevent3--second  j'ear.  They  have 
a  family  of  seven  children  living,  havii^  buried 
two.  Martha  J.  Bunch,  born  June  10,  1852, 
married  to  Lemuel  Quincy  January  12,  1869; 
Cornelia  M.  Bunch,  born  October  25,  1854, 
married  to  Reuben  Hollenbeck  March  6,  1872; 


William  H.  Bunch,  born  December  1,  1856, 
married  to  Miss  Ellen  Boyette,  October  18, 
1878;  Esther  A.  Bunch,  born  December  27, 
1858,  married  to  David  Humphre}',  July  7, 
1882;  Perry  E.  Bunch,  born  February  28,  18C0, 
died  M.arch  17, 1863;  Ida  I.  Bunch,  M.ay  9, 1863, 
died  March  4,  l>i64;  Frances  L.  Bunch,  born 
April  24,  1865;  Marinda  I.  Bunch,  born  June 
21,  1808;  Sherman  W.,  born  October  24,  1870- 
PERRY  GOSS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris.  The 
subject  of  these  lines,  P.  Goss,  is  a  native  of 
Portage  County,  Ohio,  born  August  7,  1823, 
son  of  Beder  and  Phj^delia  (Cross)  Goss.  Sub- 
ject's father  was  boru  in  Connecticut  Februarv 
28,  1796,  and  moved  to  Ohio  in  1804;  died  in 
Ohio  May  3,  1879;  his  mother,  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, was  born  September  30,  1800;  she  is  still 
living  in  Wisconsin.  Subject  came  to  Indiana 
from  Ohio  in  1847;  was  married,  in  Montgomery 
County,  Ind.,  March  7,  1850,  to  Miss  Mary 
Frances  Spillman,  daughter  of  William  and 
Dorcas  J.  Spillman,  Kontuckj-.  She  was  boru 
in  Kentucky  April  18,  1827;  her  parents  died 
in  Crawford ville,  Ind.,  father  March  20,  1876, 
mother  March  8,  1879.  Mr.  Goss  and  family 
came  to  Grundy  County  September,  1854,  and 
settled  in  Norman  Township.  Their  familj- con- 
sists of  nine  children,  seven  sons  and  two 
daughters.  Their  names  are  Albert  B.  Goss, 
born  in  Indiana  April  12,  1851,  married  to 
Ellen  A.  Kimball  August  10,  1882;  William 
E.  Goss,  born  in  Indiana  .January  10,  1854; 
Charles  B.  Goss,  born  in  Grundy  Count}-,  Oc- 
tober 14,  1856;  Mary  Frances  Goss,  born  Jan- 
uary 22,  1858;  George  P.  Goss,  born  July  31, 
1860;  John  F.  Goss,  born  April  9,  1863;  Ed- 
win Lincoln,  born  Ma}-  7,  1865;  Eva  Jane 
Goss,  December  14,  1866;  Julius  Goss,  born 
December   19,    1870.     Mr.   Goss  now  owns  a 


NORMAN    TOAVNSHIP. 


137 


farm  of  21 3  acres,  200  of  improved  farm  land  in 
Section  27,  of  Norman  Townsliip,  value  $60 
per  acre;  valuable  improvements  eight  and  a 
half  miles  southwest  from  Morris.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Goss  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church 
(Zion),  of  Norman  Township.  Mrs.  Goss'  father, 
William  Spillman,  was  born  in  Kentucky  De- 
cember 15,  1803;  mother,  Dorcas  (Garrison) 
Spillman  was  born  in  Kentucky  September  22, 
1802. 

JUSTUS  HOLLENBECK,  farmer,  P.  0 
Seneca.  The  subject  of  these  lines,  Justus 
Hollenbeck,  is  a  native  of  Greene  County,  N.  Y  , 
born  January  G,  1821;  was  raised  and  educated 
in  his  native  county.  When  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two.  he  went  to  East  Troy,  Wis.,  having 
married,  August  31,  1843,  to  Miss  Rebecca 
Bennet,  daughter  of  William  and  Hannah  Ben- 
net.  She  was  born  in  Schoharie  County,  N.  Y., 
August  25,  1816.  Soon  after  marrying  the}' 
went  to  Wisconsin,  where  thev  lived  nine  years, 
and  came  to  Illinois  in  1852,  settling  in  Grundy 
County,  Vienna  Township;  now  lives  in  Sec- 
tion 33  of  Norman  Township,  where  he  owns  a 
farm  of  160  acres,  all  in  Section  33,  valued  at 
$40  per  acre;  his  residence  is  nine  miles  south- 
west from  Morris,  and  five  miles  southeastfrom 
Seneca;  Hog  Run  divides  his  farm  from  nortli 
to  south.  They  have  a  famil}-  of  seven  chil- 
dren— Emma  E.  Hollenbeck  was  born  in  East 
Troy,  Wis.,  March  25,  1844;  was  married  to 
Alphonso  Diebold,  of  Seneca;  Louisa  Hollen- 
beck was  born  November  9,  1845;  was  married 
to  John  Barker,  of  Seneca;  George  Hollenbeck 
was  born  February  28,  1847,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 13,  1865;  Isabelle  Hollenbeck  was  born 
February  17,  1849,  and  died  by  drowning  in  a 
well  April  22,  1855;  Julius  F.,  and  Julia  A. 
Hollenbeck,  born  June  11,  1852;  Julia  A. 
is  married  to  Spencer  Cox,  of  Seneca;  Julius 
F.  is  married  to  Frances  Kelsoe;  Adeline  Hol- 
lenbeck was  born  September  5,  1855;  was  mar- 
ried to  John  Nott,  of  East  Troy,  Wis.  Our 
subject  is  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Hollen- 


beck, of  Greene  County,  N.  Y.;  his  mother, 
Elizabeth  (Bennett)  Hollenbeck,  died  at  their 
home  in  Wisconsin  March  7,  1852,  in  her 
fifty-third  year ;  his  father  is  still  living  in 
Wisconsin,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year.  Mrs. 
Hollenbeck's  parents  died  in  Greene  County, 
N.  Y. 

Q.  H.  HULL,  farmer,  P.  0.  Wauponsee.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  Rens- 
selaer County,  York  State,  born  February  25, 
1827;  he  is  the  third  of  a  family  of  five, 
Samuel  and  Hannah  (Green)  Hull.  The  fa- 
ther was  a  native  of  New  York,  born  April 
29,  1795,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Rensselaer 
County,  N.  Y.,  September  12, 1882.  His  mother, 
Hannah  Green,  was  born  in  New  York  Febru- 
ary 28,  1803,  and  died  in  New  York  March, 
1874.  Subject  was  married  in  New  York  Au- 
gust 17,  1850,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Shaw, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Shaw,  of 
New  York.  She  was  born  in  Rensselaer  County 
October  24,  1831.  They  came  to  Illinois  in 
March,  1854,  and  settled  in  Grund}'  County, 
1856,  where  they  now  live;  he  owns  a  farm  of 
400  acres  of  improved  tarm  land,  240  acres  in 
Section  35,  of  Norman  Township,  eighty  acres 
in  Section  33,  of  Norman  Township,  and  eighty 
acres  in  Section  12  of  Vienna  Township; 
splendid  residence  and  improvements  on  Sec- 
tion 35,  nine  miles  southwest  from  Morris;  val- 
ue of  farm  land  $50  per  acre;  engaged  in  mixed 
husbandry  and  stock-raising.  They  have  a  fam- 
ily of  three — Doer  C.  Hull,  born  in  York  State 
December  9,  1851,  married  to  Miss  Lizzie  D. 
Wilson,  December  24,  1873  ;  Earl  J.  Hull,  born 
in  Illinois  July  26,  1856,  married  to  Miss  Ettie 
Brown  January  25,  1882;  Cora  E.  Hull,  born 
May  11,  1867.  Mrs.  Hull's  parents,  Samuel 
Shaw  and  Elizabeth  Wilkej-,  were  married  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1808;  she  is  the  youngest  of  a  fam- 
ily of  six  children.  Her  father  was  born 
March  25,  1780,  and  died  January  7,  1864;  her 
mother,  Elizabeth  Wilkey,  was  born  December 
16,  1787;  and  died  September  14,  1845. 


138 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


WILLIAM  JOflNSON,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mor- 
ris. The  subject  of  this  slfetch  is  a  native  of 
Knox  County,  Ky.,  born  April  1,  1827.  Sub- 
ject is  the  third  of  a  family  of  seven  children 
of  John  and  Charlotte  Johnson;  parents  were 
both  natives  of  Ashe  County,  N.  C.  When  sub- 
ject was  but  two  years  old,  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Indiana,  where  they  lived  one  and 
a  half  years,  coming  to  Illinois  in  1831,  and 
settled  in  Iroquois  County.  Here  subject  was 
raised  until  nineteen  years  old,  when  he,  with 
his  mother,  came  to  Grundy  Count}-  in  1845, 
his  fiither  having  died  in  Iroquois  County  April 
7,  1842.  He  has  lived  in  Grund}-  County  ever 
since;  first  settled  in  Hog  Run,  near  the  settle- 
ment of  David  Bunch.  Subject  now  lives  in 
Norman  Township,  where  he  now  owns  a  farm 
of  160  acres  of  land,  eighty  acres  in  Section 
13  of  Norman,  and  eighty  acres  in  Section  18, 
of  Waupousee  Township;  residence  four  and  a 
half  miles  southwest  from  Jlorris.  Subject 
was  married  in  Gruud}^  County  December  14, 
1850,  to  Miss  Harriet  Dean,  daughter  of  John 
and  Maria  Dean;  she  is  a  native  of  England, 
born  September  20,  1833.  They  have  a  family 
of  five  children,  all  born  in  Grundy-  County — 
John  W.  Johnson,  born  August  9,  1852,  mar- 
rie<l  to  Miss  Lydia  B.  Dix,  of  Nettle  Creek 
Township;  Maria  Johnson,  born  October  10, 
1854,  married  to  Malbone  W.  Bennett;  Scott 
Johnson,  born  June  4,  1857,  married  to  Miss 
Emma  Helman;  Elrac  Johnson,  born  April  20, 
1861;  Willie  Johnson,  born  November  17, 
1867;  politics.  Republican,  and  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers of  Republicanism  in  Wauponsee 
Township.  His  mother,  Charlotte  (Hart)  John- 
son removed  to  Minnesota  in  1854  with  two 
sons  and  two  daughters,  where  she  died  Sep- 
tember 8,  1878.  Mrs.  Johnson's  parents  were 
formerly  of  England,  and  residents  of  Grundy 
County  for  over  twentj-  years,  and  now  living 
in  Macon  County,  Mo. 

CHARLES  M.  PIERCE,  farmer,  P.  0.  Mor- 
ris.    Charles  M.  Pierce,  the  subject,  is  a  native 


of  Worcester  Count}-,  Mass.,  born  March  5. 
1817;  son  of  William  and  Lydia  (Lincoln) 
Pierce;  raised  and  educated  in  Franklin  Coun- 
ty, Mass.,  tovvn  of  Wendell.  Here  his  parents 
died;  his  father  in  the  fall  of  1827;  his  mother 
was  cousin  to  Gov.  Lincoln,  of  Massachusetts. 
She  died  in  Wendell  in  1873,  in  her  eighty-ninth 
year.  In  early  life  subject  le'arned  the  trade 
of  tanner  and  currier,  which  trade  he  followed 
in  his  native  State  for  twentj'-three  j-ears;  was 
burned  out  in  1850,  and  moved  to  Illinois  in 
1855  (January),  and  settled  in  Norman  Town- 
ship of  Grundy  Count}',  having  married  in 
Massachusetts,  November  24,  1841,  to  Miss 
Clarinda  Browning,  of  Massachusetts,  born  in 
Worcester  County  (Rutland),  May,  1817;  died 
in  Massachusetts  November,  1847.  By  this 
union  he  has  two  children — Edwin  L.  Pierce, 
born  in  Massachusetts  November  19,  1842, 
living  in  Missouri;  Clarinda  G.  Pierce,  born  in 
Massachusetts  October  4,  1844,  married  to 
Thomas  Drackley,  of  La  Salle  County.  Sub- 
ject was  married  to  his  present  wife  May  20, 
1848,  to  Miss  Charlotte  Clapp,  daughter  of  Oli- 
ver and  Adelia  Clapp,  born  in  Massachusetts, 
March  4,  1830.  They  have  a  family  of  six 
children  as  the  result  of  second  marriage- 
Mary  E.  Pierce,  born  May  4,  1849,  married  to 
Fred  M.  Green  March  17,  1872,  now  a  resident 
of  Green  County,  Kan.;  Hetta  Ella,  born  June 
22,  1850,  died  June  27,  1865;  George  A.Pierce, 
born  May  10,  1852,  married  to  Mary  B.  Slos- 
son  January  1,  1880;  Walter  M.  Pierce,  born 
May  30,  1861,  educated  at  Morris  and  Ann 
Arbor,  and  teaching  in  Kansas;  Charles  M. 
Pierce,  born  October  11,  1866;  Minnie  B.,  bora 
October  3,  1868.  Subject  owns  a  farm  of  160 
acres  in  Section  27  of  Norman  Township;  resides 
eight  miles  southwest  from  Morris;  engaged  in 
mixed  husbandry.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity. 

LORENZO  RENIFF,  farmer,  P.  0.  Waupon- 
see. The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,   born  July  24,   1819  ;    son   of 


VIENNA    TOWNSHIP. 


189 


Daniel  and  Rhoda  (Cummins)  ReuifT;  raised 
and  educated  in  Franlilin  County,  Mass.;  by 
trade  a  carpenter.  He  came  to  Illinois  in  1842, 
and  located  in  Putnam  Countj',  where  he  lived 
twelve  years.  Here  he  was  married,  December 
25,  1848,  to  Miss  Lutheria  E.  Chittenden, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Mary  Chittenden  ;  she 
was  born  in  the  State  of  New  York,  March  19, 
1831,  and  came  to  Illinois  when  six  3'ears  old. 
They  have  a  family  of  five  children — Lucius 
M.  Reniff,  born  in  Putnam  County  July  22 
1850,  married  to  Miss  Jennie  Lord,  daughter  of 
Abram  Lord,  of  Morris,  September  29,  1872  ; 
Grace  E.  Reniff,  born  February  22,  1853,  mar- 
ried to  Bruce  Cooper,  February  22,  1874,  died 
in  Norman  Township  May  2,  1875  ;  Clara  A. 
Reniff,  born  April  2,  1856,  and  married  to  En- 
gem  Van  Atta,  March  3,  1878  ;  Ida  M.  Reniff, 
born  February  21,  1859  ;  Herman  G.  Reniff, 
born  March  28, 1865.  Subject  moved  to  Grundy 
County  in  December,  1853,  and  settled  in  Nor- 
man Township,  where  he  now  lives.  He  owns 
a  farm  of  120  acres  in  Sections  14  and  26. 
Residence,  eight  miles  southwest  from  Morris  ; 
land  valued  at  $50  an  acre.  Mr.  Reniff's  father 
died  in  this  county  in  August,  1861,  and  his 
mother  in  February,  1864.  Mrs.  Reniff  is  a 
member  of  the  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  Norman  Township  Her  mother. 
Mar}-  A.  (Lowel)  Chittenden,  was  born  in  Ver- 


mont January  24,  1806,  and  died  in  Grundy 
County  July  13,  1881.  Her  father  was  a  ua- 
tive  of  York  State,  where  he  died  in  1837. 

THOMAS  WINSOR,  farmer,  P.  0.  Morris. 
The  snliject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  Dev- 
onshire, Ipplepen,  near  Torquaj-,  England,  born 
April  21,  1816  ;  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth 
Winsor.  Subject  is  the  seventh  of  a  family  of 
eleven  children  ;  raised  and  educated  in  the 
elements  of  an  Englisii  education  in  his 
native  country.  Married,  Februarj'  12,  1843, 
in  England,  to  Miss  Martha  Thomas,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Mary  Thomas,  born  in 
Devonshire,  near  Torquaj-,  July  15,  1819. 
They  came  to  the  United  States  in  the 
sailing  vessel  "Agnes,"  landed  at  New  York 
and  came  bj-  canal  and  lakes  to  Joliet,  settled 
in  Kendall  County  for  two  years,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Grundy  County  in  1850  and  located 
in  Saratoga  Township,  where  he  bought  land 
and  lived  until  1864,  when  he  removed  to  Nor- 
man Township,  where  he  now  lives.  Here  he 
owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  in  Section  24,  resi- 
dence five  and  a  half  miles  southwest  from 
Morris.  Thej'  have  a  family  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  are  dead,  one  son  dying  in 
England,  and  one  daughter  in  Grundy  County. 
Mr.  Winsor  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served 
Norman  Township  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  for 
eleven  consecutive  years. 


VIEN"NA   TOWNSHIP. 


JAMES  ANDERSON,  retired,  Verona,  is 
a  native  of  Huntingdon  County,  Penn.,  born 
May  27,  1817,  son  of  Andrew  and  Elizabeth 
Anderson,  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1793,  he  being  then  but  three  years 
old.  When  subject  was  nine  j'ears  old,  his 
parents  moved  from  Pennsylvania  to  Harrison 
County,  Ohio,  where  they  lived  until  1840, 
when  they  removed  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in 


Pike  County.  There  our  subject  was  married, 
March  25,  1841,  to  Miss  Lydia  Marshall, 
daughter  of  David  and  Elizabeth  Marshall, 
born  in  Huntingdon  County,  Penn.,  May  16, 
1804.  Mrs.  Anderson  has  been  blind  since  the 
fall  of  1874.  They  came  to  Grundy  County  in 
June,  1855,  and  settled  in  Section  13,  of  Vienna 
Township,  where  he  owned  330  acres  of  land, 
including  168  acres  in  Section   18  of  Mazon 


140 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Township,  where  he  lived  until  1873;  he  has 
lately  sold  his  farms  and  bought  property-  in 
the  village  of  Verona,  where  thej-  have  lived  for 
the  past  two  years,  his  father  died  iu  this 
county  February  19,  1857;  his  mother  died  in 
Macon  County,  111.;  in  1867.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Anderson  are  members  of  the  Presbj'teriau 
Church  of  Verona.  Since  selling  his  farms  he 
has  retired,  and  they  expect  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  their  days  in  the  quiet  of  the 
village  of  Verona. 

A.  H.  BRUCE,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona,  is  a 
native  of  Westford,  Mass.,  born  September  29, 
1828.  When  he  was  two  years  old,  his  parents 
removed  to  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  where  sub- 
ject was  raised  and  educated;  he  was  married 
in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  May  31, 1850,  to  Miss 
Malvina  Janes,  daughter  of  David  and  Eliza- 
beth Janes;  she  was  born  in  Oneida  County, 
N.  Y.,  September  17,  1827.  In  the  spring  of 
1852.  they  came  to  Illinois  aud  settled  in 
Vienna  Township,  Grriind}-  Couutj',  where  they 
own  a  farm  of  sixty  acres,  improved  land,  in 
Section  26,  worth  $50  per  acre;  their  residence, 
is  one  mile  northeast  from  Verona.  They  have 
a  family  of  ten  children,  three  of  whom  are 
dead:  Lucy  A.,  born  March  11,  1851,  married 
to  O.  Johnson  September  11,  1869;  Mary  E. 
born  September  12,  1852,  married  to  William 
Dewey  June  18,  1873;  Lero3-  A.,  born  Novem- 
ber 25,  1854r,  married  to  Christina  Coles  Janu- 
ary 24,  1878;  Elizabeth  M.,  born  June  16, 
1856,  married  to  James  Bennett  February  6, 
1876;  Fred  J.,  born  March  21,  1858,  died  June 
1,  1858;  Ada  A.,  born  June  16,  1859,  died 
March  12,  18G4;  Eddie  L.,  horn  May  19,  1861, 
died  March  11,  1862;  Katie  M.,  born  June  16, 
1864;  Herman  A.,  born  March  17,  1866;  and 
Sarah  E.,  born  October  23,  1869.  Mr.  Bruce 
is  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  county,  and 
remembers  when  the  wolves  were  very  plenti- 
ful, and  has  had  them  jump  at  his  horse  as  he 
rode  along.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Janes,  parents  of 
Mrs.  Bruce,  died  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Bruce 


in  this  county;  her  father  in  August,  1855, 
and  her  mother  in  March,  1856. 

GEORGE  W.  CARPENTER,  grain,  Verona, 
is  a  native  of  West  Greenwich,  R.  I.;  he  was 
born  April  15,  1826,  son  of  Amos  and  Mary 
(Baile^')  Carpenter,  he  being  the  sixth  of  a  fam- 
ily of  nine  children.  When  he  was  about  six 
j-ears  old,  his  father  moved  to  Eastern  Con- 
necticut, where  george  W.  was  raised  and  edu- 
cated. In  1854,  he  came  West  and  settled  in 
Grundy  Count}',  111.;  bought  160  acres  of  land 
in  Section  9,  of  Mazon  Township,  where  he 
lived  twelve  years,  and  then  moved  to  Morris, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  implement  and  grain 
business.  He  remained  there  in  business  un- 
til 1878,  when  he  came  to  Verona  and  engaged 
in  the  grain  trade,  which  he  still  carries  on. 
He  shipped,  in  1880,  153,638  bushels  of  corn. 
He  was  married  first,  in  1854,  to  Miss  Sarah 
Underwood,  born  in  Woodstock,  Conn.,  in 
1830,  who  died  while  on  a  visit  at  Bingham- 
ton,  N.  Y.,  in  1878.  They  had  three  childien, 
one  of  whom  is  dead — Ella  A.,  born  in  Grundy 
Count}'  April,  1857,  married  in  1876  to  Mr. 
A.  H.  Gage,  of  New  York  ;  Mary  B.,  born  in 
1861,  died  in  1863;  and  Mary  Lilian,  born 
December  26,  1866.  He  married  in  March, 
1881,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Murphy,  formerly  of  Ohio. 
They  have  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  of  improved 
land  in  Section  12,  of  Vienna,  worth  $55  per 
acre.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  frequently 
been  elected  to  the  offices  of  his  township.  He 
has  an  elevator  aud  a  nice  residence  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Verona. 

THOMAS  S.  COLMAN,  farmer,  P.  0.  Wau- 
ponsee,  is  a  native  of  Putnam  County,  III,  born 
August  2,  1838,  son  of  John  and  Mary  A.  Col- 
man,  who  moved  into  Putnam  County,  111.,  from 
the  State  of  New  York,  in  1835.  His  father 
was  born  in  Vermont  in  1797  and  died  in  La  Salle 
County  May  2,  1849,  and  his  mother  in  New 
Hampshire,  in  January,  1806  ;  she  died  at  the 
residence  of  her  son,  in  Norman  Township, 
Grundy   County,  July  13,  1881.     Our  subject 


VIENNA    TOWNSHIP. 


141 


was  raised  and  educated  prinoipall}-  in  La 
Salle  Cinmty.  111.  He  married,  November  25, 
1864,  Miss  Catharine  Nelson,  daughter  of  Miles 
and  Adeline  Nelson  of  New  York.  She  was 
born  in  Steuben  County,  N.  Y.,  December  15, 
1838,  and  is  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  five  chil- 
dren. Tiieir  family  consists  of  three  children — 
John  N.,  born  October  1,  1865  ;  Guy  A.,  born 
September  12,  1860  ;  William  T,,  born  August 
22,  1871.  Mr.  Colman  now  owns  IGO  acres  of 
improved  farm  land  In  Section  12,  of  Vienna 
Township,  valued  at  855  per  acre  ;  he  resides 
one  half  mile  south  of  Wauponsee  Station.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  JIasonic  fraternity  ;  in 
politics,  he  is  a  Kepublican,  and  has  been  elect- 
ed to  the  offices  of  his  township.  He  has  one 
brother,  John  T.  Colman,  living  in  Norman 
Township,  Grundy  County. 

MATTHEW  DIX,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona,  is 
a  native  of  Berkshire,  England,  born  Maj'  4, 
1831,  son  of  Charles  and  Martha  Dix,  of 
England.  He  is  the  fifth  of  a  fiimily  of  eight 
children,  and  was  raised  and  educated  in  Eng- 
land. He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1856, 
in  the  vessel  "  Amazon,"  being  six  weeks  on 
the  passage.  He  came  immediatel)'  to  Illinois 
and  settled  in  Kendall  Countj',  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  eight  years ;  came  to 
Grundy  County  in  the  spring  of  1865.  Here 
he  located  in  Section  22,  of  Vienna  Township, 
where  he  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  of  well-im- 
proved land,  and  resides  one  and  one-half  miles 
northwest  from  Verona  ;  the  land  is  valued  at 
$50  per  acre.  Mr.  Dix  was  married  in  Kendall 
County,  September  21,  1864,  to  Miss  Gertrude 
Cody,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Harriet  Cody, 
born  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  July  8,  1843. 
They  have  a  family  of  seven  children,  three  of 
whom  are  dead — Freddy  L.,  born  in  Grundy 
County  December  26,  1868  ;  Lewis  M.,  De- 
cember 24,  1870,  died  of  diphtheria  December 
22,1880;  Clara  A.,  born  November  2,  1872; 
MinaG.,  January  20,  1876,  died  June  12,  1877  ; 
Sadie  E.,  born  February  3,  1878  ;    and    Effie  ! 


J.,  born  August  27, 1 879.  George  T.,  Mr.  Dix's 
eldest  son,  boru  January  21,  1865,  drowned  by 
falling  into  a  tub  of  water  in  October,  1866. 
They  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Verona. 

THOMAS  B.  GRANBY,  farmer,  P.  0.  Ve- 
rona, is  a  native  of  Greene  County,  N.  Y.;  born 
September  10,  1840,  son  of  James  A.  and  Eliza 
A.  Granby,  our  subject  being  the  eldest  of  a 
family  of  eight  children.  His  parents  came  to 
this  county  in  1855,  from  New  York  ;  his 
mother,  Eliza  A.  (Carter)  Granby,  died  in  Grun- 
dy County  in  the  tail  of  1877  ;  his  father  died 
December  23,  1879.  Mr.  Granby  was  educat- 
ed in  his  native  State.  He  enlisted  August  10, 
1862,  in  Company  D,  Seventy-second  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  participated  in  the 
Vicksburg  campaign,  under  Grant,  in  1862, 
and  in  the  seige  of  Vicksburg  in  1863  ;  battle 
of  Raymond,  Miss.;  Champion  Hills;  Black 
River  Bridge  ;  Fort  Hill  (charge)  ;  Franklin, 
Tenn.,  where  he  was  captured  November  30, 
1864,  by  Gen.  Hood's  force  and  held  in  Ander- 
sonville  and  other  prisons  until  March  10,  1865, 
and  was  then  paroled  and  in  August  was  mus- 
tered out  at  Springfield,  111.  He  married  No- 
vember 10,  1872,  Miss  Mary  E.  Cooper,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Cooper.  She  was  born  in  Indi- 
ana July  12,  1846.  They  have  one  son— Ed- 
gar A.,  born  in  Grundy  Count}',  August  16, 
1873.  Mr.  Granby  owns  100  acres  of  improved 
land  ;  eighty  acres  in  Section  10  of  Vienna,  and 
twenty  acres  in  Section  29  of  Norman  Town- 
ship.    He  is  a  Republican. 

HENRY  G.  GORHAM,  farmer  and  grain 
merchant,  Wauponsee,  is  a  native  of. Putnam 
County,  III.,  born  November  5,  1848,  son  of 
Gardner  T.  and  Elizabeth  A.  Gorham,  who  set- 
tled in  this  county  in  1849.  His  mother  is  a 
daughter  of  Jesse  and  Jane  Newport,  who  set- 
tled in  Vienna  Township  in  1834.  Mr.  Gorham 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Grundy 
County,  and,  at  the  Lombard  LTniversity  of 
Galesbnrg,  Ills.     He  was  maiTied,  November  6, 


142 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


1878,  to  Jliss  Clara  Lord,  daughter  of  L.  M. 
Lord,  of  Morris.  She  was  born  in  Kendall 
County,  III,  November  7,  1852.  They  have 
one  daughter,  Mabel,  born  in  Grundy  County 
December  31,  1870.  Mr.  Gorham  is  engaged 
in  the  grain  trade  at  Hill  Park,  and  has  con- 
trol of  the  Gorham  estate,  consisting  of  860 
acres  of  farm  land  in  Section  1  of  Vienna  Town- 
ship, and  Section  6  of  blazon  Township.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  Morris 
Commandery.  His  father,  who  was  a  native  of 
New  York,  born  in  1804,  died  in  Grundy  County 
October  1,  1872. 

AARON  HARFORD,  Verona,  is  a  son  of 
Harry  and  JIaria  (Tyler)  Harford,  was  born  in 
South  Salem,  Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y.,  July  2, 
1822,  and  was  raised  and  received  the  elements 
of  English  education  in  his  native  State.  His 
mother  and  President  John  Tyler  were  first 
cousins;  she  died  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  March 
10,  1881,  in  her  eighty-eighth  year;  his  father, 
Harry  Harford,  died  in  the  same  citj'  December 
25,  1874;  he  was  a  soldier  through  the  war  of 
1812,  and  was  in  his  ninetieth  year  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  Our  subject  came  to  Illinois  with 
his  father,  and  located  four  miles  east  of  Lisbon, 
in  Kendall  Countj',  coming  the  entire  distance 
from  the  Hudson  River  with  a  team.  Here  he 
remained  with  his  father  until  twenty-four 
years  old,  at  which  time,  November  1,  1847,  he 
married  Miss  Francis  Dewey,  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  Dewej-,  born  in  Ketton,  Rutlandshire, 
Eng.,  December  4,  1825,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  with  her  parents  when  about 
eleven  years  old.  They  settled  at  Wauponsee 
Grove,  in  Grundy  County,  on  the  farm  now  oc- 
cupied by  A.  Newport,  in  the  spring  of  1839, 
being  among  the  pioneers  of  Grund3'  County. 
Mr.  Harford  began  life  for  himself  by  settling 
in  Vienna  Township,  where  he  now  lives  on 
land  then  owned  by  his  wife's  father  (Dewey). 
His  taxes  for  first  year  were  about  76  cents;  he 
now  owns  a  tract  of  land  consisting  of  620 
acres  in  Sections  14  and  23,  of  Vienna  Town- 


ship. They  have  had  a  family  of  seven  children, 
three  of  whom  are  dead  :  Cornelia  D.,  born 
August  9,  1848;  married,  April  8,  1872,  to  Mr. 
Edwin  C.  Slosson,  of  Vienna  Township;  Mary, 
born  February  4,  1850,  died  June  4,  1851; 
Fannie  M.,  born  November  24,  1852;  married, 
March  28,  1877,  to  James  Mulvanie;  Frederick, 
born  September  27,  1854;  married  to  Clara 
Pomeroy,  April  4,  187G;  Addison,  born  :\Lavch 
14,  1857,  died  May  25,  1875;  Olive,  born  July 
7,  1861;  died  June  7,  1870,  and  Ellen,  born 
April  12,  1864.  Mr.  Harford  has  for  many  years 
been  an  extensive  stock-raiser,  but  of  late  years 
has  tu  rned  his  attention  to  blooded  horses,  having 
first  introduced  the  English  draft,  Norman  and 
Clydesdale  breeds  into  the  county.  Politically, 
he  was  formerly  what  was  known  as  an  aboli- 
tionist; was  a  Republican  during  the  war,  and 
at  present  an  Independent  Greenbacker. 

FRED  HARFORD,  farmer,  Vienna,  is  a  son 
of  Aaron  and  Frances  Harford,  was  born  in 
Grundy  County  September  27,  1854,  and  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  this  county.  He  mar- 
ried, at  Benton  Harbor,  Mich.-  April  4,  1876, 
Miss  Clara  A.  Pomeroy,  daughter  of  Alexander 
and  Hannah  E.  Pomeroy.  She  was  born  in 
Portage  County,  Ohio;  was  educated  at  Niles, 
Mich.,  and  Morris,  111.,  and  taught  school  dur- 
ing twelve  years,  from  1864  to  1876,  principally 
in  Grundy  County,  where  she  enjoys  an  envi- 
able reputation  as  a  teacher.  They  have  two 
children;  Leland  F.,  born  February  15,  1878, 
died  February  23,  1878,  and  Aaron  C,  born 
September  5,  1880.  Mr.  Harford  now  owns  a 
farm  consisting  of  240  acres  of  valuable  land; 
160  acres  in  Section  13,  and  eighty  acres  in 
Section  13  of  Vienna  Township;  his  residence 
is  situated  two  and  a  half  miles  northeast  from 
Verona.  In  politics,  he  is  a  Greenbacker,  and 
has  served  his  township  officially. 

CHARLES  A.  HILL,  farmer,  P.  0.  Wau- 
ponsee,  is  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  born 
September  18,  1836;  son  of  Capt.  Alfred  and 
Ann  (Lea)  Hill.     He  is  a  descendant  of  Peter 


VIENNA    TOWNSHIP. 


143 


Hill,  one  of  the  passengers  of  the  Mayflower  in 
1G20.  His  father,  Capt.  Alfred  Hill,  was  a  sea- 
man, being  a  captain  from  the  time  he  was 
twenty-one  3-ears  old  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  the  wreck  of  the 
steamship  Rhode  Island,  when  four  days  out 
from  Xew  York,  bound  for  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
His  mother's  ancestry  dates  back  to  the  no- 
bility of  England.  She  was  lost  at  sea  in  the 
wreck  of  the  steamship  Home,  seven  miles  off 
the  coast  of  Charleston,  S.  C  ,  her  husband  sav- 
ing his  life  on  this  occasion  by  swimming 
ashore.  Subject  was  raised  in  Oneida  Count}', 
N.  Y.,  by  his  grandparents  (Lea).  He  married 
at  Verona,  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  March  5, 
1856,  Miss  Sarah  E.  Overocker,  daughter  of 
Jacob  E.  and  Betsey  Overocker.  She  was  born 
in  New  York  January  8,  1832.  Thej'  have  a 
fomil}'  of  three  children — Annie  L.,  born  Octo- 
ber 20,  1860,  married  to  E.  W.  Overocker  No- 
vember 11,  1878;  Clara  A.,  born  August  18, 
1867,  and  Ada  B.,  born  July  20,  1869.  Mr. 
Hill  came  to  Grundy  County  in  March,  1859, 
and  has  since  been  a  resident  of  the  county. 
Since  1866,  he  has  lived  in  Vienna  Township, 
where  he  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  in  Sections 
2  and  11,  his  residence  being  Hill's  Park  Sta- 
tion. Mrs.  Hill  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Wauponsee  Grove. 

JOSEPH  HUTCHINGS,  farmer,  P.  O.  Ve- 
rona, is  a  native  of  Lincolnshire,  Eng.,  born 
October  26,  1827;  son  of  William  and  Mary 
Hutchings,  and  was  raised  and  educated  in  the 
old  country.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1851,  and  located  in  the  State  of  New  York 
for  four  years,  engaged  in  farming.  In  the  fall 
of  1855,  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Nor- 
man Township,  Grundy  County,  where  he  lived 
six  years.  In  the  winter  of  1861,  he  bouglit  a 
farm  of  Aaron  Harford,  in  Vienna  Township, 
upon  which  he  has  lived  since.  He  now  owns 
a  farm  of  320  acres  of  improved  land  in  Sec- 
tions 11  and  14,  valued  at  $50  per  acre,  his 
residence  being  two  and  a  half  miles  north  of 


Verona.  He  married  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  No- 
vember 4,  1855,  Miss  Bridget  Clark,  of  Ireland, 
horn  December  25,  1833.  They  have  a  ftxmily 
of  five  children,  one  of  whom  is  dead — Francis 
M.,  born  November  4,  1856;  Mar}'  E..  born 
September  29,  1859  ;  Margaret  W.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1803,  died  December  6,  1881  ;  John 
J.,  born  April  27,  1866,  and  James  W.,  born 
January  1,  1871.  They  are  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church  of  Highland.  He  is  a  Demo- 
crat. 

ALBERT  HOLLENBECK,  farmer,  P.  0. 
Verona,  is  a  son  of  Abram  and  Jane  A.  Hol- 
lenbeck,  and  is  a  native  of  Dutchess  County, 
N.  Y.,  born  August  22,  1845.  His  parents 
came  to  Illinois  and  yettled  in  Vienna  Town- 
ship, Grundj'  County.  His  father,  Abram  Hol- 
lenbeck,  was  born  in  New  York  June  23,  1809, 
and  died  in  Vienna  Township,  Grundy  County, 
October  10,  1854.  His  mother  is  now  living  in 
Morris,  wife  of  William  II.  Curtis,  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  count}'.  Mr.  Hollenbeck  is  the 
third  of  a  family  of  Ave  children.  He  received 
the  elements  of  an  English  education  in  Grundy 
County,  and  January  1,  1880,  married  Miss 
Iraogene  Reed,  of  La  Salle  County,  111.,  born  in 
Freedom  Township,  La  Salle  County,  July  5, 
1860.  They  have  a  son — Marion  A.,  born  in 
this  county  December  6,  1880.  Mr.  Hollenbeck 
now  owns  a  farm  of  130  acres  of  land  in  Sec- 
tion 18  of  Vienna  Township,  besides  control- 
ling a  farm  of  190  acres  in  Sections  17  and  18, 
owned  liy  William  H.  Curtis.  His  residence  is 
seven  miles  southeast  from  Seneca  and  five 
miles  northwest  from  Verona.  Mr.  Hollenbeck 
is  among  the  substantial  farmers  of  Vienna 
Township.  In  politics,  he  is  Republican,  and 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Central  Committee.  His 
mother,  Jane  A.  Hinchman,  was  born  in  New 
York  February  13,  1817,  and  was  married  to 
Abram  Hollenbeck  January  15,  1835. 

M.  G.  HAYMOND,  farmer,  P.  0.  Waupon- 
see, is  a  native  of  Shelby  County,  Ind.,  born 
November  9,  1836;  son  of  William  and   Anna 


144 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


Haj-moud,  he  a  native  of  Virginia,  slae  of  Ken- 
ucky.  When  subject  was  only  one  year  old,  his 
parents  removed  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Ken- 
dall County  in  1 837,  where  he  received  his  educa- 
tion principally.  He  came  to  this  county  in 
1855,  and  in  186-i  bought  a  farm  in  Section  2  of 
Vienna  Township.  Here  he  still  lives  owning 
a  farm  of  122  acres  of  valuable  land  with 
splendid  improvements,  situated  on  the  west 
side  of  Section  2,  the  land  being  worth  S60  per 
acre.  He  was  marriea  in  Grundy  County  Oc- 
tober 10,  1861,  to  Miss  Eliza  M.  Pangburn, 
daughter  of  Moses  Pangburn,  of  "Wauponsee 
Township;  she  was  born  in  Onondaga  County, 
N.  Y.,  September  22,  1841.  They  have  a  fam- 
ily of  two  children,  one  living — Freddie,  born 
in  Grundy  County  December  25,  1865,  died 
May  10.  1866,  and  Katie  May  born  in  this  coun- 
ty February  24,  1868. 

J.  W.  MARTIN,  Verona,  was  born  in  Brown 
County,  Ohio,  November  7,  1840;  son  of  Ben- 
jamin M.  and  Elizabeth  Martin.  When  he  was 
six  years  old,  his  parents  removed  to  Illinois 
in  1846,  and  settled  in  La  Salle  County,  where 
they  lived  about  ten  years,  engaged  in  farming. 
They  then  removed  to  Highland  Township, 
Grundy  County,  where  his  father  died  in  Sep- 
tember, 1866.  His  mother  now  lives  in  Dwight, 
Livingston  Co.,  111.,  aged  seventy  years.  Mr. 
Martin  enlisted  August  15,  1862,  in  Company 
D,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty  seventh  111.  Vol. 
lufantrj-  (Capt.  Chandler),  in  which  he  served 
during  the  war,  and  was  discharged  at  Washing- 
ton in  June,  1865.  He  participated  in  the  siege 
of  Vicksburg.  and  was  with  Sherman  through 
his  entire  career.  He  married,  March  7,  1877, 
Miss  Emily  J.  Crozier,  daughter  of  Christo- 
pher Crozier,  of  Grundy  Count}-;  born  in  Ross 
County,  Ohio,  May  18,  1846.  They  have  a 
familj'  of  five  children — Carrie  J.,  born  in 
Grundy  County  January  13,  1868;  Ira  L.,  born 
in  Grundy  County  May  14,  1869;  Early  Will- 
iam, born  in  Grundy  County  February  9,  1871; 
Nellie,  born  in  Grund}'  County  July  8,  1876, 


and  Maud,  born  in  Grundy  County  January  13, 
1881.  Mr.  Martin  has  a  farm  of  160  acres  of 
improved  farm  land  in  Section  18,  of  Highland 
Township.  He  is  now  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  in  the  village  of  Verona,  and  owns 
two  store-rooms  stocked  with  a  general  stock. 
He  came  here  in  the  spring  of  1876.  In  poli- 
tics, he  is  a  Republican. 

WILLIAM  PETERSON,  Verona,  was  born 
in  Ross  County,  Ohio,  August  6,  1816,  where 
he  was  raised  on  a  farm,  and  educated  in 
South  Salem  Academy.  He  followed  the  pro- 
fession of  teaching  for  fifteen  years,  principally 
in  Ross  County.  He  was  married  March  13, 
1843,  in  Ross  County  to  Miss  Louisa  Fearrell, 
born  April  23,  1820,  daughter  of  James  and 
Elizabeth  Fearrell,  of  Ohio.  They  came  to  Ill- 
inois and  settled  in  Wauponsee  Grove,  Grundy 
County,  in  the  fall  of  1853.  He  remained  there 
for  three  years,  then  sold  his  farm  and  moved 
to  Vienna  Township,  where  he  now  owns  a  farm 
of  320  acres  of  improved  land  in  Section  35,  of 
Vienna  Township,  valued  at  $50  per  acre,  on 
which  he  is  engaged  in  stock-raising.  They 
have  a  fivmily  of  three  sons — Hamilton  C,  the 
eldest,  was  born  in  Ross  County,  Ohio,  Janu- 
ary 13,  1844.  His  first  official  work  was  that 
of  teacher;  he  afterward  entered  the  army,  and 
served  through  the  war;  was  then  commissioned 
Second  Lieutenant  in  the  regular  army,  sub- 
sequently promoted  to  First  Lieutenant,  and 
after  serving  four  years  resigned  to  engage  in 
the  practice  of  law.  He  died  at  Laredo,  Tex., 
in  April,  1878.  John  H.,  the  second  son,  was 
born  in  Ross  County,  Ohio,  December  25, 
1846,  and  is  now  living  in  Verona.  The  young- 
est son,  Rufus  A.,  was  born  in  Highland  Coun- 
ty, Ohio,  February,  1849.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pe- 
terson are  members  of  thePresbj-terian  Church 
of  Verona.  He  is  a  Republican.  Their  resi- 
dence is  situated  one  mile  south  of  Verona. 

JAMES  REARDON,  farmer.  P.  0.  Wau- 
ponsee, is  a  native  of  Franklin  County,  N.  Y., 
born   March    11.    1834,   son   of  William   and 


VIEXNA    TOWNSHIP. 


145 


Catharine  Reardon,  who  were  born  in  Ireland  ; 
his  father  died  in  Morris,  this  county,  and  his 
mother,  Catharine  (Curtis)  Reardon,  died  in 
Au  Sable  Township,  this  count3-.  Subject 
came  with  his  parents  to  Illinois  in  1851.  Thej* 
settled  in  Grundy  County  and  remained  until 
their  death.  Mr.  Reardon  received  the  ele- 
ments of  an  English  education  principally  in 
York  State;  he  was  married,  November  12, 
1856,  in  Grundy  County  to  Miss  Sarah  A. 
Cryder,  daughter  of  Israel  and  Elizabeth 
Cryder  ;  she  was  born  in  Penns3-lvania  Novem- 
ber 13,  1837.  Mr.  Reardon  began  life  for 
himself  in  the  town  of  Au  Sable,  where  he 
lived  about  eight  j'ears  ;  he  then  sold  his  farm 
and  removed  to  Saratoga  Township,  where  he 
followed  farming  for  one  year,  when  he  sold  out 
and  moved  to  Morris  where  he  resided  three 
years.  Since  then  he  has  lived  in  Vienna 
Township,  where  he  has  a  farm  of  eighty  acres 
of  improved  land  in  Section  2,  his  residence 
being  ten  miles  southwest  from  Morris,  and 
one  mile  west  from  Wauponsee  Station.  He 
engages  in  general  farming  on  his  place  which 
is  valued  at  $60  per  acre.  He  is  a  supporter 
of  the  Republican  part3-. 

WILLIAM  RANSLEY,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona, 
is  a  native  of  the  county  of  Kent,  Parish  of 
Frindsbury,  England,  born  February  22,  1817, 
son  of  William  and  Sarah  Ransley,  of  Eng- 
land, and  was  raised  and  educated  in  his  native 
country.  September  17,  1854,  he  landed  at 
New  York  City,  and  remained  in  New  York 
until  January,  1855,  then  came  to  Illinois  and 
settled  in  Grundy  County,  February  7,  1855, 
he  located  in  Vienna  Township,  where  he  now 
owns  a  farm  of  290  acres  of  improved  land  in- 
cluding four  dwelling  houses  in  Section  26  of 
Vienna  Township,  the  land  being  valued  at  $55 
per  acre.  His  residence  is  situated  one-half 
mile  north  of  Verona.  He  was  married  No- 
vember 19,  1869,  in  Milton,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y., 
to  Miss  Dinah  Susans,  born  at  Gravesend,  Eng- 
land,  in  1844.     They  have  a  family  of  three 


children — William,  born  in  Grundy  County, 
August  28,  1870  ;  Beatrice,  born  in  Grund}' 
Count)'  June  2,  1872,  and  Frank,  born  in 
Grund}-  County  March  17,  1875.  Mr.  Rans- 
ley has  crossed  the  ocean  five  times  ;  first  on 
the  Yorktown,  thirty-eight  days  ;  second.  City 
of  Antwerp,  eleven  daj's  ;  third,  City  of  Brook- 
lyn, ten  days  ;  fourth,  City  of  Brooklyn,  ten 
daj-s  ;  fifth.  City  of  Richmond,  ten  days.  He 
is  a  supporter  of  the  Republican  party. 

NICHOLAS  AND  DANIEL  RAGAN,  farm- 
ers. P.  0.  Verona,  are  sons  of  Timotli^'  and 
Bridget  Ragan,  of  Ireland.  Daniel  was  born 
in  Grundy  County  August  31,  1849  ;  Nicholas 
also  was  born  in  Grundy  County  April  5,  1853. 
Their  father,  Timothj*  Ragan,  assisted  in  the 
construction  of  the  canal  and  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  this  county  ;  he  died  in  Grun- 
dj-  County-  in  April,  1853.  They  first  settled 
in  Erienna  Township,  where  they  lived  until 
1867,  when  the  familj' consisting  of  Nicholas, 
Daniel,  their  mother  and  one  sister,  removed 
to  Vienna  Township.  Their  sister,  Fannie,  was 
born  in  La  Salle  County  JIarch  7,  1848,  and 
was  married,  February  27,  1870,  to  Mr.  John 
Fitzpatrick,  who  died  in  Grundy  County  Sep- 
tember 21,  1873.  Mrs.  Fitzpatrick  has  a 
daughter  Mary  A.,  born  in  Grundy  County 
November  27,  1870.  The  brothers  iiavea  farm 
of  eight}-  acres  in  Section  34,  of  Vienna  Town- 
ship, and  eight}-  acres  in  Section  3,  of  High- 
land Township,  including  two  dwelling  houses, 
their  present  residence  being  situated  one  mile 
southwest  from  Verona.  The  land  is  valued 
at  $50  per  acre.  The}-  are  all  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church  of  Higliland  Township. 
Daniel  Ragan  is  Assessor  for  Vienna  Township. 
They  are  engaged  in  stock-raising  and  general 
husbandry  ;    in  politics,  they  are  Independent. 

D.  S.  RENNE,  hardware,  Verona,  is  a  son 
of  Justin  and  Maria  Renne,  formerly  of  New 
York  State.  He  was  born  in  Dutchess  County, 
N.  Y.,  October  27, 1845.  The  fifth  of  a  family 
of  seven  children  ;  he  received  the  elements  of 


146 


BIOGRAPHICAL- 


an  English  education  in  his  native  county,  and 
engaged  in  farming  until  1875,  when  he  was 
employed  as  station  agent  of  the  Chicago, 
Pekin  &  South-Western  Railroad,  in  which 
office  he  remained  five  years.  In  September, 
1881,  he  associated  himself  with  D.  Beal  in  the 
hardware,  stove  and  implement  trade,  on  Di- 
vision street,  Verona,  where  they  keep  on  hand 
an  extensive  stock  of  general  hardware.  Mr. 
Renne  was  married,  February  16,  1879,  to 
Miss  Anna  M.  Ryder,  born  in  Ottawa,  111.,  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1857.  daughter  of  John  and  Adelia 
Ryder,  of  this  county.  Mr.  Renne  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity  ;  in  politics,  he 
is  a  Democrat.  The  biography  of  his  parents 
appears  elsewhere  iu  this  work. 

HARRIS  SMALL,  retired,  Verona,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Somerset  County,  Me.,  born  May  24, 
1817,  son  of  Nathan  and  Susan  Small.  He  was 
raised  and  educated  in  his  native  State.  He 
married,  November  29,  1838,  Miss  Sophrona 
Lombard,  born  in  Somerset  County,  Me.,  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1819,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and 
Abigail  Lombard,  of  Maine.  He  came  to  Illi- 
nois in  1854,  and  settled  in  Grund}-  County, 
Highland  Township,  where  they  lived  until  the 
spring  of  1877,  when  he  retired  from  farm  life 
and  moved  to  Verona,  where  he  now  lives. 
They  rent  their  farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Section 
12,  of  Highland  Township.  They  have  a  family 
of  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living: 
Franklin  S.,  born  September  26, 1839,  died  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1842;  Daniel,  born  May  27,  1841, 
died  June  13,  1842;  Wilson,  born  January  1, 
1843;  Emily  J.,  born  February  15.  1844;  Shep- 
herd D.,  born  Januarj-  6,  1846;  Livona,  born 
May  19,  1848;  Millard  F.,  born  July  31,  1850, 
and  Ellen  M.,  born  May  9,  1857.  All  except 
the  last  named  were  born  in  Maine;  Ellen  M. 
was  born  in  Grundy  County;  Livona  died  Jan- 
uary 25, 1878.  Mrs.  Small  is  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  Church  of  Verona.  When  Mr. 
Small  came  to  Grundy  County,  Highland  Town- 
ship had  about  twelve  voters. 


AARON  SMALL,  mechanic,  Verona,  is  a 
son  of  Alvin  and  Anna  Small,  formerly  of 
Maine,  and  was  born  October  6, 1837,  in  Athens 
County,  Me.  His  parents  moved  to  Illinois 
when  he  was  about  six  years  old;  settled  for 
about  one  year  in  Kane  County;  thence  moved 
to  Highland  Township,  Grundy  County,  wliere 
his  father  is  still  living,  in  his  seventy-ninth 
year;  his  mother,  Anna  (Stephens)  Small, 
born  in  Maine,  died  in  Highland  Townsbip, 
Grundy  County,  November  22,  1858.  Mr. 
Small  was  raised  and  educated  in  Grundj- 
Count3-;  began  learning  the  trade  of  a  black- 
smith when  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  has  fol- 
lowed that  business  ever  since.  For  six  years, 
he  has  been  manufacturing  wagons  and  bug- 
gies, and  handling  farm  implements  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Verona.  He  married,  June  6,  1860, 
Miss  Sarah  Hart,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  and 
Jane  Hart.  She  was  born  in  Delaware  County, 
Penn.  Tiicy  have  a  fiimily  of  four  children, 
two  sons  and  two  daughters— Ella,  born  in 
Gardner,  Grundy  County,  April  11,  1862,  mar- 
ried to  Walter  Ward,  of  Grundy  County;  Will- 
iam A.,  born  in  Grundy  County,  February  8, 
1865;  Verdett,  born  in  Grundy  County,  August 
19,  1867,  and  Lula,  born  in  Grundy  County, 
December  7,  1873.  Mr.  Small  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  (Knights  Templar).  He 
owns  forty  acres  of  improved  farm  land  in  Sec- 
tion 1  of  Highland  Township,  valued  at  $50  per 
acre,  and  also  owns  the  shops  and  residence  in 
Verona,  Grundy  Cuuuty.  In  politics,  he  is  Re- 
publican. Mrs.  Small's  parents  are  now  living 
in  Mazon  Township. 

JAMES  SEAMARKS,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona, 
is  a  native  of  England,  born  in  the  county  of 
Kent  February  15,  1810;  was  raised  on  a  farm 
and  educated  in  England,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1839,  landing  at  New  York 
City.  He  came  over  in  the  sailing  vessel  Que- 
bec. He  first  settled  in  Mahoning  Count}-, 
Ohio,  where  he  lived  for  fifteen  years,  coming 
to  Illinois  in  the  spring  of  1854,  where  he  had 


VIENNA    TOWNSHIP. 


147 


previously  bought  land  in  Vienna  Township, 
Grundy  County.  He  still  lives  upon  the  same 
farm,  which  consists  of  240  acres  of  splendid 
farming  land,  including  three  dwelling  houses, 
situated  in  Section  27,  the  residence  being  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  northwest  from  the  village 
of  Verona.  The  land  is  valued  at  $50  per  acre. 
Mr.  Seamarks  was  married,  in  England,  May 
22,  1835,  to  Miss  Mary  Ransley,  of  England, 
born  September  4,  1814,  and  who  died  at  their 
home  in  Vienna  Township,  December  21,  1881. 
Tiiey  iiad  a  family  of  two  children — Charlotte, 
born  in  England  September  11,  1837;  married, 
March  31,  1856,  to  Richard  Hughes,  of  Eng- 
land, now  living  in  Marseilles,  111.,  and  Fannie, 
born  in  England  August  21,  1839.  married, 
March  31,  1856,  to  Mr.  Levi  Earner — she  died 
April  10,  1874,  in  Livingston  County,  leaving 
a  familj-  of  eight  children,  three  of  whom  are 
with  their  grandfather,  Mr.  Seamarks;  Anna, 
born  March  6.  1864;  Fannie,  born  October  19, 
1808;  Frank,  born  October  10,  1870.  Mr.  S. 
also  owns  240  acres  in  Livingston  County-,  111., 
with  two  dwellings,  also  a  dwelling  house  in 
Verona. 

EDWIN  C.  SLOSSON,manufacturer,Verona, 
is  a  son  of  Rufus  K.  Slosson,  M.  D.,  and  Han- 
nah G.  (Brown)  Slosson,  and  was  born  in  Ca3'u- 
ga  County,  N.  Y.,  February  25,  1843.  In  the 
spring  of  1854,  his  parents  came  to  Illinois, 
and  settled  in  Vienna  Township,  Grundy  Coun- 
ty, where  our  subject  received  the  elements  of 
an  English  education.  He  enlisted  August  22, 
1862,  in  Company  C,  Seventy-sixth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantr3",  in  which  he  served  during 
the  war  and  was  discharged  in  Chicago  in 
August,  1865.  During  his  term  of  service  he 
participated  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Jack 
son  ;  siege  of  Fort  Blakel}',  where  he  was 
shot  through  both  thighs.  April  8,  1872,  he 
married  Cornelia  D.  Harford,  daughter  of  Aaron 
and  Frances  Harford,  of  Vienna  Township,  born 
August  9,  1848.  They  then  went  to  California 
where  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  for  five 


3'ears,  then  returned  to  Grund}-  County,  and 
has  since  been  in  Verona,  engaged  in  man- 
ufacturing the  "  Slosson  Cultivator."  He  is 
associated  in  business  with  his  brother,  Eu- 
gene Slosson.  Mr.  aud  Mrs.  Slosson  have 
one  child  now  living,  and  have  lost  two — 
Vallie,  born  in  Oregon  February  2,  1873,  died 
died  in  Grundy  County  August  25,  1880 ; 
Fannie  May,  born  in  Oregon  August  11,  1875, 
died  in  Grundy  County  September  1,  1880, 
and  Ellen,  born  in  Grundj'  Couuty,  August  14, 
1881.     He  is  a  Republican. 

JOHN  C.  SCHROEDER,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Seneca,  is  a  native  of  Mechlenburg-Schwerin, 
Germany,  born  October  8,  1830  ;  raised  and 
educated  in  German}-  ;  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1858  ;  landed  at  New  York  Cit_v,  and 
came  immediately  to  Marseilles,  111.  He  lived 
in  La  Salle  County  for  about  five  years,  then 
settled  in  Vienna  Township,  Grundj'  Countj-. 
where  he  now  owns  200  acres  of  valuable  im- 
proved farm  land  in  Section  4  ;  residence  three 
miles  west  from  Wauponsee  Station.  Our  sub- 
ject was  married,  in  La  Salle  County,  October 
31,  1863,  to  Miss  Mary  Schroeder,  daughter  of 
Christian  and  Eva  Schroeder,  of  German}'.  She 
was  born  January  1, 1833  ;  they  have  a  family 
of  five  children,  one  dead — Wilhelmina,  born 
born  Januar}'  19,  1865  ;  Caroline,  December 
19,  1869  ;  Dorothea,  April  29,  1872  ;  Mary, 
February  17,  1875;  also  one  eon  who  died  in 
infancy.  The  entire  family  are  members  of  the 
German  Lutheran  Church.  Mrs.  Schroeder's 
father  died  in  Grundy  Count}',  November  27, 
1881.  Her  mother  is  now  living  with  them  in 
her  seventy -third  year.  Mr.  Schroeder  is  en- 
gaged in  stock-raising  and  general  husbandry. 

JACOB  STONER,  farmer,  P.  0  Verona,  is  a 
native  of  Cumberland  County,  Penn.,  born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1824  ;  son  of  George  and  Mary  Stoner, 
of  Pennsylvania.  In  1835,  his  parents  removed 
to  Summit  County,  Ohio,  where  subject  resided 
until  1845,  when  he  came  West,  spent  some 
time  in  Illinois,   and,  until  1849,  was  traveling 


148 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


I 


in  Louisiana,  Wisconsin  and  Michigan.  In 
1849,  he  settled  in  Grundy  County,  111.,  and 
has  been  a  resident  of  the  county  ever  since. 
He  now  owns  a  ftirm  of  173  acres  of  improved 
land  in  Section  22  of  Vienna  Township,  and 
resides  two  and  three-quarter  miles  northwest 
from  Verona.  His  land  is  valued  at  $50  per 
acre.  He  was  married,  in  Grundy  County.  July 
4,  1855,  to  Miss  Caroline  Nance,  daughter  of 
Eaton  and  Mary  Xance,  formerly  of  Kentucky. 
She  was  born  in  Sangamon  County,  111..  Janu- 
ary 24.  1838.  They  have  a  family  of  seven 
children,  all  born  in  Grundy  County — Charles 
E.,  born  August  2,  1857  ;  De  Alton,  born  Jan- 
uary 24.  1859,  died  February  14,  1859  ;  J. 
Irwin,  born  October  5,  1861  ;  Lulu,  born  Feb- 
ruary 29,  1864  ;  Ulysses  G.,  born  July  20, 
1865  ;  Mary  C,  born  December  14,  1867  ;  and 
Sarah  M..  born  SepU^mber  6,  1876.  Mr.  Stoner 
is  engaged  in  general  husbandry. 

ALLEN  S.  TILDEN.  farmer,  P.  0.  Vero- 
na, is  a  native  of  Addison  County,  Vt,  born 
December  25,  1822  ;  son  of  Isaac  and  Minerva 
Tilden.  Wheu  about  thirteen  years  old  his 
parents  removed  to  St.  Lawrence  County,  N.  Y., 
where  they  remained  until  1852,  then  came  to 
Grundy  County,  111.  When  subject  became  of 
age,  he  went  to  North  Leverett,  Franklin 
Co.,  Mass.,  where  he  engaged  at  his  trade 
(that  of  a  lilacksmith)  ;  worked  there  four  years, 
and  afterward  three  in  the  northern  part  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  came  to  Illinois  in  1852 
and  settled  in  Vienna  Township,  where  he  now 
owns  a  farm  of  560  acres  of  land,  400  in  Sec- 
tions 9  and  16  of  Vienna  Township.  His  resi- 
dence with  extensive  improvements  being 
located  five  miles  northwest  from  Verona.  He 
was  married,  in  May,  1852,  to  Miss  Elvira 
Willis,  daughter  of  Ezra  Willis,  born  in  Frank- 
lin County,  Mass.,  in  1831.  They  have  three 
children — Eva  E..  born  in  Grundy  County 
September  24,  1853  ;  Lucy  C,  born  in  Grundj- 
County  October  17,  1860,  married  to  E.  Will- 
son  December  3,   1879  ;  and   Frank   C,   born 


December  20,  1872.  Mr.  Tilden's  mother  "is 
now  living  with  him.  She  is  now  eightj'-two 
years  of  age.  His  father,  Isaac  Tilden,  died  at 
subject's  residence  in  August,  1366. 

I.  C.  TILDEN,  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Addison   County,  Vt,  born  June  15, 
1830  ;  son  of  Isaac  and   Minerva  (Sherwood) 
Tilden,  who  removed  to  St.  Lawrence  County, 
N.  Y.,  where  our  subject  was  principally  raised 
and  educated.     In  1852.  they  came  to  lUiuois 
and    settled    in    Vienna    Township,     Grundy 
County,    where     the     sons     purchased     land. 
Our  subject  is  the  fifth  of  a  family  of  eight 
children.     He  was  married,  Februar}"  10.  1839, 
to  Miss  Roxana  Porter,  daughter  of  Arza  and 
Jane  Porter,  of  Vienna  Township.     Mrs.  Tilden 
was  born  in  Livingston  County,  N.  Y.,  April  2. 
1836.     They  have  a  family  of  three  children, 
all  born  in  this  county — Mary  E.,  born  June 
4,  1864  ;  Frances    M.,   March    10,   1868  ;    and 
Katie  L.,  November  6,  1872,  died  when  within 
one  hour  of  being  one  year  old.  November  6, 
1873.     Mr.  Tilden  has  a  farm  of  320  acres  of 
improved  land  in  Section  21  of  Vienna  Town- 
ship.    His  residence,  with  all  valuable  improve- 
ments, lies  two  and  one-half  miles  west  from 
Verona.     The  land  is  valued  atSG2.50  per  acre. 
They  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church   of   Veroua.     He  is  engaged  in  stock- 
raising  as   a  specialty.     Mrs.  Tilden's  father, 
Arza  Porter,  for  some  years  a  resident  of  Vien- 
na  Township,   died   in   January,    1858  ;     her 
mother  is  still  living  in  Vienna  Township. 

L.  H.  TILDEN,  farmer,  P.  O.  Waupon- 
see,  is  a  native  of  Stockholm,  St.  Lawrence 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  born  April  23,  1841,  son  of  Isaac 
and  Minerva  Tilden,  subject  being  the 
youngest  of  a  family  of  eight  children.  He 
came  to  Illinois  with  his  parents,  and  settled 
in  Grundy  County,  where  he  has  since  lived, 
and  where  he  was  educated  principally.  He 
enlisted,  September  6,  1862,  in  Company  D, 
One  Hundi-ed    and  Twentv-seventh  Illinois 


VIENNA    TOAVXSHIP. 


149 


Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  two 
years,  afterward  detailed  to  Battery  A,  First 
Illinois,  and  mustered  out  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  June  19,  I860.  He  participated  in 
the  following  engagements:  Chickasaw 
Swamp,  Arkansas  Post,  Black  Bayou, 
Resaca,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Chat- 
tahootchie  River,  Atlanta  and  Jonesboro. 
He  married,  April  10,  1806,  Miss  Lucy  E. 
Willis,  daughter  of  Ezra  and  Electa  "Willis. 
She  was  born  in  Leverett,  Franklin  Co., 
Mass. ,  January  20, 1842.  They  have  a  fam- 
ily of  four  childi-en,  all  born  in  Grundy 
County,  named  as  follows:  Lillian  E.,  born 
September  27,  1870;  Gay  W.,  born  October 
9,  1873;  Mary E.,  born  August  14, 1877;  and 
Roy  E.,  born  July  2,  1879.  Mi-.  Tildenowns 
120  acres  of  improved  farm  land  in  Section 
3  of  Vienna  Township,  Grundy  County. 
Hie  residence  is  one  mile  west  from  Hill's 
Park  Station.  Value  of  farm  land,  $50  per 
acre.     In  politics,  he  is  a  Republican. 

JONATHAN  WILSON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Ver- 
ona, is  a  native  of  Union  County,  Ky.,  born 
December  3,  1810.  "When  about  fourteen 
years  old,  his  parents,  Thornton  and  Eliza- 
beth Wilson,  moved  to  Illinois  and  settled  in 
Sangamc>n  County  for  one  year,  after  which 
they  lived  near  Tremont,  in  Tazewell  County, 
for  two  yeai-s.  In  the  fall  of  1827,  they 
moved  into  Putnam  County,  where  they  jiiu'- 
chased  a  farm;  there  the  father  died,  March 
9,  1835 ;  the  mother  had  previously  died  in 
Tazewell  County,  in  February,  1826.  Sub- 
ject remained  in  Putnam  County  till  1850, 
and  while  there  was  married,  January  24, 
1839,  to  Miss  Elma  Hoyle,  daughter  of  Will- 
iam and  Edith  Hoyle;  her  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  England,  and  her  mother  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania;  her  mother  died  in  Putnam 
County  August  5,  1840,  and  her  father  died 
in  the  same  county  January  9,  1876.  Mrs. 
Wilson  was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  Ohio, 


August  27,  1824.  Since  1850,  IVIr.  Wilson 
has  resided  in  Vienna  Township,  of  Grundy 
County,  111.  They  now  own  the  "  Old  Jonah 
Newjjort "  farm,  consisting  of  326  acres,  in 
Sections  4  and  9  of  Vienna,  their  residence 
being  situated  twelve  miles  southwest  from 
MoiTis.  Mr.  and  Mi-s.  Wilson  are  parents  of 
ten  children — William  A.,  born  March  3, 1840, 
died  February  28,  1871;  Edith  E.,  bom  Oc- 
tober 4,  1843;  Mary  E.,  born  March  18, 
1845,  man-ied  to  Albert  Hollenbeck  on  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1875,  and  died  August  22,  1875; 
Joseph  A.,  born  February  20,  1849,  married 
Hattie  E.  Collins  March  5,  1879;  Oliver  T., 
born  January  1,  1852,  died  January  31, 1852; 
Sabina  M.,  born  April  6,  1854;  Edward  F., 
born  April  6,  1856,  maiTied  December  3, 
1879,  to  Miss  Lucy  M.  Tilden;  Marshall  B., 
born  March  11,  1859;  Charley  E.,  bom 
March  29,  1864,  and  Orville  T.,  bom  June 
15,  1868.  Mr.  Wilson  is  engaged  in  general 
husbandry. 

EDWARD  WILSON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Wau- 
ponsee,  is  a  native  of  Grundy  County,  HI. , 
born  April  6,  1856.  the  seventh  of  a  family 
of  ten  children  born  to  Jonathan  and  Elenor 
Wilson.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of 
his  native  county,  and  took  a  commercial 
com'se  at  Grand  Prairie  Seminary.  He  was 
married,  December  3,  1879,  to  Miss  Lucy 
Tilden,  born  October  17,  1860,  daughter  of 
A.  S.  and  Alvira  Tilden,  of  Vienna  Town- 
ship; they  have  one  daughter — Eva  May, 
born  in  Grundy  County  May  8,  1881.  Mr. 
Wilson  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  of  improved 
land,  in  Sections  9  and  10  of  Vienna  Town- 
ship, and  resides^  two  and  a  half  miles  west 
from  Wauponsee  Station;  his  land  is  valued 
at  $50  an  acre.     He  is  a  Republican. 

JOHN  WELDON.  farmer,  P.  0.  Verona. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Bridget  (Mede)  Weldon,  formerly  of  Ii-e- 
land,  who  emigi-ated  to  the  United  States  in 


150 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


1832  and  settled  in  New  York,  where  subject 
wag  born  November  18,  1837.  "U'hen  he  was 
six  years  old  (in  1843),  his  pai-ents  moved  to 
Illinois  and  settled  in  "Will  County,  where 
they  remained,  engaged  in  farming,  until 
1849.  They  then  moved  to  Grundy  County 
and  bought  land  in  Vienna  Township.  Sub- 
ject enlisted,  August  4,  1861,  in  Company  I, 
Fifty-fifth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infanti-y,  in 
which  he  served  three  years,  and  was  dis- 
charged at  Nashvi  lie,  Tenn.,  November  1, 1864- 
He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh,  siege 
of  Vicksburg,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. ,  battle  of 
Nashville,  and  others;  was  taken  prisoner  at 
or  near  Memphis  by  Richardson's  guerrillas, 
from  whom  he  escaped  three  days  after,  and 
retui-ned  to  his  regiment.  His  brother, 
Lieut.  James  Weldon,  of  Company  H,  Fifty- 
fifth  Regiment,  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Shiloh.  Thomas  AVeldon,  another  brother, 
was  a  member  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-seventh  Illinois  Regiment,  in  which 
he  served  three  years;  wdunded.  After  re- 
turning, Mr.  Weldon  was  man'ied,  October 
11,  1865,  to  Miss  Ellen  Slattery,  daughter  of 
William  Slattery,  of  Ireland.  She  was  born 
in  County  Tipperary,  in  December,  1 841 ,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1853.  Their 
family  consists  of  seven  children,  thi-ee  of 
whom  are  dead — Dora  E..  born  September 
26,  1868;  William  J.,  born  January  30, 
1872;  Eveleen  M.,  born  February  23,  'l876; 
and  Clara  A.,  born  April  26,  1879.  They 
own  a  farm  of  268  acres  of  improved  land  in 
Sections  33  and  27  of  Vienna  Township,  val- 
ued at  $50  per  acre,  their  residence  being 
two  miles  southwest  of  Verona.  They  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  Chtu-ch.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and,  in 
politics,  is  a  National  Greenbacker. 

PHILIP  WAIT,  Verona,  was  born  in 
Montgomery  County,  N.  Y.,  June  5,  1819, 
eon  of  Walter  and  Margaret  Wait,  of  New 


York  State.  He  remained  till  ten  years  old 
in  New  York,  when  his  parents  moved  to 
Genesee  County,  N.  Y.,  where  they  lived 
about  nine  years.  They  then  went  to  Ohio 
and  settled  in  Hancock  County  for  a  few 
years,  and  afterward  moved  to  Muskingum 
County,  Ohio,  where  subject  was  married, 
November  10,  1844,  to  Miss  Nancy  Bryant, 
born  in  Muskingum  County,  Ohio,  May  4, 
1827,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Nancy  Bi-yant, 
of  Virginia.  By  this  union  they  have  a  fam- 
ily of  six  children — Alwilda  M.,  born  in  Ohio 
March  10,  1847,  married,  March  12,  1806,  to 
Henry  Jones,  of  Grundy  County;  Romando 
W.,  born  January  20,  1848,  married,  in  the 
spring  of  1868,  to  Miss  Martha  A.  Allison, 
of  Grundy  County;  Alice  M.,  born  March  26, 
1851,  married  toRhonelle  Thompson  in  1871; 
Edgar  B.,  born  January  11,  1856,  married, 
in  September,  1877,  to  Miss  Zelma  Paxton, 
of  Grundy  County;  Emma  T.,  born  Se})tem- 
ber  11,  1853;  and  Newton,  born  November 
11,  1858.  Mr.  Wait  removed  from  Ohio  to 
Kane  County,  111.,  in  1848,  and.  the  year-  fol- 
lowing, moved  to  Grundy  County,  and  set- 
tled in  Mazon,  where  he  lived  one  year,  then 
moved  on  a  farm,  which  he  had  previously 
bought,  in  Highland  Township,  upon  which 
they  lived  until  1876,  when  they  removed  to 
the  village  of  Verona.  Mr.  Wait  now  owns 
two  farms  in  Highland  Township — 111  acres 
in  Section  14,  and  eighty  acres  in  Section  2, 
including  two  dwelling  houses,  the  land  be- 
ing valued  at  $50  per  acre.  He  also  owns  a 
desirable  property  in  the  village  of  Verona. 
While  living  in  Mazon,  Mr.  Wait  sustained 
the  loss  of  his  only  team  by  a  violent  storm, 
which  occurred  on  May  28,  1851.  After 
this,  he  lost,  on  an  average,  one  horse  each 
year  for  twenty-seven  years. 

THOALA.S  WALSH,  farmer,  P.  O.  Verona, 
was  born  in  the  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
in  December,  1835 ;  was  educated  in  Canada, 


HIGHLAND  TOWNSHIP. 


151 


and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1860,  set- 
tling in  Kendall  County,  where  he  remained 
one  year.  He  came  to  this  county  in  1861, 
and  farmed  on  rented  land  until  1864.  He 
then  bought  34:0  acres  of  land  in  Vienna 
Township,  Section  22,  and  has  since  bought 
eighty-eight  and  one-half  acres  in  Section  19, 
of  Mazon  Township,  valued  at  $60  per  acre. 
He  is  engaged  in  raising  stock.  He  married, 
March  31,  1868,  MissPriscilla  Ward,  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Ward,  late  of  Mazon  Township. 


She  was  born  in  New  York  State,  January 
11,  1845;  they  have  six  children,  one  of  whom 
is  dead — Elizabeth,  born  September  19, 
1869;  William  C.  C.,born  February  5,  1871; 
Margaret  M.,born  December  20,  1873;  Mary 
E.,  born  August  12,  1876,  died  February  14, 
1878;  Jessie,  born  September  1,  1878,  and 
Hugh,  born  February  25,  1878.  Mi-,  and 
Mrs.  Walsh  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Chui'ch. 


HIGHLAND  TOWNSHIP. 


JOHN  CURTIN,  farmer,  P.  O.  Verona, 
was  born  in  Ireland  in  1828.  He  came  alone 
to  America  in  1840.  Having  a  brother  and  two 
sisters  living  in  Ottawa,  111.,  he  came  to  that 
place.  He  remained  in  La  Salle  County  for 
about  thirteen  years,  seven  years  of  which  he 
was  with  Mr.  Joel  Annstrong.  From  La 
Salle  County,  he  came  to  Grundy  County, 
settling  on  his  present  farm,  which  consisted 
of  240  acres.  He  was  married  in  La  Salle 
County,  in  1855,  to  Miss  Catharine  Maloney, 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Ireland.  They  have 
six  children,  three  boys  and  three  girls.  Mr. 
Ourtin  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  is  Democratic  in  politics.  All  his  school- 
ing he  r'iceived  in  Ireland.  His  occupation 
has  always  been  that  of  farming. 

JOSEPH  DONDANVILLE.  farmer,  P. 
O.  Verona,  settled  in  this  county  in  February, 
1867;  he  moved  on  to  the  place  formerly  set- 
tled by  Simon  Wait,  who  sold  it  to  T. 
Hibbard,  who  in  turn  sold  to  Mr.  Dondan- 
ville.  He  was  born  December  29,  1840,  in 
Alsace,  France.  Emigrated  to  America  in 
the  fall  of  1851,  and  settled  with  his  parents 
in  La  Salle  County,  111.  In  1859,  he  went 
to  Pike's  Peak,  and   in   1864-65  he  went  to 


the  northern  mines.  During  these  years, 
Mr.  Dondanville  was  through  most  of  the 
Western  country.  He  was  married,  Sejjtem- 
ber  22,  1865,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Beal,  a  native 
of  Ohio,  but  who  came  to  Kendall  County  at 
an  early  date.  They  have  five  childi-en,  three 
boys  and  two  girls.  His  farm  consists  of  205 
acres,  all  of  which  he  has  made  since  coming 
here.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  is  Democratic  in  politics.  Nei- 
ther of  his  parents  are  living. 

MRS.  JOHN  T.  EMPIE,  farming,  P. 
O.  Verona,  came  to  Grundy  County  in  March, 
1851,  and  has  lived  on  the  same  place  since. 
She  was  born  and  raised  in  Columbia  County, 
N.  Y. ;  her  parents  moved  to  Kane  County, 
111.,  in  the  spring  of  1845,  where  they  lived 
for  three  years,  afterward  going  to  Cook 
County,  where  they  remained  for  two  years. 
It  was  then  that  Mrs.  Empie  was  married  to 
John  T.  Empie,  and  they  both  settled  on  the 
farm  where  Mrs.  Empie  now  lives.  Her 
father,  Samuel  O.  Loudon,  is  still  living, 
and  is  eighty-throe  years  old.  He  is  a  na- 
tive of  New  York  State.  Mrs.  Empie's 
mother  also  came  from  New  York,  and  is  sev- 
enty-eight years  old.     Both  the  parents  were 


152 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


born  near  Lebanon  Springs,  in  Columbia 
County.  Mr.  Empie  was  born  in  Jefferson 
County,  N.  Y.,  and  came  from  Watertown  to 
Chicago.  He  died  in  March,  1867.  Mrs. 
Empie  has  four  children  living — two  sons 
and  two  daughters.  The  sons  still  remain  iu 
the  county,  but  the  two  daughters  are  living 
in  Kansas.  John  D.  and  William  A.  are  the 
names  of  her  two  sons.  These  four  children 
are  all  that  remain  of  a  family  of  ten.  Mr. 
Empie  bought  a  Mexican  land-warrant,  and 
laid  it  here,  the  quarter-section  costing  $72, 
including  the  expenses  connected  with  the 
purchase.  He  then  put  up  a  shanty,  which 
cost  $32.  By  trade,  Mr.  Empie  was  a  cloth- 
ier, but  his  health  failing  him,  he  went  to 
farming.  Mrs.  Empie's  father,  Mr.  Loudon 
moved  from  Columbia  County  to  Buffalo,  N. 
Y.,  when  Mrs.  Empie  was  about  live  years 
old ;  from  there  they  went  to  Broome  Countj', 
where  they  remained  for  three  years,  after- 
ward going  to  Cattaraugus  County,  where 
they  lived  for  seven  years,  when  they  came  to 
Illinois.  Mrs.  Empie  saw  'some  pretty  hard 
times  when  first  settling,  owing  to  failure  of 
crops,  etc.  There  was  not  a  schoolhouse  in 
the  township  at  that  time,  and  Morris  was 
the  nearest  trading  point. 

FATHER  JOHN  A.  HEMLOCK,  Kins- 
man, was  born  in  Cedarburg,  Wis.,  in  1851; 
he  is  the  second  youngest  child  of  William 
Hemlock,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  follows  the 
occupation  of  a  farmer  at  Cedarburg,  Wis. , 
and  who  has  a  family  of  four  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  re- 
ceived his  elementary  education  at  St.  Jo- 
seph's College,  Bardstown,  Ky.,  afterward 
finishing  his  studies  at  St.  Francis  Seminary, 
Milwaukee,  Wis.  His  fu-st  charge  was  St. 
Bridget's  Chui'ch,  Chicago,  from  which  ho 
was  transfeiTed  to  St.  Columbkill's.and  thence 
came  to  his  present  charge,  in  October,  1880; 
he  has  been  in  the  ministry  since  June,  1878. 


Since  he  has  come  here,  he  has  established  a 
new  mission  in  Norman  Township,  which  al- 
ready consists  of  at  least  thirty  families,  and 
a  church  will  be  built  there  in  a  short  time. 
Father  Hemlock  has  also  built  their  parson- 
age since  he  came  here,  and  has  done  much 
to  advance  the  welfare  of  the  people. 

JOHN  W.  HINCH,  farmer,  P.  O.  Verona, 
was  born  in  Huntingtonshire,  England,  in 
1831.  He  came  to  America  in  18-11,  and  settled 
with  his  parents  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.  He 
lived  there  until  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
w'aen  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Lis- 
bon, Kendall  County,  remaining  there  for 
four  years,  when  he  moved  to  Saratoga, 
Grundy  County.  Here  he  lived  until  1863, 
after  which  he  resided  in  Livingston  County 
one  year,  then  came  back  to  this  county.  In 
1865,  he  moved  on  to  his  present  farm  of  160 
acres,  and  has  remained  on  it  ever  since.  A 
good  dwelling  is  among  the  attractive  feat- 
m-es  of  the  place.  Mr.  Hinch  was  married, 
in  Kendall  County,  in  1858,  to  Agnes  Ful- 
ton; she  was  born  in  Scotland,  and  came  to 
this  country  when  she  was  twenty  years  of 
age.  They  have  had  eleven  childi'en,  nine  of 
whom — five  boys  and  four  girls — are  still  liv- 
ing. Mr.  Hinch' s  occupation  has  always 
been  that  of  farming.  His  father,  William 
Hinch,  who  is  dead,  was  also  a  farmer.  Mi-. 
and  Mrs.  Hinch  are  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.     Mr.  Hinch  is  a  Republican. 

WILLIAM  PIERCE,  farmer,  P.  O.  Ve- 
rona, is  a  native  of  New  York,  born  in  Monroe 
Coimty,  that  State,  in  1815;  his  father  moved 
into  Genesee  County,  N.  Y. ,  when  subject 
was  but  seven  years  old.  In  1838,  IVIr.  Pierce 
came  to  Kane  County,  111.,  and  remained 
there  till  the  spring  of  1851,  when  he  moved 
to  his  present  farm,  taking  his  family  with 
him.  This  farm  consists  of  320  acres  of 
well-improved  land.  Mr.  Pierce  was  raised 
on  a  farm,  and  has  made  farming  his  occu- 


lIKllILxVXD   T0W^'SH11^ 


l.jo 


pation  ever  since  coming  to  tho  State.  He  is 
the  oldest  settler  in  the  township,  nnd  has 
always  taken  an  active  part  in  its  a£fairs.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  State.  He  was  married  in  New  York 
in  1838.  Mrs.  Pierce  was  born  in  Genesee 
County,  N.  Y.,  to  which  place  her  jsarents 
had  emicrrated  from  Vermont.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Julia  Buit;  she  is  the  daughter  of 
Salmon  and  Azuba  (Thomas)  Burr;  her 
grandfather  Thomas  served  seven  years  as 
musician  in  the  Revolutionaiy  war.  Gen. 
Thomas,  of  rebellion  fame,  is  Mi-s.  Pierce's 
cousin.  Seth  Thomas,  of  world-wide  reputa- 
tion as  a  clock  manufactiu-er,  was  her  great- 
uncle.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pierce  have  had  twelve 
childi-en,  live  of  whom  are  still  living.  The 
eldest  son  was  killed  in  the  army.  Of  the 
childi-en  now  living,  there  are  three  in  Mc- 
Pherson  County,  Kan.,  one  is  living  in  Jol- 
iet,  111.,  and  one  is  at  home.  When  Mr. 
Pierce  came  to  this  county,  it  was  in  its  wild 
state,  doer,  wolves  and  other  wild  animals 
being  plentiful.  In  politics,  Mr.  Pierce  is 
a  Republican. 

SYPREON  P.  SMALL,  farmer,  P.  O. 
Verona,  was  born  in  Somerset  County,  Me., 
in  1841;  he  came  to  Illinois  in  1801,  and  has 
lived  in  this  county  most  of  the  time  since. 
He  is  a  son  of  Harrison  Small,  who  is  now 
living  in  Kansas.  Mr.  Small  received  his 
education  mostly  in  Maine.  In  1862,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  A,  Twelfth  Illinois  Caval- 
ry, Col.  Voss,  in  which  he  served  three  years 
and  never  got  a  scratch.  This  comi:)any  was 
an  escort  to  Gen.  Slocum  for  some  time,  and 
then  were  sent  back  to  their  regiment,  after 
which  they  did  duty  as  provost  guards.  In 
1867,  he  returned  to  Maine,  and  was  there 
married  shortly  afterwiU'd  to  Miss  Mary  Cor- 
son; he  returned  to  Illinois,  staying  three 
years,  when  he  went  back  to  Maine  on  a  visit, 
and  while  there  his   wife  died,  July,  1876. 


He  was   married  a  second  time,  in  Maine, 
this  time  to  Miss  Lizzie;  Whitman,  whereupon 
he  returned  to  Illinois,  and  has  since  resided 
in  this  State.      He  has  had    live    children, 
thi'ee  by  his  first  wife,  one  of  whom,  a  boy, 
is  living,  and  two  boys  by  his  second  wife, 
who  are  living.     Mr.  Small's  farm  consists  of 
eighty  acres.     He  votes_the  Republican  ticket. 
D.  S.  SMALL,  farmer,  P.  O.  Verona,  came 
to  Grundy  County  when  only  nine  years  old, 
and  has  remained  here  ever  since.     He  was 
born  in  Somerset  Coimty,  Me.,  in  1846.     He 
is  the  son  of  Harrison  Small,  who  now  lives  in 
Verona,     The   first  year  after  coming  to  the 
county,  they  lived  in  Vienna  Township,  but 
have  ever  since  lived  in  this  township.      The 
first  place  they   settled  on.   an    unimproved 
farm,  is  now  owned  by  John  Young.      Mr. 
Small  is  one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  three 
boys   and  three  girls.      One  girl  is  dead  and 
the  other  two  live  in  Streator.     Two  of  the 
boys  are  in  Mazon  Township,    and  the  re- 
maining one,   our  subject,    still  remains  in 
Highland  Township.     His  present  farm  con- 
sists of  eighty  acres.     Mr.  Small  received  his 
education   in  this  coimty.     In  1872,  he  was 
married    to    Miss  May  Hamilton;    she   was 
born  in  Canada.      Her  father,  Robert  Hamil- 
ton, died  when  she  was  small,  and  her  mother 
moved  to  this  State  in   1863  or  1804.     Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Small  have  two  children — one  boy 
Burton,  and  a  girl.  Myrtle.     Mr.  Small's  oc- 
cupation has  always  been  that  of  farming. 
He  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

FREMONT  VICKERY,  farmer  and  stock- 
raiser,  Dwight,  was  born  in  Vienna  Town.ship, 
this  county,  in  1850.  His  father,  John  Vickery, 
moved  to  the  subject's  present  farm  when 
Fremont  was  two  years  old.  Here  they  lived 
for  about  thirteen  years,  and  then  moved  to 
Livingston  County,  where  the  father  still 
lives.  Mr.  Vickery  was  married,  in  January, 
1877,  in  Lee  County,  to  Miss  Nettie  Johnson, 


154 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


a  daughter  of  Rev.  "William  Jolinson,  a  Pres- 
byterian minister,  who  was  born  in  Edin- 
burgh, Scotland.  Mrs.  Vickery  was  born  in 
Lee  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vickery  have 
one  child — Paul.  Mr.  Vickery  received  his 
education  in  the  common  sohools  of  this 
county,  attended  the  Dwight  schools,  and 
afterward  was,  for  tifteeu  mouths,  a  student 
at  the  Wesleyan  University  at  Bloomington. 


After  he  was  married,  he  moved  to  the  old 
homestead,  in  Highland  Township.  His 
farm  consists  of  355  acres.  Raising  stock 
and  feeding  sheep,  hogs  and  cattle  is  his 
main  business.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  and  also,  with  his  wife,  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  In  politics, 
Mr.  Vickery  is  a  Republican. 


GOODFARM    TOWNSHIP. 


WILLIAM  CONSTANTINE,  farmer,  P. 
O.  Dwight,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Ger- 
many, in  1841.  He  came  to  America  in  1857, 
and  lived  for  two  years  near  Aurora,  111., 
afterward  coming  to  Grundy  County.  In 
J 861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Fifty-fifth 
Illinois  Infantry,  serving  three  years.  In 
1864,  he  re -enlisted,  and  served  till  the  close 
of  the  war.  In  March,  1865,  he  was  taken 
prisoner  in  North  Carolina,  near  Goldsboro. 
Being  paroled  in  July,  1865,  he  returned 
home.  He  was  with  Sherman's  army,  and 
helped  open  the  Mississippi  River,  and  in 
the  memorable  march  through  Georgia. 
During  all  the  time  that  he  served,  he  re- 
ceived not  even  a  wound.  After  the  war,  he 
returned  to  Grundy  County,  where  he  has 
since  remained.  He  bought  his  present  farm, 
which  consists  of  eighty  acres  of  well-im- 
proved "land,  in  1869.  In  1866,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  Klughart,  who  was  born  in 
Kendall  County,  this  State.  They  have  five 
children,  two  boys  and  three  girls — Emma, 
Edwai'd  J.,  Clara,  Martha  and  William.  Mr. 
Constantine  received  his  education  mostly  in 
Germany,  but  he  attended  English  schools  in 
Illinois  for  some  time.  Mr.  Constantine  has 
held  several  township  offices,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Evangelical  Association.  He  votes 
the  Republican  ticket. 


L.  NATHAN  LEWIS,  deceased,  was 
a  native  of  Vermont,  but,  when  a  young 
man,  moved  to  St.  Lawrence  County,  N.  Y., 
where  his  childi-en  were  born.  In  1845,  he 
came  to  Illinois,  and  lived  in  Kane  and  Mc- 
Henry  Counties  for  about  four  years,  when 
he  came  to  this  county  and  settled  on  a  place 
on  Mazon  Creek.  Mr.  Lewis  died  in  De- 
cember, 1853,  at  his  old  homestead.  He  or- 
ganized the  first  church  in  the  township,  at 
the  residence  of  David  Gleason,  and  was 
their  first  minister.  This  was  a  Free-Will 
Baptist  Church,  and  there  were  six  members 
at  the  organization.  Mrs.  Nathan  Lewis  is 
still  living  in  this  township,  with  her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  E.  B.  Stevens  Mrs.  Lewis  was 
born  December  25,  1800.  In  1858,  Miss 
Fannie  Lewis  (now  Mrs.  Stevens)  was  mar- 
ried to  Dr.  John  F.  Trowe,  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. They  lived  in  Dundee,  111.,  till  1860, 
when  Mr.  Trowe  died.  They  had  one  son, 
Frank. 

GEORGE  PRESTON,  farmer,  P.  O.  Ma- 
zon, was  born  in  Tuscarawas  County,  Ohio, 
in  September,  1822.  He  moved  to  Grundy 
County  in  1851,  and  settled  on  his  present 
farm.  His  father,  Elijah  Preston,  came  at 
the  same  time,  but  died  soon  afterward.  At 
that  time,  there  were  but  few  settlers  between 
Mazon  Creek  and  Johnny  Creek,  both  north 


GOODFAEM   TOWNSHIP. 


155 


and  south,  and  the  grass  was  so  high  that 
two  persons  on  horseback  could  scarcely  dis- 
cern  each  other,  if  only  separated  but  by  a 
short  distance.  The  subject's  brother,  ^Vill- 
iam  Preston,  had  ah-eady  come  and  settled 
about  two  years  previous.  Mr.  Elijah  Pres- 
ton entered  an  eighty-acre  tract  of  Govern- 
ment land,  which  was  the  only  Government 
land  near  him  at  that  time.  Mr.  Preston's 
farm  now  consists  of  400  acres,  besides  prop- 
erty in  Mazon.  He  was  married,  in  Vir- 
ginia, in  1840,  to  Elizabeth  Carnes,  who  was 
born  in  Tuscarawas  County,  Ohio.  She  died 
about  1854.  He  has  three  children  living  by 
this  wife,  two  sons  and  one  daughter — Will- 
iam C,  George  W.  and  Mary  E.  Mr.  Pres- 
ton was  married  a  second  time,  in  this  coun- 
ty, a  short  time  before  the  war,  to  Jane 
Johnson,  born  in  Ashland  County,  Ohio,  but 
raised  in  Guernsey  County,  Ohio.  When 
Mr.  Preston  first  came  here,  he  came  together 
with  several  other  families,  all  of  whom 
moved  in  wagons.  At  that  time,  it  was  about 
three  miles  to  any  school.  There  were  no 
bridges,  roads,  or  anything  to  make  hauling 
easy,  so  that  twenty  bushels  of  corn  were  all 
that  could  be  hauled  most  of  the  year.  There 
was  a  small  boat  at  the  river,  which  could 
carry  two  teams  across  at  a  time.  Mr.  Pres- 
ton is  now  building  a  new  residence  in  Ma- 
zon, to  which  he  will  shortly  move,  having 
sold  his  old  homestead.  He  is  a  Republican. 
DANIEL  ROEDER.  farmer,  P.  O.  Dwight, 
was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  and  came  to 
America  in  1857,  and  lived  in  La  Salle  Coun- 
ty, 111.,  for  nearly  four  years,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Germany,  coming  back  to  America 
in  18B1,  bringing  his  family  with  him.  He 
rented  land  and  farmed  in  La  Salle  County 
until  1869,  when  he  moved  onto  his  present 
farm,  which  he  had  bought  the  year  before. 
He  now  has  240  acres  of  well  improved  land, 
which  represents  the  result  of  his   industry 


and  frugality  since  coming  to  America.  He 
was  educated  in  the  German  schools,  and  is 
Republican  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  Church.  His  father,  Hemy 
Boeder,  was  a  farmer  in  Langenstein,  R.  G. 
B.  Z.,  Cassel,  Germany.  Mr.  Roeder  has 
nine  children— seven  boys  and  two  girls. 
Those  by  his  first  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
Germany,  are  Stephen,  born  in  1843;  and 
Henry,  born  in  1851.  The  remaining  seven 
are  by  the  present  wife,  viz.,  John,  born  in 
1855;  Balcer,  in  1857;  Elizabeth,  in  1861; 
Lena,  in  1864;  William,  in  1866;  Leonard, 
in  1870;  and  George,  in  1878. 

E.  B.  STEVENS,  farmer,  P.  O.  Dwight, 
moved  to  Goodfarm  Township  April  22, 
1850,  having  been  there  and  purchased  land 
the  year  previous.  The  place  which  Mr. 
Stevens  had  bought  had  a  log  cabin  on  it, 
12x16  feet,  into  which  seven  people  moved. 
Mr.  John  Henry  and  family  had  moved  there 
at  the  same  time.  Mr.  Stevens  had  bought 
a  Mexican  land  warrant,  for  which  he  paid 
$120,  which  was  at  the  rate  of  $1  per  acre^ 
as  he  received  120  acres.  He  also  bought 
forty  acres  of  a  settler  who  had  entered  it. 
Mr.  Stevens  came  to  this  county  from  Kala- 
mazoo County,  Mich. ,  and  his  was  the  ninth 
family  to  settle  in  this  township.  The  first 
school  in  the  township  was  in  session  when 
he  moved  in.  It  was  in  a  log  house,  with 
puncheon  floors,  etc.,  and  was  situated  on 
Mazon  Creek.  The  first  crop  of  wheat  and 
oats  which  lilr.  Stevens  raised  could  not  be 
threshed  until  a  machine  came  from  Wil- 
mington, a  distance  of  eighteen  miles,  and 
what  bread  they  had  in  the  meantime  was 
made  from  grated  corn.  His  farm  now  con- 
sists of  270  acres.  He  is  the  son  of  Levi 
Stevens,  a  native  of  Vermont,  who  moved 
from  Vermont  to  New  York,  afterward  to 
Pennsylvania,  and  finally  to  Michigan,  where 
he   died.      Mr.  E.  B.  Stevens,  our  subject,  in 


156 


BIOGRAPHICAL: 


a  native  of  Vermont,  and  was  married,  in 
February,  1850,  to  Miss  Betsy  A.  Cullen,  a 
native  of  Canada,  but  whose  parents  were 
from  the  old  country — her  father  from  Ire- 
land and  her  mother  from  London,  England. 
Mrs.  Stevens  died  December  26,  1866.  Her 
mother,  Mrs.  Cullen,  lived  to  be  ninety-one 
years  old.  Mr.  Stevens  has  three  children 
by  his  first  wife,  living — Charlie,  Darwin  an'd 
Eddie.  Mr.  Stevens  married  the  second 
time,  to  Mrs.  Fannie  (Lewis)  Trowe,  in  the 
fall  of  1867.  They  have  one  little  girl  liv- 
ing, named  Fannie  LxaelJa.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stevens  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

ADISON  ^^'OOD,  farmer,  P.  O.  Dwight, 
came  to  Griindy  County  in  1849,  and  has 
lived  in  Goodfarm  Township  all  the  time  since. 
In  the  township  now  there  are  but  two  older 
settlers  living-— Mrs.  Holtz  and  Mrs.  L.  V. 
Wood.  Mrs.  Wood  is  a  native  of  Otsego 
County,  N.  Y.,and  his  wife  is  fi'om  Schohar- 
ie County,  N.  Y.  When  they  first  moved 
into  the  township,  there  were  but  eleven 
houses  in  it,  and  they  could  cross  the  prairie, 
going  southeast,  to  the  State  of  Indiana,  and 
not  come  across  a  house.  Wolves  and  deer 
abounded  in  plentiful  numbers.  In  1843, 
Mr.  Wood  came  to  Lake  County,  111.,  from 
New  York,  and  was  there  about  six  years, 
when  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Cook  County, 
staying  there  one  season  before  coming  to 
this  county.  Mr.  Wood  is  the  son  of  Xew- 
comb  Wood,  and  was  bom  in  1822.  He  was 
married,  in  Dundee,  Kane  Co.,  111.,  Decem- 
ber 16,  1S47,  to  Miss  Catharine  Bute.  When 
he  first  came  to  this  county.  Mi'.  Wood 
bought  160  acres  of  Government  land,  for 
which  he  paid  but  S112,  having  bought  a  land 
warrant.  His  present  farm  consists  of  eighty 
acres.  When  the  township  was  first  organ- 
ized, which  was  the  year  following  Mr. 
Wood's  arrival,  he  was  elected   the  first  Jus- 


tice of  the  Peace,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
three  years.  He  has  been  a  Republican 
since  the  party  was  organized,  before  which 
he  was  a  Whig.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Dwight.  Their  children  are  eight  in  num- 
ber— four  boys  and  four  girls.  Their  names 
are  as  follows:  Levi,  Mary  J.,  Charles  M., 
Lucretia,  Erma  A.,  Barney  A.,  Sarah  L.  and 
Henry  A.  Mrs.  Wood  is  the  daughter  of 
Lewis  B.  Bute,  who  came  to  Lake  County  in 
1846. 

L.  V.  WOOD,  farmer,  P.  O.  Dwight,  was 
born  in  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  in  1829.  His 
father  was  Russell  Wood,  a  native  of  New 
York,  but  who  had  moved  to  Michigan  in 
1845,  and  was  accidentally  killed  while  fell- 
ing trees.  In  the  spring  of  1846,  his  mother 
moved  to  Illinois,  on  the  Fox  River,  in  Kane 
County.  Mr.  Wood  lived  in  Kane  and  Ken- 
dall Counties  until  1851,  when  he  came  to 
this  county,  where  he  has  remained  ever  since, 
and  his  present  farm  is  the  same  one  on 
which  he  first  settled.  In  June,  1852,  he 
was  married,  in  this  county,  to  Miss  Pluma 
A.  Gleason,  daughter  of  David  Gleason,  who 
had  settled  in  this  township  in  1849,  and 
lived  here  till  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  in  the  township.  Mrs.  Wood 
is  at  present,  with  a  single  exception,  the 
oldest  resident  in  this  township.  Mrs.  Wood 
is  a  native  of  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood 
have  four  children — two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters— all  of  whom  are  married — Russell  O., 
Allie  L.,  Henry  O.  and  Alma.  Mr.  Wood 
received  his  early  education  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  When  he  first  came  here,  he  lo- 
cated on  the  open  prairie,  by  laying  a  Mexi- 
can land  warrant.  In  politics,  Mr.  Wood 
is  a  Republican,  and  he  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Dwight.  His  farm  consists  of  eighty 
acres  of  land. 


^■< 


/l 


